Visit Piparo Mud Volcano

One of the island's natural curiosities. The bubbling mud both inside and around the volcano sure is a strange sight!!

Trinidad is one of the countries that have a preponderance of mud volcanoes. Occasionally these volcanoes extrude material with violent force, throwing rocks hundreds of feet into the air. Commonly the activity of a mud volcano is simply a mild surface upwelling of muddy and usually saline water accompanied by gas bubbles.

TWENTY years ago today, the Piparo mud volcano erupted, burying homes, vehicles, and property, and triggering an emergency response effort that lasted for weeks. The village was declared a disaster area and some 300 residents evacuated after mud spewed as high as 200 feet into the air, killing some livestock, and knocking out the electricity and water supply.

Since that fateful day, an alternate route to Piparo was established through nearby Guaracara, and the original mud volcano now lies inactive at the site of the 1997 eruption. The remnants of destroyed houses, roads to nowhere, and general mayhem are still visible to this day.

Piparo’s mud volcano eruption is no isolated case in Trinidad. Though much rarer than their appearance on land, mud volcanoes also formed temporary islands off Trinidad in 1964 and 2001. Moreover, approximately 15 other mud volcanoes also exist in the area, making a tour of these fascinating and rare geological formations a great reminder of the weird ways nature continues to unexpectedly reassert mastery over her tenants.

Check out the amateur footage below showing the violent eruption that happened in 1997!