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News: India’s only mud volcano at Baratang in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands erupted on October 2 after over two decades of dormancy.
About Baratang Island
- Location: It lies in the North and Middle Andaman district, nearly 150 km from Port Blair.
- Ranchiwalas Island is another name for Baratang Island.
- This island is inhabited mainly by the migrated Chota Nagpuri tribes.
- Size: The island covers about 242.6 sq. km.
- Cultural Heritage: Baratang Island is also home to the Jarawa tribe, one of the indigenous tribes of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Distinctive Features of Baratang Island: It include the limestone caves, the Mud Volcano, Parrot Island, and Baludera Beach.
- Baratang Mud Volcano
- Baratang’s mud volcano, locally called “jalki,” is India’s only mud volcano.
- It releases a mix of mud, decomposed organic matter, and gases that forms a bubbling pool with small craters and striking surface features.
- Previous eruption: A violent eruption was last reported in 2005.
- Process of formation: Gases generated deep inside the earth from decaying organic matter build pressure below the surface.
- This pressure pushes mud and gas upward, and as they escape, they create bubbles and craters that shape the Baratang mud volcano.
