Description of the attraction
On the Kerch Peninsula, near the village of Vulkanovka, a dozen kilometers south of the village of Leninskoye, next to the Kerch-Feodosia road, you can see Dzhau-Tepe, a one-of-a-kind mud volcano. Dzhau-Tepe from the Crimean Tatar dialect is translated as "enemy mountain" (or "dangerous with its mud streams"). Another version of the interpretation of the name is proposed by NN Klepinin - "dripping with mud."
This area is characterized by steppe vegetation. A high hill (about 60 m) with steep slopes and ravines crossing its foot attracts attention. This is a mud volcano, the famous Jau Tepe. The mud, repeatedly pouring out from its top, covers the slopes of the hill. To the south of the volcano, you can observe a hydrogen sulphide spring with a significant inflow of water.
Dzhau-Tepe mud products are very significant, their area is about 1.5 square kilometers, the volume is 55 million cubic meters. The mud volcano is located on the dome of the Vulkanovskaya anticline, which is located almost horizontally.
A large hill appeared in the 17th century, according to P. S. Pallas, after another eruption. The settlement spread out on the hillside was completely destroyed by the mud stream coming from the top. In the 19th century, Jau-Tepe was "sleeping". Violent activity began in the first decades of the 20th century, there were a number of powerful eruptions. So, in February 1909, a large crack formed at the top of the volcano. And a month later, an eruption occurred, which was watched by P. A. Dvoichenko. According to his description, “first the summit swelled up a fathom, then it went down a few fathoms below its usual position, as a result cracks appeared, and then the outer rampart broke, and the mud stream (5 fathoms in width) slowly crept down the slope. the next day, a liquid mud mass with the smell of hydrogen sulfide appeared, a stream 160 fathoms long, 20-30 fathoms wide and 1 to 3 fathoms thick appeared. During the third day, a thick mud mass flowed slowly, but soon it stopped. About 8 million poods made up the weight of the entire mud stream."
Jau Tepe was an inactive volcano throughout the second half of the 20th century. The mud from the hill gradually began to erode, turn brown, and cracks formed in it. The content of this mud is rich in sandstone, limestone and calcite crystals.
Maikop clays lie in the depths of the Kerch Peninsula. The oil and gas potential of these clays has caused numerous eruptions in Dzhau Tepe.
