RP261 Mud Volcano

 RP261 Mud Volcano

The image that comes to mind when we hear "volcano" is a black peak, with red lava flowing down the sides and smoke bursting from the top. There's another type of volcano, though: one that belches mud.

Mud volcanoes are like lava volcanoes in that they explode with pentup, sometimes burning gases. Mud volcanoes, however, are much cooler than volcanoes that spew molten rock. Some mud volcanoes can even be cool. Many, in fact, are the sites of spas, where people can rub the mud on their bodies for health and cosmetic benefits.

Mud volcanoes form when pressurized gas, water, mud, and sometimes oil make a channel to the earth's surface. Sometimes they build up domes or cones like lava volcanoes; in other places, the mud simply bubbles up and seeps over wide areas. They occur at weak points in the earth's crust, and they often indicate oil and gas reserves below the surface.

Mud volcanoes can also be man-made. In 2006 in the village of Sidoarjo, East Java, the Lusi mud volcano started erupting. It was only about 500 feet from a gas exploration well. East Java has lots of oil and gas, and naturally, mud volcanoes. Most experts agree that it was the removal of the drill and drill string from a deep hole that caused instability below the surface. Mud began to flow out of it, and it hasn't stopped yet. Scientists say it's likely to continue erupting for the next 25 years! And Lusi is no trickle of mud. At its height, it was emitting 180,000m³(cubic meters) of mud per day! It has been a disaster for local residents.

Other mud volcanoes, however, are beneficial. Tourists visit Azerbaijan, which has more mud volcanoes than anywhere else, to see their strange shapes. Visitors flock to Yellowstone, to Colombia, to Java, and other places to witness these natural wonders.