Mud volcanoes in

Baluchistan
Mud volcanoes in
balochistan
Pakistan's Balochistan province
is gifted with a diverse landscape.
Among many geological wonders
here, one big attraction is the
presence of 18 mud volca-
noes. In fact world's largest and
highest known mud volcano is lo-
cated in Balochistan. The altitude
of highest mud volcano here
is 300 ft. The mud volcanoes of
Balochistan are not only located
on the land but from time to time
they appear as small temporary
islands in the Arabian Sea also.
There are two known groups
of mud volcanoes here. One
is called 'Chandargup' and
other is called 'Jabl-ul-
Ghurab'. Ver y close to
Chandargup is an ancient
Hindu temple
called 'Hinglaj temple' or
'Nani Temple'. Due to close
proximity of the mud volca-
no to a Hindu temple, it is
very likely that the word
Chandargup is actually de-
rived from the
word 'Chandargupt'. An-
other word which locally
mentions this group of vol-
canoes is 'Chandra coop
'which means Volcanoes of
the Moon.
History of mud volcanoes in
Balochistan
The earliest account of the pres-
ence of mud volcanoes in Balo-
chistan dates back to 1840. In
1862 Major (later Sir) Freder-
ick John Goldsmid was em-
ployed by the Governor of Bom-
bay for special missions. One
such mission was a foray into
Makran lasting from December
12, 1861 to January
1862. Goldsmid and his party
commenced their journey over-
land from Karachi and wrote a
diary of their travels up to
Gwadar. This travelogue writes
about the mud volcanoes, which
gives the first detailed account of
their existence. In his journal
Goldsmid writes about passing
through bubbling springs
near Ras Koocheri, taking de-
tours to see ancient Hindu tem-
ples of Hinglaj and the mud vol-
canoes near Ormara. The Hin-
dus worship these mud volca-
noes as the habitation of a dei-
ty Babhaknath..
Made by Sana Fatima and
Irshad Fatima.