The Muddy Volcanoes

General

The phenomenon is visible in two places: Paclele Mari and Paclele Mici. In the range of Berca and Scortoasa villages, this volcanoes are produced by the natural gases which come from over 3000 meters deep, and in combination with the water form the groundwater aquifers and the clayey soil create some sort of mud. In contact with the surface air, the mud gets dry and forms cone shaped structures similar to a volcano. So to speak, inside these structures take place the same processes like in a real volcano, even though these are not higher than 5-6 meters, and the depth from which the "lava" is being pushed to the surface is much smaller. The image that these structures create is spectacular and abstract. Because of the sulfurous and salty soil, the development of a normal vegetation is impossible. Still, a small number of plants have managed somehow to find here a favourable living environment. There are 1.100 muddy volcanoes know in the world. In Europe, the majority are underwater, like the muddy volcanoes from the waters of Norway or the ones from the Caspic and Barents Sea. In Java island (Indonesia) an eruption took place in 2006, which intensified in time, and by November 125.000 cubic meters of mud erupted per day. This rare phenomenon is hard to be found, even though it's only 15 km from DN10. Running from one crater to another, any passer-by will be pleasantly surprised by the flow of mud and the mumbling of the soil.