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Kuh-e-Sabalān; 4,740 m), the highest and spatially most extended volcano in northwestern Iran. SABALĀN MOUNTAIN (Kuh-e-Sabalān; 4,740 m), the highest and spatially most extended volcano in northwestern Iran. The mountain and its surroundings are part of the Armenian-Azerbaijan knot of mountains, where Pontus and Taurus mountain chains have their eastern roots and Alborz and Zagros their starting point. Thus, the whole region is a highly active tectonic and volcanic area stretching over an east-west extension …

i. Forests and Forestry in Persia. ii. Forests and Forestry in Afghanistan. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 1, pp. 86-90 FORESTS AND FORESTRY i. In Persia Less than 2 percent of Persia is covered by forests, while another 8 to 9 percent may be regarded as depleted former forest areas. Thus, altogether 150-160,000 km² are, or have been, densely forested areas (FIGURE 1). From a botanical and ecological perspective, Persia’s forest vegetation is not uniform. On the contrary, in line with the country’s ecological differentiation, Ha…

(Kuh-e Sahand), With 3710 m the third of the great volcanoes in the volcano province of Eastern Anatolia and Northwestern Iran, the other two being Ararat and Sabalān. SAHAND MOUNTAIN (Kuh-e Sahand), With 3710 m the third of the great volcanoes in the volcano province of Eastern Anatolia and Northwestern Iran, the other two being Ararat and Sabalān (qq.v.). In its geological history and structure comparable to the Kuh-e- Sabalān, the Kuh-e Sahand marks the southern fringe of the highly active volcanic-tectonic geological pr…

OVERVIEW of the entry: i. Geography, ii. Dašt-e Gorgān, iii. Population, iv. Archeology, v. Pre-Islamic history, vi. History from the rise of Islam to the beginning of the Safavid Period, vii. To the end of the Pahlavi era. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 2, pp. 139-154 GORGĀN i. Geography GORGĀN, the ancient Hyrcania, an important Persian province at the southeast corner of the Caspian sea. In June 1997, the eastern part of the Māzandarān Province, consisting of the two sub-provinces of Gorgān and Gonbad-e Kāvus/Qābus (formerly c…

Pastoral nomadism is a livelihood form that is ecologically adjusted at a particular level to the utilization of marginal resources. These resources occur in areas too dry, too elevated, or too steep for agriculture to be a viable mode of livelihood, and the nomadic pastoralist thus makes use of resources that otherwise would be neglected. i. Pastoral nomadism This form of nomadism is a very old way of life that differentiated in time and space, and developed a variety of genres de vie. Pastoral nomadism is difficult to define with an overarching and all-embracing definition.…

With a length of 670 km the Safidrud is the second largest river of Iran. Its headwaters are located in the Zagros ranges of northwestern Iran in the province of Kordestān. Originating in the mountain range of the Kuh-e Čehel Čašma, the headwater region is moist and rainy. SAFIDRUD (lit. White River), the Amardos of the Classical sources, the largest Iranian river discharging into the Caspian Sea, which it reaches in Gilan Province after flowingthrough the southeastern part of Azerbaijan. The largest part of Iran is characterized by internal …

the third longest river in Iran after the rivers Karun and Safidrud, flowing in the western provinces of the country. It rises from the Zagros mountain range. A version of this article is available in print Volume XV, Fascicle 6, pp. 583-585 KARḴEH RIVER (Rud-e Karḵeh), the third longest river in Iran after the rivers Karun and Safidrud,flowing in the western provinces of the country. It rises from the Zagros mountain range and, flowing for about 755 km in a southwestward direction, reaches the Hur-al-ʿAẓim lagoon on the Iran-Iraq border…

(DARYĀČA-ye QOM, or Qom Basin), also called Daryāča-ye Sāva, one of the interior watersheds in northwestern Persia (see DRAINAGE). It is situated between the southern flanks of the western Alborz system and the eastern slope of the northern Zagros, and covers just over 92,000 km². QOM LAKE (DARYĀČA-ye QOM, or Qom Basin), also called Daryāča-ye Sāva, one of the interior watersheds in northwestern Persia (see DRAINAGE). It is situated between the southern flanks of the western Alborz system and the eastern slope of the northern Zagros, and co…

and ice fields in Persia. Due to Persia’s location in the very center of the arid dry belt, stretching from North Africa in the west to Central Asia in the east, and also due to its very specific topography, glaciers and/or permanent ice fields are restricted and concentrated in a very few locations. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 1, pp. 7-9 GLACIERS and ice fields in Persia. Due to Persia’s location in the very center of the arid dry belt, stretching from North Africa in the west to Central Asia in the east, and also due to …

(or simply Hāmun), lit. “lake of the plain, lowland,” a lake covering the deepest part of the Sistān depression and the Sistān watershed. A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 6, pp. 646-648 HĀMUN, DARYĀČA-YE (Lake Hāmun, lit. “lake of the plain, lowland”), also called Hāmun-e Helmand (Av. Haētumant- “provided with banks,” AirWb., cols. 1728-29; Gk. Etymandros, Pauly Wissowa, VI/1, cols. 806-7), a lake in Sistān covering the deepest part of the Sistān depression and the Sistān watershed. HĀMUN, DARYĀČA-YE i. GEOGRAPHY The Sistān basin is the easternmo…

This article is concerned with those aspects of the geology of Persia that are of immediate economic and cultural significance for the country and its inhabitants, primarily (1) geological structure and orohydrographic differentiation of Persia, (2) geology and natural hazards, and (3) geology and natural resources. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 5, pp. 456-460 GEOLOGY. This article is concerned with those aspects of the geology of Persia that are of immediate economic and cultural significance for the country and its i…

town and sub-province in Lorestan Province in western Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 4, pp. 375-376 BORUJERD, town and sub-province in Lorestan Province in western Iran. i. BORŪJERD BORŪJERD (or Barūjerd), town and šahrestān in the province of Lorestān in western Iran. Situated along the highway between Tehran and the oil province of Ḵūzestān and located halfway between Hamadān and Kermānšāh (now Bāḵtarān), Borūjerd has always been a road and railway junction of great strategic importance. Little is known about the origins and the earl…

( sayl, sayl-āb) in Persia. i. Geographical survey. ii. Historical survey. Surplus or deficit of water, mainly caused by Persia’s topography, undergoes seasonal variations with decisively stronger precipitation during the winter months, which explains why floods occur predominantly during these periods. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 1, pp. 39-43 i. GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY A common saying holds that probably more people died in deserts by being drowned than by thirst. Such a statement indicates that even in extremely dry …

(now referred to officially as Gonbad-e Kāvus) is the administrative center of the sub-province ( šahrestān) of the same name and the urban center of the Turkman tribal area in northern Persia. It is named after its major monument, a tall tower that marks the grave of the Ziyarid ruler Qābus b. Vošmgir (r. 978-1012). A version of this article is available in print Volume XI, Fascicle 2, pp. 126-129 GONBAD-E QĀBUS (KĀVUS), city and sub-province in the Golestān Province. i. GEOGRAPHY The city of Gonbad-e Qābus (now referred to officially as Gonbad-e Kāvus) is the administrative…

There is a special kind of spring, the karst spring, in areas which have no consistent water table. The water usually collects in great clefts within chalky formations or flows in a subterranean channel and often includes the best-known springs in Iran. A version of this article is available in print Volume 1, Fascicle 1, pp. 43-46 ĀB-E GARM “warm water”: hot springs and mineral springs in Iran (Figure 10). Springs in general. Springs are defined as places on the earth’s surface where underground water fed by rainfall issues forth either continuously or periodically…

town and oilfield in the province of Ḵūzestān, southwestern Persia. A version of this article is available in print Volume X, Fascicle 3, pp. 245 GAČSĀRĀN, town and oilfield in the province of Ḵūzestān, southwestern Persia. Gačsārān, located in the arid foothills of the Zagros, approximately 70 to 80 km southeast of Behbahān, owes its growth to the discovery of oil, which was found there in 1928. Gačsārān subsequently developed into one of the most important oilfields in Persia. It has been exploited commercially since …

i. Iranian plateau. ĀB. ii. Southwestern Persia. iii. Afghanistan. From a hydrological perspective, southwestern Persia must be considered as part of the Persian Gulf drainage region. Extending over an area of more than 350,000 km², its main drainage area covers the central and southwestern Zagros mountain areas with their extremely complex geomorphology. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 6, pp. 596-600 i. IRANIAN PLATEAU. See ĀB. ii. SOUTHWESTERN PERSIA From a hydrological perspective, southwestern Persia must be considered as part o…

“salt river.” The name ābšūr is very common in Iran for those rivers with a high salt content. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 3, pp. 247-248 ĀBŠŪR RŪD “salt river.” The name ābšūr is very common in Iran for those rivers with a high salt content. Salt may generally arrive from two sources: firstly, from minerals of the soil which are transported to the surface by the upward direction of groundwater and by soil-water evaporation due to the arid climate of most of Iran (see Kavīr); secondly, from solu…

island in the Persian Gulf.A version of this article is available in printVolume I, Fascicle 4, pp. 345-346i. DescriptionAbū Mūsā, situated near 26° north latitude and 55° east longitude, is about two miles long and only a few square miles in area. It rises to a maximum 360 feet in height, consists of coral limestone and volcanic material, is covered with a thin grassy steppe, and lacks a natural growth of trees. This island’s location at the end of the Persian Gulf, near the strait of Hormoz, is strategically fa…

Persian term for those agricultural lands which are irrigated. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 2, pp. 217 ĀBĪ, Persian term for those agricultural lands which are irrigated; unirrigated (i.e., rain-fed) fields are called daymī (see discussion s.v. Agriculture). Cf. also the more specialized term fāyrāb/pāyrāb, applied to lands irrigated by diversion of river water. The two traditional forms of irrigation are diversion of stream water and use of the qanāt; both can be traced to pre-Achaemenid times and may be seen as causes of the early…