Yanar Dagh

For the Akhal-Teke horse, see Yanardag.
Yanar Dagh
Yanar Dagh at night
Yanar Dagh at night
Yanar Dagh is located in Azerbaijan
Yanar Dagh
Yanar Dagh
Coordinates: 40°30′6.6″N 49°53′28.51″E / 40.501833°N 49.8912528°E / 40.501833; 49.8912528
Country Azerbaijan

Yanar Dagh (Azerbaijani: Yanar Dağ, lit. 'burning mountain') is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (a country which itself is known as "the Land of Fire"). Flames jet 3 metres (9.8 ft) into the air from a thin, porous sandstone layer.[1][2]

Unlike mud volcanoes, the Yanar Dagh flame burns fairly steadily, as it is fed by a constant seep of gas from the subsurface. There is no seepage of mud or liquid, which distinguishes it from the nearby mud volcanoes of Lokbatan or Gobustan. It is claimed that the Yanar Dagh flame was only noted when accidentally lit by a shepherd in the 1950s.[3]

Administratively, Yanar Dagh belongs to Absheron District of Azerbaijan. On the territory of Yanar Dagh, the State Historical-Cultural and Natural Reserve was established by the presidential decree dated 2 May 2007 which operates under the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan. After major overhaul between 2017 and 2019, Yanar Dagh Museum and Yanar Dagh Cromlech Stone Exhibition were launched in the area of the Reserve.[4][5]

Since the first millennium BCE, the fire served as a link between humans and supernatural powers in the Zoroastrian religion.[6]

  1. ^ Kleveman, Lutz (2003). The new great game: blood and oil in Central Asia. Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 15. ISBN 0-87113-906-5. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  2. ^ "Mud Volcanoes: Land of fire". Azerbaijan International. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  3. ^ Mark Elliot. "Azerbaijan with Georgia".
  4. ^ "Azərbaycan Prezidentinin Rəsmi internet səhifəsi - XƏBƏRLƏR » Tədbirlər". president.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  5. ^ "Decree on the establishment of Yanardag State Historical-Cultural and Natural Reserve". www.e-qanun.az. Archived from the original on 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  6. ^ O'Hare, Maureen (2018-10-31). "The fire that's been burning for 4,000 years". CNN Travel. Retrieved 2019-12-26.