Mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan on the map. Mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan
As you know, there are three sights in Azerbaijan - Baku (a plane flies there), Khinalyg (a village located at an altitude of 2200 meters above the level of vanity and being, they drink tea there), well, and the mud volcanoes of Gobustan (there is mud and dullness). Today I suggest you trample on the mud, and we will get acquainted with the rest of the sights another time. Go.
So how do you get there. From the center of Baku you need to leave by bus 5. He walks every five minutes, paid transport card, which operates on the subway and on beautiful red buses. The card can be bought at the terminal at the bus stop. The terminal understands only Azerbaijani, so when buying, some kind of crap will surely happen. For example, instead of a one-time card, we took a permanent one, and even credited 10 manats to it, and the fare on the bus was 20 qapiks. At the final stop "20. Sahә” you need to transfer to bus 195 and ask the driver to tell you when Gobustan will arrive, or follow the navigator. The fare costs 80 qepiks in cash.
At the exit from the bus, you fall into the clutches of huckster taxi drivers who are ready to take you to the museum. The fact is that Gobustan among tourists is primarily famous for its reserve with rock paintings, but we don’t need to go there. Having learned that we want to go to the volcanoes, the taxi driver asked for 30 manats, although the red price for this trip is ten. Since we do not speak Azerbaijani, but the taxi driver speaks Russian, and the weather was really disgusting, we somehow agreed on twenty.
5 minutes on the highway, 10 on a dirt road, and here we are. 
mud volcanoes not as large as ordinary volcanoes we are used to. Most of them are slides several meters high. 
In the summit crater of the mud volcano is mud lake in which dirt gurgles.
When the crater overflows, a mud lava flow begins to flow along the slope of the volcano. The mud slowly dries up, the volcano grows. 
Here, for example, is a recently solidified lava flow and, for scale, people on the slope of a volcano. 
Around everything is also in volcanic mud. If you step into not completely frozen mud, you can get stuck well. Mud has unique properties - building materials, medicines, and cosmetics are made from it. 
Azerbaijan ranks first in the world in terms of the number of mud volcanoes. The Internet says that there are about 800 mud volcanoes in the world. About 350 of them are in Azerbaijan. 
In addition, underwater mud volcanoes are also found in Azerbaijan. In the Baku archipelago, 8 islands by origin belong to mud volcanoes. 
In their normal state, mud volcanoes slowly gurgle with mud, but sometimes real eruptions occur with the release of flames up to a thousand meters high. This is all due to the fact that mud volcanoes are located in oil and gas fields. 
The weather was rainy, so the mud in the craters is especially liquid. 
Lava flow. 
There was a fierce wind and hellish cold outside, after running for 20 minutes between the craters, we climbed into the car and rushed back to Gobustan, where we managed to catch the same bus returning to the city. 
The main purpose of our trip to Azerbaijan was the task of mixing the mud of Gobustan and Khinalug on our boots, which we will soon do.
You can look through the photo story about my Khynalyg laziness :)
Other places of interest:
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According to the head of the Department of Mud Volcanism of the Institute of Geology of ANAS, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences Adyl Aliyeva, to create reserves of mud volcanoes, it was those that stood out sharply in the terrain, were located at altitudes of up to 400 m, were active and were located on the Caspian coast, as well as near the main roads and settlements.
For the protection of natural monuments-volcanoes, regional departments and committees of ecology located near the volcanoes were connected. Protective inscriptions have already been installed on the approaches to volcanoes, announcing that these natural monuments are protected by the state and that it is strictly forbidden to pollute, destroy, carry out construction and other work near it.
Monuments of nature
In 1982, by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 167, the Boyuk Kenizdag, Ayranteken and Dashgil volcanoes, which are located in Gobustan, and the Lokbatan volcano in Lokbatan were granted the status of a natural monument.
Established in 2007, the State Natural Reserve group of mud volcanoes of Baku and the Absheron Peninsula granted 52 mud volcanoes the status of a state reserve.
On September 15, 2004, the largest mud volcano in the world, located on the territory of Azerbaijan, entered the Guinness Book of Records.
In 2009, mud volcanoes competed for a place on the Seven natural wonders Sveta" .
Underwater mud volcanoes
Origin
Mud volcanoes appeared on the territory of the present Azerbaijan Republic 25 million years ago.
Mud volcanoes are associated with oil and gas fields by origin. In the areas of mud volcanoes, rich deposits of gas condensate and oil have been discovered (Lokbatan, Garadag, Oil Rocks, Mishovdag, etc.). In addition, the mud and liquid erupted by mud volcanoes are used as raw materials for the chemical and construction industries, as well as for pharmacology.
Folk names
Along with the geographical term - "mud volcanoes", they are popularly called as "yanardag" (burning mountain), "pilpila" (terrace), "gaynacha" (boiling water), "bozdag" (gray mountain).
Eruption of mud volcanoes
On January 26, 2017, the Akhtarma Pashaly volcano, which is considered one of the largest in Azerbaijan, erupted in the Hajigabul region. It is located 35 km southeast of the city of Shirvan. The eruption continued until the morning, a jet of flame 30-35 meters high was thrown into the sky.
Airanteken
This is a periodically erupting mud volcano, many eruptions of which were accompanied by underground explosions, a flame that sometimes reached 500 m in height. The Ayranteken volcano, which has a plateau shape, is located 65 km southwest of the capital, on a hill with a height of 190 m. The first eruptions occurred in 1964-1990, as a result of which mud volcanic flows poured out along the southern slope. There are 4 groups of mud volcanic manifestations. The first is located in the southwestern part of the upland and is characterized by oil-producing gryphons. The second, larger group is located to the northwest of the modern volcanic eruption and is characterized by many active microforms, the height of which reaches 5-10 meters. There are several cracks around the volcanic field, the length of which reaches 700-800 m, and the depth is 2-3 m. The total volume of the breccia reaches approximately 500 million m3, and the area of the breccia cover is about 805 ha. Many oil-bearing rocks could be found in mud volcanic eruptions.
Bahar
This volcano, which has an oval shape, is located 55 km southwest of Baku, in the Alat zone. It rises 45 m above the terrain. Here the first eruption occurred in 1853, and the most recent in 1993. There were 8 eruptions in total. About 30 active microforms were recorded on the volcanic field.
Goturdag
The volcano is located 70 km southwest of the capital and only 3 km from the Ayranteken volcano. The diameter of the volcano is more than 150 m, and the depth reaches 15-20 m. The average power of the eruption of this volcano is 130 m. Goturdag differs in its manifestation from other volcanoes in Azerbaijan. The mud is squeezed out of the field like paste from a tube upwards, and then, breaking apart, slides down the slope of the volcano. For the first time such a spectacle was observed here in 1926. This process continued until 1966. After that, in October 1966 and in the spring of 1970, ordinary eruptions occurred. The breccia cover area is 408 hectares, and the total volume of breccia carried out by the volcano reaches 530 million m3.
Delianguez
This volcano is located 65 km southwest of the city of Baku, not far from another mud volcano Dashgil. The area of distribution of the breccia of the Delyangyaz volcano is 550 hectares, and the average thickness of the cover is 30 m. The volcano is represented by two groups of microforms. The first is located in the eastern part of the crater shaft, where low hills and griffins emit gas, water, mud with oil particles. The second group is located 500 m from the first and has relatively great height(more than 10 m) hills and griffins. The second group on this moment active.
Lokbatan
Elk
Otman-Bozdag
The volcano erupted on the morning of September 23, 2018. The height of the flame was 200-300 meters. Many cracks up to 40 meters deep have formed on the site.
see also
Notes
- Mud volcanoes, Absheron, Baku(English) . azerbaijan24.com. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- Mud Volcanoes(English) . www.azconsulatela.org. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- Alexander Cheban. Mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan (indefinite) . livejournal.com(November 5, 2011). Retrieved May 28, 2017.
As you know, there are three sights in Azerbaijan - Baku (a plane flies there), Khinalyg (a village located at an altitude of 2200 meters above the level of vanity and being, they drink tea there), well, and the mud volcanoes of Gobustan (there is mud and dullness). Today I suggest you trample on the mud, and we will get acquainted with the rest of the sights another time. Go.
So how do you get there. From the center of Baku you need to leave by bus 5. It runs every five minutes, paid by a transport card, which is valid on the metro and on beautiful red buses. The card can be bought at the terminal at the bus stop. The terminal understands only Azerbaijani, so when buying, some kind of crap will surely happen. For example, instead of a one-time card, we took a permanent one, and even credited 10 manats to it, and the fare on the bus was 20 qapiks. At the final stop "20. Sahә” you need to transfer to bus 195 and ask the driver to tell you when Gobustan will arrive, or follow the navigator. The fare costs 80 qepiks in cash.
At the exit from the bus, you fall into the clutches of huckster taxi drivers who are ready to take you to the museum. The fact is that Gobustan among tourists is primarily famous for its reserve with rock paintings, but we don’t need to go there. Having learned that we want to go to the volcanoes, the taxi driver asked for 30 manats, although the red price for this trip is ten. Since we do not speak Azerbaijani, but the taxi driver speaks Russian, and the weather was really disgusting, we somehow agreed on twenty.
5 minutes on the highway, 10 on a dirt road, and here we are.
Mud volcanoes are not as massive as ordinary volcanoes we are used to. Most of them are slides several meters high. 
In the summit crater of the mud volcano there is a mud lake in which mud gurgles. 
When the crater overflows, a mud lava flow begins to flow along the slope of the volcano. The mud slowly dries up, the volcano grows. 
Here, for example, is a recently solidified lava flow and, for scale, people on the slope of a volcano. 
Around everything is also in volcanic mud. If you step into not completely frozen mud, you can get stuck well. Mud has unique properties - building materials, medicines, and cosmetics are made from it. 
Azerbaijan ranks first in the world in terms of the number of mud volcanoes. The Internet says that there are about 800 mud volcanoes in the world. About 350 of them are in Azerbaijan. 
In addition, underwater mud volcanoes are also found in Azerbaijan. In the Baku archipelago, 8 islands by origin belong to mud volcanoes. 
In their normal state, mud volcanoes slowly gurgle with mud, but sometimes real eruptions occur with the release of flames up to a thousand meters high. This is all due to the fact that mud volcanoes are located in oil and gas fields. 
The weather was rainy, so the mud in the craters is especially liquid. 
Lava flow. 
There was a fierce wind and hellish cold outside, after running for 20 minutes between the craters, we climbed into the car and rushed back to Gobustan, where we managed to catch the same bus returning to the city. 
The main purpose of our trip to Azerbaijan was the task of mixing the mud of Gobustan and Khinalug on our boots, which we will soon do.
Heading: Miscellaneous. Tags: , .Azerbaijan is the epicenter of the world's mud volcanoes. Three hundred and fifty of the eight hundred existing on the planet are collected here. mud volcanoes!
To share Azerbaijan account for a good half of the world's volcanoes. Mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan are located not only on land, but in the waters of the Caspian Sea. In total, there are about 150 marine mud volcanoes.
According to research conducted by world scientists, the first eruption of a mud volcano occurred 25 million years ago. It happened in the territory where it is now located The Republic of Azerbaijan. It turns out that the Azerbaijani volcanoes are the most ancient in the world. 
During the eruption of mud volcanoes, lava, mud and liquid come to the surface of the earth, which are used in the chemical and construction industries, as well as in pharmacology.
Every year thousands of tourists visit Azerbaijan to see the eruption of mud volcanoes. It would seem that this is attractive? Mud baths have a healing effect on the body. And the fantastic landscape of mud volcanoes resembles the lunar surface. Travelers love to take pictures among mud volcanoes, show photos to friends and brag about having been to the moon. And, as it turned out, not in vain. NASA geologists studied the surface Mars, after they came to the conclusion that the mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan are similar in structure to the hills of the blood-red planet. 
Mud Azerbaijan volcanoes operate all year round. Over the past 200 years, there have been 200 major eruptions in Azerbaijan. Twenty-three mud volcanoes of the country received the status national park they are now protected. Last year, the mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan were included in the list of " Seven wonders of the world». 
A trip to mud volcanoes and Gobustan Petroglyphs Park is the most popular day trip from Baku ( 60 km South). If you have already seen enough, you can safely go to Gobustan.
This is the case when the popularity of the place is 100% justified. I recommend not to miss if you are going to Azerbaijan. In addition to Gobustan, in the vicinity of Baku, you can visit the temple of fire worshipers and the burning mountain. I've talked about these places in other posts.
On the map in Google and in maps.me, it is not clear where exactly you need to go in Gobustan. There is no road to the volcanoes at all, so there is a map in the post where I marked all the key points worth visiting in Gobustan.
What to see in Gobustan ↓
Hike to the mud volcanoes of Gobustan
Theoretically, you can walk to the volcanoes on foot in order to save money. Then you need to get off bus 195 on the highway not near Gobustan, but drive further to the point with coordinates 39.991143, 49.429875
You will have to go through the mud for about 20 minutes. But this method has not been tested by me, so I don’t know what obstacles may arise on the way. From the volcanoes you can clearly see the sea and the track. visually close.
If you have hiked to volcanoes, please tell us in a nutshell how it was and how many minutes/hours/days? took a walk.
Mud volcanoes of Gobustan
Entrance is free
Azerbaijan ranks first in the world in terms of the number of mud volcanoes. There are already 350 of them here (there are about 800 in the world).
Our taxi driver's interpreter said that the dirt only started spewing out of the ground at this particular location 50 years ago.
Driving to the volcanic field minutes 15-20 on a dirt road from the village of Gobustan. There are no pointers.
During heavy rains, you can’t get there, because the road is washed out, you can get stuck. On a sedan (Mercedes) we calmly passed, despite the fact that last night it was raining. The road dried up during the day.
Riding through mud to little volcanoes Along the way we saw several lakes and endless garbage dumps. And also tourists who got stuck in the mud because they went the wrong way.
dead salt lakes When you drive up by car, at first you can see a couple of dozen small volcanoes that hiss and gurgle loudly.
small volcanoes Somewhere 200 meters away from the sea there is a larger lone volcano (the coolest), next to it is a lake with gray dirty water, also curative.
During our visit to the volcanoes there were two excursion groups, they arrived in jeeps. No one but us went to the distant volcano and to the lake, and it is there that everything is most worthwhile.
The depth of it big volcano 3000 meters, the diameter of the crater is three meters. Here are the biggest bubbles.
Lonely big volcano 
This volcano is the most active, with big bubbles If you want to smear yourself with volcanic mud (the mud is cold), then it is better to do it in a large volcano, so that later you can go down to the lake and wash yourself.
Or you need to bring a canister of water with you. Napkins do not wipe off dirt, and there is nowhere else to get water, except in a mud lake.
The lake is also gurgling because of the gas. They sometimes bathe in it. We measured the depth with a stick. Near the shore, a meter and a half, the water was warm.
Lake near a large volcano. From here it seems that the sea is very close, but this is an optical illusion. Gobustan Petroglyph Museum
Entrance - 2 manats
Parking - 1 manat
How long does it take - 1 hour to the museum and a walk through the archaeological complex
A visit to mud volcanoes is usually combined with a trip to the Petroglyph Museum under open sky. The taxi drivers and I agreed in advance that we wanted volcanoes and a museum. As a result, after the volcanoes, they brought us to the museum house.
The history of Gobustan and Azerbaijan is described in the museum building, some exhibits (pots, decorations) are collected.
Museum building We went into the house, the taxi driver's translator tells what and how. And I can’t wait to see the drawings of dancing men on the mountain, and not museum exhibits. We leave the museum. I ask where are the real drawings.
- You wanted a museum, we showed you a museum, but there was no talk about drawings. It's for an extra charge
At this point, I got very angry. That's really, really hard. No brainer that people come to Gobustan not for the sake of clay pots. I told the taxi drivers everything I think about their behavior.
The men thought and said to Misha:
— Okay, we'll take you to the Petroglyphs for free. Just so she doesn't get mad
Straight Baba Yaga put me out. They themselves are to blame.
After the mud volcanoes, the Petroglyph Museum did not cause me much emotion, but most people have the opposite reaction. Who likes what.
Rock paintings 2 kilometers from the museum The most interesting thing in Gobustan is on the open-air street, where you can see ancient drawings on the stones. And the museum in general could be safely skipped.
The stones depict people and animals Mount Garatly vava
And now about why I'm so angry at the taxi drivers in the Petroglyph Museum came.
When we were descending from the volcanoes happy and inspired, I saw a beautiful white mountain in the rays of the sun. Everywhere is shadow and gray, but it glows directly. I ask what is there.
- Oh, on the mountain at all sooooo! our Azerbaijani perked up
"So what's in there anyway?"
- Don't tell me. Must see. Holy place. Want to?
- What is the price?
— 10 manats
I suddenly felt sick as soon as we stopped behind the barrier and began to climb the mountain. I directly felt that I didn’t need to go there, but we already agreed, it’s inconvenient to turn around. So curiosity and a tongue unrestrained by modesty led me straight into the arms of the cave sorceress.
We've arrived. The views are unforgettable, but on the ground there are bloodied intestines, flies soar, it smells like manure. A swarthy midget peeps out of a crumbling house. Grandmother in a scarf and woolen socks is sitting on the porch, knitting something.
We immediately ran higher up the mountain, looked at the sea. They didn't even pay attention to this grandmother. We crawled over the stones, took pictures, but there was no understanding of why we came here and for what 10 manats were paid.
The scenery there is gorgeous. Here the taxi driver's interpreter starts talking about children. Since I don’t have them, I have to go into the hole in the mountain three times, and then go out.
Thank you, I say, for your care, kind person, but nothing like this is observed in my thoughts or dreams. And because of some of your local superstitions, I definitely won’t climb into the hole above the cliff.
Okay, the mountains are beautiful, but soon the sun will set. We must go to the Petroglyphs. We go to the car, and taxi drivers are already sitting in a cave with their grandmother, whispering. We are called to enter, but they themselves leave. There is a coffin and ropes hanging on the walls. We try to get out, but no. You need to be inside!
And we are polite. An elderly woman is uncivilized to refuse. We stay with her, although we don’t understand what’s going on.
"You have something in your heart, don't you?"
Of course I have something in my heart. I’m happy from the volcanoes, and then they dragged me into a dark hole in the rock and didn’t let me out.
She said to stay close. She made a ring of multi-colored threads and let's entangle us. Five times she threw this ring on her head, after which she lowered it down to her feet. We cross the threads, get out of the ring, and she again. And he whispers something in Azerbaijani. A stone hits the back painfully.
We try to keep a serious look, but it's difficult. Misha doesn't believe in conspiracies and shamans, it's easier for him. And I generally believe in everything, tensed.
Then the aunt twisted the match into a napkin, hung it on a thread on a nail in the rock. Shows me on my stomach. He says everything, they say, come next year with a little one. 25 manats from you. wtf? With what small and what 25 manats?
The sorceress knits a ring of thread It turned out that this wedding is held on the mountain, and those who “have children are not born, but after the mountain are born immediately” come here. Here are the cunning Azerbaijanis. If they had immediately said what kind of mountain, we would not have gone anywhere.
So by chance, out of the kindness of your soul, you go to visit a strange woman, and she will mutter you and demand more money for it. I understand why people are afraid of language barriers. Now I'm afraid myself. Think about what she whispered there.
And business is not bad if it costs 25 manats from each gullible ( 15$ ) takes 3 minutes.
Here it was necessary to throw stones into the hole in order to get rid of problems. What people don't think The sediment after visiting the mountain was terrible. Been away all evening. Although I fully admit that there is a demand for such services. As I understood locals know about this mountain and often come here.
Gobustan volcanoes and dancing men!
Your Mila Demenkova