What are mud volcanoes? Are they real volcanoes?

Mud volcanoes are vents/fractures through which natural gas such as methane exit, entraining a slurry of mud and sand with it, which they will spew at the surface. Mud volcanoes are not real volcanoes and are not as hazardous as real volcanoes since they can only emit warm mud and only very locally (a few hundred meters around them). Mud volcanoes are generally encountered in areas where natural gas is present. “Real” volcanoes are different. They erupt when magma (i.e., molten rocks) reach the surface and become lava.