It “reacts” to distant earthquakes, even hundreds and thousands of kilometers away
In Ukraine, there is an active volcano that few people know about. It is located near the village of Starunya in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
How and when did this volcano appear in Ukraine?
The Starun volcano appeared in 1977 after a strong earthquake in the Romanian Carpathians near Vrancea. Gas, clay and oil suddenly began to erupt from the site.
This creates eight permanent and several dozen temporary craters that periodically “breathe” – bubble, hiss and erupt mud.
The diameter of the largest opening is only about 30 cm, but during activity, mud eruptions reach 2-3 meters in height.
This volcano is unique because it is the only active one in Ukraine. It is a geological monument of national importance, as it is the smallest mud volcano in Europe. It “reacts” to distant earthquakes, even hundreds and thousands of kilometers away.
It is believed that the mud from the volcano has healing properties.
It is located near Ivano-Frankivsk (about 25 km away). In addition to the volcano itself, there is something else interesting in Starun – in 1907, the remains of a mammoth and a rhinoceros preserved in ozokerite were found here. So the place can be called a real open-air museum of nature.
What should tourists know? Entrance to the area is free, but you need to be careful – the craters are small but active. Daredevils sometimes try “mud masks”, but doctors advise doing this with caution. It is best to travel in the summer, as the road can become impassable after rain.
By the way, the only volcano in Ukraine was previously considered to be the Karadag volcano (near Koktebel). From the point of view of geology, it is considered extinct. But many call it “dormant” or “potentially active”.
This volcano was formed about 150 million years ago (during the Jurassic period). It last erupted about 1 million years ago. Karadag volcano is the only ancient volcano preserved in Ukraine and all of Eastern Europe.
Legends and beliefs
Local people believed that the volcano in Starun was the “door to hell”, through which the earth “exhales” its power. Others said that the mud from the crater had a magical ability to take away diseases. Therefore, it is not surprising that even now some tourists collect “dirt” from the volcano for home treatments.
Source: rbc.ua
