Ukraine has only one active volcano, a mud volcano in the village of Starun in Ivano-Frankivsk region. It is located in the Bogorodchansky district and is not a typical fiery volcano, but a clay-bitumen one. It was formed over a hundred years ago due to the extraction of ozokerite and oil. Oxygen in groundwater, descending to a depth of 600–1000 meters, oxidized the oil, which caused the rocks to heat up and mud craters to appear.
The new activity of the volcano began after a powerful earthquake in 1977 in the Vrancea Mountains (Romania). Since then, the first craters have formed, periodically spewing hot mud, gases and water. The height of the cone reaches 3 meters, and the diameter is about 50 meters. Its activity is accompanied by gurgling and hissing, similar to boiling water.
There are eight large and about twelve small craters in the area of the volcano. They are extremely sensitive to earthquakes occurring at a distance of 3 to 6,000 kilometers, from Italy to Central Asia. Due to this, the volcano is a natural indicator of seismic activity.
Mineralized mud and ozokerite, rich in useful components, accumulate in the area of the eruption. They have long been used in balneology and balneotherapy, so Starunya is visited not only by researchers, but also by lovers of medical tourism.
Next to the volcano, there is an "eternal flame" - the remains of a burned gas pipeline, which has not been extinguished for almost 30 years. Local residents tell of strange phenomena when cattle are drawn there, and some animals die in the hot oil swamps.
In addition, Starunya is known as an archaeological site: remains of flora and fauna from the Ice Age were found here, including the skeleton of a mammoth and the bones of two woolly rhinoceroses, which are now exhibited in museums in Lviv and Krakow.
The mud volcano in Starun is a unique natural phenomenon in Ukraine, which combines scientific value, tourist attraction, and health-improving potential.
