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part of the Lake Nīrīz basin situated about 1,525 m above sea level in the province of Fārs, approximately 50 km east of Shiraz. At present, it is common to divide the basin of the Nīrīz into a northern portion ( daryāča-ye Ṭašk) and a larger southern part ( daryāča-ye Baḵtagān). A version of this article is available in print Volume III, Fascicle 5, pp. 538-539 BAḴTAGĀN LAKE, part of the Lake Nīrīz basin situated about 1,525 m above sea level in the province of Fārs, approximately 50 km east of Shiraz. Originally identical with the Nīrīz lake itself, it has be…

The Ask springs, like those in other places around the base of Damāvand, are as yet used only by the local inhabitants. It remains to be seen whether they would repay commercial development (in the form of spa baths, bottling plants, etc.). A version of this article is available in print Volume II, Fascicle 7, pp. 767-768 ASK SPRINGS (Figure 53). Situated at the foot of Damāvand (5,670 m) in the valley of the Harāz-rūd, Ask is one of a number of places in the Alborz where one finds thermal mineral springs (see Āb-e Garm). The town itself is 1,700m abov…

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.…

(Talḵa-rūd, “Bitter river”), a river some 200 km in length which flows into Lake Urumia. Due to the mountain origins of many of its source rivers and tributaries, the flow of the river shows marked seasonal variations. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 7, pp. 701-702 ĀJĪ ČĀY ( Talḵa-rūd, “Bitter river”), a river some 200 km in length which rises on the western flank of Kūh-e Sabalān near Sarāb and flows into Lake Urmia (Reżāʾīya) near the town of Gogān. In its upper and middle reaches, east of Tabrīz, numerous small …

mountain range in northeastꏂern Iran between Mašhad in the east and Nīšāpūr in the west with elevations of up to 3,211 m. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 3, pp. 261-262 BĪNĀLŪD, KŪH-E, mountain range in northeastern Iran between Mašhad in the east and Nīšāpūr in the west with elevations of up to 3,211 m. Geologically, the Bīnālūd ranges are of special importance as the orographic link between the Paropamisus mountains (belonging to the Hindu Kush system) and the Alborz of northern Iran. Due to th…

a group of isolated oasis settlements in central Iran, stretching over an area of 70 by 90 miles of what is mostly desert. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 2, pp. 196 BĪĀBĀNAK, a group of oasis settlements in central Iran. Located approximately between 54° 15’ and 55° 15’ E and 35° 10’ N, these isolated desert settlements stretch over an area of 70 by 90 miles of what is mostly desert. The administrative district of Ḵūr (Ḵᵛor)-Bīābānak is one of three baḵšes in the šahrestān of Nāʾīn. The whole district is bounded in the north by the salt swamps of t…

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 Persian national weather service first began publishing its observations only in the year 1956, when a network of synoptic observation stations was first constructed in conforꏂmity with international standards; detailed data for many parts of the country are thus available for only about twenty-five or thirty years. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 7, pp. 707-713 CLIMATE. Both the climate of Persia as a whole and the differences in weather among its various regions are determined primarily by its location within the ari…

KHORRAMABAD (Ḵorramābād), a town and district in Lorestān, Central Zagros.Khorramabad and Lorestān have both been of great historical importance until the middle of the 20th century due to the extremely important strategic location of the region and the political and military strength of local leaders. It must be pointed out for the sake of clarity that Lorestān in its historical and ethnological setting covers a much larger area than the present province does. Historically, Lorestān used to be divided i…

name of a drainage system that covers several streams and small rivers along the eastern flank of the Alvand Kūh; it flows north into the kavīr of Qom. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 3, pp. 247 ĀBŠĪNA HAMADĀN RŪD, name of a drainage system that covers several streams and small rivers along the eastern flank of the Alvand Kūh; it flows north into the kavīr of Qom. The annual discharge of this river system varies between approx. 100 million cu m and 500 million cu m, depending on the amount of winter precipitation and the consequen…

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…

“spring.” Iran and Afghanistan, as well as wide parts of Central Asia, have a great variety of natural springs. A very general classification divides all springs into (1) those produced by gravity acting on the groundwater, (2) those that have their origins in tectonic volcanic forces within the earth’s crust. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 1, pp. 37-38 ČAŠMA (spring). Although mainly characterized by dry and arid climatic conditions, Iran and Afghanistan, as well as wide parts of Central Asia, have a great variety of natur…

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 …

mountain range near Hamadān, an isolated massif at a point of junction between the Zagros folds and the central Iranian plateau. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 9, pp. 915-916 ALVAND KŪH, mountain range near Hamadān, an isolated massif at a point of junction between the Zagros folds and the central Iranian plateau. It consists mainly of intrusive granites and diorites, which were thrust through geosynclinal sediments in tectonic processes connected with the orogenesis of the Zagros in late Jurassi…

Title of the person given official charge of the irrigation of ābī “irrigated” lands. A version of this article is available in print Volume I, Fascicle 4, pp. 405 ĀBYĀR, title of the person given official charge of the irrigation of ābī “irrigated” lands. He may be a farmer or sharecropper elected by the cultivators, in those villages where farmers work their own land (see Ḵorda-mālek, and Raʿīyat), or he may be appointed by a landlord. The ābyār’s duty is to oversee the just and equal distribution of irrigation water; he is compensated by either a share in the produce of the ābī lands or a fix…

a town and a šahrestān (county) in the Kurdistan province of Iran. The town, which has the highest elevation in Iran (1,920 m), lies ca. 120 miles north-northwest of Hamadān. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 3, pp. 254 BĪJĀR, a town and a šahrestān (county) in the Kurdistan province of Iran. The town, which has the highest elevation in Iran (1,920 m), lies ca. 120 miles north-northwest of Hamadān, on the old route from this city to Tabrīz, and is a center of an important and internationally renowned carpet ind…

(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…

( 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 …

second smallest province (ostān) of Persia in area, located in the Zagros mountains of southwestern Persia. A version of this article is available in print Volume IV, Fascicle 6, pp. 620-621 ČAHĀR MAḤĀ(L) WA BAḴTĪĀRĪ, second smallest province ( ostān) of Persia in area (Farajī et al., II, p. 533; after Kūhgīlūya wa Boir Aḥmad with 14,261 km2, ibid., p. 967), located in the Zagros mountains of southwestern Persia. It covers an area of 14,870 km2 (14,820 km2 acc. to Farajī et al., II, p. 533) between 31.14° and 32.47° N and between 49.49° and 51.24° E, bounded by the provi…

“lime,” a solid, white substance consisting essentially of calcium oxide.A version of this article is available in printVolume I, Fascicle 6, pp. 623-624i. ProductionCalcium oxide is produced by heating limestone and other forms of calcium carbonate to a temperature of more than 900° C (referred to as lime burning). Thereby carbon dioxide (CO2) is released from the carbonate. In commercial processing, pieces of natural limestone are heated in a charcoal kiln to a temperature of 900-1,200° C. Several different types of kiln are used; the shaft fur…