Baku, May 17, AZERTAC
One of the most famous and popular tourist places of the “eternal flame” in Azerbaijan is Mount Yanardagh (literally “burning mountain”), which is located 25 km north of Baku in the village of Mahammadi.
The slope of this hill from ancient times engulfed in flames. The fire is about a meter high and ten meters wide rises from the crest of a limestone hill.
Flames jet into the air 3 metres (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer.
Unlike mud volcanoes, the Yanardagh flame burns fairly steadily, as it involves a steady seep of gas from the subsurface.
It is claimed that the Yanardagh flame was only noted when accidentally lit by a shepherd in the 1950s. There is no seepage of mud or liquid, which distinguishes it from the nearby mud volcanoes of Lokbatan or Gobustan.
Apart from Yanardagh, the most famous site of such a fire is the Fire Temple near Baku, off the Greater Caucasus, which is a religious site known as an ateshgah, meaning temple of fire.
Since 2007, Yanardagh has been taken under state protection, and its territory has been declared a State Historical, Cultural and Natural Reserve to protect this landmark and support tourism in the area.
