These asphalt volcanoes, virtually unique in the world, provide a rare habitat in a region known for its underwater biodiversity. Scientists first discovered asphalt volcanoes in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, a team led by UC Santa Barbara Professor Dave Valentine documented two volcanoes in the Santa Barbara Channel, which they named Il Duomo and Il Duomito; the taller of the two, Il Duomo, is about 65 feet tall. “Even in our channel, that has lots of seeps, there’s only two asphalt volcanoes that we know of,” said lead author Milton Love, a researcher at UC Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute. Although dormant now, the asphalt volcanoes are relatively new features.
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