Iran

Iran (Persian: ?????) is a Middle Eastern country located in Southwest Asia bordering Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkmenistan to the north, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, Turkey and Iraq to the west. Although locally known as Iran at least since the Sassanian period, until 1935 the country was referred to in the West as Persia. In 1959, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi announced that both terms could be used. In 1979 a revolution which was eventually led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, established a theocratic Islamic Republic, changing the country's official name into the Islamic Republic of Iran (?????? ?????? ?????). The name Iran is a cognate of the Aryan meaning "Land of the Aryans."

Geography

Main article: Geography of Iran

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Iran borders Azerbaijan (length of border: 500 km) and Armenia (35 km) to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan (1000 km) to the northeast, Pakistan (909 km) and Afghanistan (936 km) to the east, Turkey (500 km) and Iraq (1458 km) to the west, and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the south. Iran's total land mass is 1.648 million sq km (Land: 1.636 million sq km, Water: 12,000 sq km).

Related Topics:
Azerbaijan - Armenia - Caspian Sea - Turkmenistan - Pakistan - Afghanistan - Turkey - Iraq - Persian Gulf - Gulf of Oman

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Iran's landscape is dominated by rugged mountain ranges that separate various basins or plateaus from one another. The populous western part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Zagros and Alborz Mountains, the latter of which also contains Iran's highest point, the Damavand at 5,671 m. The eastern half consists mostly of uninhabited desert basins with the occasional salt lake.

Related Topics:
Zagros - Alborz - Damavand - Desert - Salt lake

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The only large plains are found along the coast of the Caspian Sea and at the northern end of the Persian Gulf, where Iran borders on the mouth of the Arvand river (Shatt al-Arab). Smaller, discontinuous plains are found along the remaining coast of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman. The Iranian climate is mostly arid or semiarid, though subtropical along the Caspian coast. Iran is considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity".

Related Topics:
Caspian Sea - Persian Gulf - Shatt al-Arab - Strait of Hormuz - Sea of Oman - Climate - Cradle of Humanity

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Climate

Iran's varied landscape produces several different climates. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) the temperatures nearly fall below freezing and remains humid for the rest of the year and summer temperatures rarley exceed 29 degrees celsius. Annual precipitation is 680 mm (26 in) in the eastern part of the plain and more than 1700 mm (75 in) in the western side of the plain. At higher elevations to the west, settlements in the Zagros mountains basins experience lower temperatures. These areas have severe winters, with average daily temperatures below freezing and have heavy snowfall. The eastern and central basins are arid and get less than 200 mm ( 8 in) of rain and have occasional desert. The average summer temperatures exceed above 38 degrees celsius. The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters and very humid and hot summers. Annual percipitation ranges from 135 mm to 355 mm (6 to 14 in).

Related Topics:
Climate - Temperatures - Precipitation - Zagros mountains - Snowfall - Desert - Persian Gulf - Gulf of Oman

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See also: List of cities in Iran.

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