Asphalt Volcanoes In Dead Sea?

Are there submerged asphalt volcanoes in the Dead Sea and were they responsible for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?

In this post you will read about several magmatic domes found recently in the Dead Sea.

WHAT IS AN ASPHALT VOLCANO?

Asphalt Volcano

 

An asphalt volcano is a rare type of submarine volcano (seamount) first discovered in 2003. Several examples have been found: first, along the coasts of America and Mexico, and, recently, all over the world; a few are still active.^[1] Resembling seamounts in structure, they are made entirely of asphalt, and form when natural oil seeps up from the Earth's crust underwater. Asphalt volcanoes are ocean floor vents that erupt asphalt instead of lava.

 

The first asphalt volcanoes were discovered in 2003 by a research expedition to the Gulf of Mexico.^[2] They are located on a seafloor hill named "Chapopote," Nahuatl for "tar." The site is located in a field of salt domes known as the Campeche Knolls, a series of steep hills formed from salt bodies that rise from underlying rock, a common feature in the gulf.

 

All above taken from Wiki.

 

 

THE DEAD SEA This is an unstable area.  There is underground heat (thermal energy), as can be seen in the hot springs on both sides of the Dead Sea.*  There are also petroleum products, as can be seen in the oil slicks that occur regularly on the surface of the water.  Big chunks of tar or asphalt occasionally come floating to the surface.  This gave the Dead Sea its Roman name:  "Lake Asphaltitis" (the Lake of Asphalt).  In the time of the New Testament, Josephus reported that there were pieces of tar floating in the water the size and shape of "headless bulls" (Wars 4.479). 

 

 

Discussing recently discovered submarine asphalt volcanoes off the coast of California.....

 

They found brittle cascades of hardened asphalt rippling down the volcanoes' flanks. Though dormant, two still burped bubbles of methane here and there. Some were steep and craggy, looming in total darkness. Some had shallow craters at the top. All were made of solid asphalt.
The volcanoes are located in an area of the sea floor where layers of sediment have provided researchers with a kind of geophysical archive, like bands of a tree trunk. There also are tar deposits filled with remnants of ancient marine life. Read more at: http://phys.org/news191775179.html#jCp


Genesis 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.


It certainly looks as though the Dead Sea (Lake Asphalt) is home to some submarine asphalt volcanoes. More to come.