Iran

Britannica Educational Publishing, Laura Etheredge

• Publisher: Britannica Educational Publishing
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9781615304011
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

Iran's cultural and historical significance is unquestionable. The land of celebrated poets such as Rumi and Hafez, as well as the magnificent ruins of Persepolis, it is a place where ancient traditions are revered. With over half of its population under the age of 30, however, Iran also embraces modernity, all the while never losing sight of the various Persian, Turkic, Arab, and Islamic influences that have made the country what it is today. This absorbing volume considers the geographical, cultural, political, and historical elements of this often turbulent, but always fascinating, country.

CHAPTER 1
LAND

Iran is a mountainous, arid, ethnically diverse country of southwestern Asia. Much of Iran consists of a central desert plateau, which is ringed on all sides by lofty mountain ranges that afford access to the interior through high passes. Most of the population lives on the edges of this forbidding, waterless waste. The capital is Tehrān, a sprawling, jumbled metropolis at the southern foot of the Elburz (Alborz) Mountains.

Iran, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Iran is bounded to the north by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea, to the east by Pakistan and Afghanistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Iran also controls about a dozen islands in the Persian Gulf. About one-third of its 4,770-mile (7,680-km) boundary is seacoast.

RELIEF

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A series of massive, heavily eroded mountain ranges surrounds Iran’s high interior basin. Most of the country is above 1,500 feet (460 metres), with one-sixth of it over 6,500 feet (1,980 metres). In sharp contrast are the coastal regions outside the mountain ring. In the north a strip 400 miles (650 km) long bordering the Caspian Sea and never more than 70 miles (115 km) wide (and frequently narrower) falls sharply from 10,000-foot (3,000-metre) summits to the marshy lake’s edge, some 90 feet (30 metres) below sea level. Along the southern coast the land drops away from a 2,000-foot (600-metre) plateau, backed by a rugged escarpment three times as high, to meet the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The Zagros (Zāgros) Mountains stretch from the border with Armenia in the northwest to the Persian Gulf and thence eastward into the Baluchistan (Balūchestān) region. Farther to the south the range broadens into a band of parallel ridges 125 miles (200 km) wide that lies between the plains of Mesopotamia and the great central plateau of Iran. The range is drained on the west by streams that cut deep, narrow gorges and water fertile valleys. The land is extremely rugged and difficult to access, and is populated largely by pastoral nomads.

The Elburz Mountains run along the south shore of the Caspian Sea to meet the border ranges of the Khorāsān region to the east. The tallest of the chain’s many volcanic peaks, some of which are still active, is snow-clad Mount Damāvand (Demavend), which is also Iran’s highest point. Many parts of Iran are isolated and poorly surveyed, and the elevation of many of its peaks are still in dispute; the height of Mount Damāvand is generally given as 18,605 feet (5,671 metres).

The Zagros Mountains rise above pasture-lands, southwestern Iran. Fred J. Maroon/ Photo Researchers

VOLCANIC AND TECTONIC ACTIVITY

Mount Taftān, a massive cone reaching 13,261 feet (4,042 metres) in southeastern Iran, emits gas and mud at sporadic intervals. In the north, however, Mount Damāvand has been inactive in historical times, as have Mount Sabalān (15,787 feet [4,812 metres]) and Mount Sahand (12,172 feet [3,710 metres]) in the northwest. The volcanic belt extends some 1,200 miles (1,900 km) from the border with Azerbaijan in the northwest to Baluchistan in the southeast. In addition, in the northwestern section of the country, lava and ashes cover a 200-mile (320-km) stretch of land from Jolfā on the border with Azerbaijan eastward to the Caspian Sea. A third volcanic region, which is 250 miles (400 km) long and 40 miles (65 km) wide, runs between Lake Urmia (Orūmiyyeh) and the city of Qazvīn.

Earthquake activity is frequent and violent throughout the country. During the 20th century—when reliable records were available—there were fully a dozen earthquakes of 7.0 or higher on the Richter scale that took large numbers of lives. In 1990 as many as 50,000 people were killed by a powerful tremor in the Qazvīn-Zanjān area. In 2003 a relatively weak quake struck the ancient town of Bam in eastern Kermān province, leveling the town and destroying a historic fortress. More than 25,000 people perished.

Mount Damāvand

Mount Damāvand (also spelled Demavend, Persian: Qolleh-ye Damāvand) is an extinct volcanic peak of the Elburz Mountains, about 42 miles (68 km) northeast of Tehrān, in northern Iran. Estimates of its height vary from about 18,400 feet (5,600 metres) to more than 19,000 feet (5,800 metres), and it dominates the surrounding ranges by 3,000 to 8,000 feet (900 to 2,450 metres). Its steep, snowcapped cone is formed of lava flows and ash and is crowned by a small crater with sulfuric deposits. Below the crater are two small glaciers. There also are fuma-roles (holes for escaping fumes and gases), hot springs, and mineral deposits of travertine. Mount Damāvand is mentioned in several Persian legends, one of which gives it as the resting place of Noah’s ark.

Mount Damāvand, the highest peak in the Elburz Mountains, Iran. The J. Allan Cash Photolibrary

THE INTERIOR PLATEAU

The arid interior plateau, which extends into Central Asia, is cut by several smaller mountain ranges, the largest being the Kopet-Dag (Koppeh Dāgh) Range. In the flatlands lie the plateau’s most remarkable features, the Kavīr and Lūt deserts, also called Kavīr-e Lūt. At the lowest elevations, series of basins in the poorly drained soil remain dry for months at a time. The evaporation of any accumulated water produces the salt wastes known as kavīrs. As elevation rises, surfaces of sand and gravelly soil gradually merge into fertile soil on the hillsides and mountain slopes.

DRAINAGE

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The few streams emptying into the desiccated central plateau dissipate in saline marshes. The general drainage pattern is down the outward slopes of the mountains, terminating in the sea. There are three large rivers, but only one—the Kārūn—is navigable. It originates in the Zagros Mountains and flows south to the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rūd), which empties into the Persian Gulf. The Sefīd (Safid) River originates in the Elburz Mountains in the north and runs as a mountain stream for most of its length but flows rapidly into the Gīlān plain and then to the Caspian Sea. The Dez Dam in Dezfūl is one of the largest in the Middle East. The Sefīd River Dam, completed in the early 1960s at Manjīl, generates hydroelectric power and provides water for irrigation.

Dezfūl, on the east bank of the Dez River, Iran. Fred J. Maroon—Photo Researchers

Dam on the Kārūn River, Iran. Dennis Briskin/Tom Stack & Associates

The Zāyandeh River, the lifeline of Eṣfahān province, also originates in the Zagros Mountains, flowing southeastward to Gāv Khūnī Marsh (Gāvkhāneh Lake), a swamp northwest of the city of Yazd. The completion of the Kūhrang Dam in 1971 diverted water from the upper Kārūn through a tunnel 2 miles (3 km) long into the Zāyandeh for irrigation purposes.

Other streams are seasonal and variable. Spring floods do enormous damage, while in summer many streams disappear. However, water is stored naturally underground, finding its outlet in springs and tap wells.

The largest inland body of water, Lake Urmia, in northwestern Iran, covers an area that varies from about 2,000 to 2,300 square miles (5,200 to 6,000 square km). Other lakes are principally seasonal, and all have a high salt content.

Kārūn River

The Kārūn River (Persian: Rūd-e Kārūn, known in ancient times as Ulai, or Eulaeus) is a river in southwestern Iran and a tributary of the Shatt al-Arab, which it joins at Khorramshahr. It rises in the Bakhtīārī Mountains west of Eṣfahān and follows a tortuous course trending basically southwest. The Kārūn’s total length is 515 miles (829 km), though the direct distance from its source to the junction with the Shatt al-Arab is only 180 miles (290 km). Its catchment basin up to Ahvāz has an area of 22,069 square miles (57,059 square km), of which 7,000 square miles (18,130 square km) belong to its main tributary, the Dez. Most of the area is mountainous, forming part of the limestone Zagros ranges.

The river’s course divides into three parts: from the sources to Gatvand, where the river emerges from the mountains; from Gatvand to Band-e Qīr, where it is joined by the Dez; and from Band-e Qīr through Ahvāz southward to the Shatt al-Arab. In its upper course the Kārūn is a powerful stream, increasing in volume as it is successively joined by its tributaries. For long stretches it flows rapidly between high precipices. At Band-e Qīr, the river, enlarged by the Dez, is navigable to its mouth except for about 2 miles (3 km) of rapids at Ahvāz. Below Ahvāz the river is sometimes too shallow for navigation, especially during the dry season. Seasonal variation in discharge rate shows the lowest water level to be in October, and the highest, as the result of combined precipitation and meltwater, in April.

Formerly the Kārūn had a lower course that was separated from and to the east of the Shatt al-Arab. In 1765, however, the river changed to its present course through the apparently artificial Ḥaffār Channel. According to the geographer al-Maqdisī, this channel was dug in 986 CE to facilitate water communication between Ahvāz and Basra. This change resulted in frontier disputes between the Ottoman Empire and Iran, disputes that were settled by the treaty of Erzurum (1847), giving Iran access to the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab and the right to use the waterway.

The Kārūn up to Ahvāz was opened to international navigation in 1888, and boat services were later established between Ahvāz and Band-e Qīr. Shipping on the lower course of the Kārūn has become increasingly important owing to oil drilling and refining in the vicinity. A dam and tunnel on the river were completed in 1971 to increase the water supply of Eṣfahān.

SOILS

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Soil patterns in Iran vary widely. The abundant subtropical vegetation of the Caspian coastal region is supported by rich brown forest soils. Mountain soils are shallow layers over bedrock, with a high proportion of unweathered fragments. Natural erosion moves the finer-textured so...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Land
• Chapter 2: People
• Chapter 3: Economy
• Chapter 4: Government and Society
• Chapter 5: Cultural Life
• Chapter 6: History
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index