The active mud volcano Akpatlavuk (from the Turkmen “White volcano”), which is located in Southwestern Turkmenistan, is one of the most active and largest volcanoes in its category on Earth.
According to the publication “Turkmenistan: Golden Age”, this large hill reaches a height of about 80 meters.
In the center of the volcano there is a crater lake with a diameter of about 150 meters with active gas and mud sources. Boiling magma does not heat up and remains cold. In the sanatoriums of Turkmenistan, magma is used for medicinal purposes.
The well-known scientist of Turkmenistan, candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences Anatoly Grigoryevich Bushmakin, listing the large mud volcanoes of the Turkmen Caspian region, in addition to Akpatlavuk, also notes the largest volcano in the western Balkan - the Cheleken Alakel, the ancient volcanoes - Barsagelmes, Koturtepe, Kamyshlyja and Gograndag, and, the only one in its genus, related to igneous - the active volcano Gekpatlavuk.
In total, about 30 mud volcanoes operate on the territory of Turkmenistan, but their number varies depending on the activity of earth layers. These natural formations not only provide valuable information about the geological processes occurring in the depths of the earth, but also point to oil and gas deposits.
The gases of mud volcanoes consist mainly of methane. Nitrogen and inert gases are present in small quantities. Salt waters contain iodine, bromine, and other elements.
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