Iran Geography: A Comprehensive Overview of Southwestern Asia

Geography of Iran Browse the article Geography of Iran

Introduction to Geography of Iran

, a country of southwestern Asia. Until 1935 it was known in the West as Persia. Iran is bounded by Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Turkey. The area is about 636,300 square miles (1,648,000 km2).

Facts in brief about Iran

Physical Geography

Iran is a country in southwestern Asia, in an area of the world called the Middle East.Land

Iran consists mainly of mountain ranges encircling a high central plateau, sometimes called the Plateau of Iran. The Elburz Mountains in the north and northwest ring the shore of the Caspian Sea. In this range rises Damavand, a dormant volcano that crests at 18,606 feet (5,671 m)—highest elevation in the nation. In the west and southwest are the Zagros Mountains with numerous peaks reaching elevations of 13,000 to almost 15,000 feet (4,000 to 4,600 m). Lower mountains occur in the northeast, east, and southeast, mainly along the outer margins of the country.

Nearly all the rest of Iran is occupied by the central plateau, 3,000 to 5,000 feet (900 to 1,500 m) above sea level. Mountain ranges divide this region into a number of basins containing gravelly and salt-encrusted deserts, largest of which are Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut. The only lowlands are along the coasts of the Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf, especially the northern section.

Water

Virtually all of Iran's permanent rivers flow to the Caspian Sea or the Persian Gulf from the Zagros, Elburz, and Kopet Dagh mountains. There are few rivers in eastern Iran, where streams are generally intermittent and end in inland basins. The Karun River in the southwest is the only navigable river; it flows into the Shatt al Arab. Lake Urmia, which is salty and shallow, is the country's largest lake.

Climate

Iran has a continental climate, with hot summers and cold to mild winters, abundant sunshine, and strong winds. Summer heat is intense along the shores of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with temperatures sometimes rising above 120° F. (49° C.). Winter is coldest in the high mountains and on the plateau. Relatively mild winters occur along all the coasts. Most of the country receives scant rainfall; what rain does occur comes mainly during the winter and spring months. The heaviest precipitation—more than 40 inches (1,020 mm) per year—occurs in parts of the Elburz and Zagros mountains. The eastern deserts receive virtually no precipitation.

Economy

Iran's economy is heavily dependent on the international market for petroleum and petroleum products. After World War II, especially during the 1960's and 1970's, much was done by the government to transform Iran into a modern, industrial nation. The rapid rise in world petroleum prices in the 1970's and large Iranian oil exports provided the nation with enormous amounts of money to invest. Industrial growth and rapid change resulted in social and religious unrest and a revolution in 1979. During the 1980's growth of the economy slowed considerably, mainly because of a prolonged war with Iraq (1980–88). Iran's economy began to recover in the early 1990's.

Iran's basic currency unit is the Iranian rial.

Agriculture and Fishing

Farming provides a livelihood for about a quarter of the workforce and accounts for about a fifth of the gross domestic product. Agricultural output is relatively low, mainly because of obsolete farming methods and equipment and a scarcity of water. The construction of dams and irrigation systems has been a major under taking by the government.

Wheat, barley, rice, and other grains are Iran's chief crops. Sugar beets and sugarcane are also grown in large amounts, as are vegetables and fruits. Other crops include cotton, tea, and tobacco. After poultry, the most numerous farm animals are sheep, goats, and cattle.

Fishing is of increasing importance. Caviar, processed from the roe of Caspian Sea sturgeon, and shellfish, from the Persian Gulf, are the main products.

Mining

Petroleum and natural gas are Iran's principal mineral resources. Iran has between 5 and 9 per cent of the world's petroleum reserves and has long been one of the world's leading producers. Natural gas reserves are second only to those of Russia, but production is still relatively low. Crude and refined petroleum account for most of Iran's foreign exchange. Production is mostly from wells in or near the head of the Persian Gulf. Many other minerals, including coal and ores of iron, chromium, copper, lead, and zinc, are beginning to be mined on a large scale.

Manufacturing and Services

contribute substantially to the economy. The chief manufacturing activities are petroleum refining and the making of petrochemicals. Other important industries include the manufacture of automobiles, machine tools, pharmaceuticals, and steel, and the making of textiles and carpets, one of Iran's oldest industries. Important services include banking and insurance.

Transportation

Rugged mountains and barren deserts make transportation difficult in Iran. There are few roads or railways in the east; most of the transport network focuses on Tehran. From there, railways and roads extend to the principal cities and the Persian Gulf. Pipelines link the major oil fields and refineries and serve the chief domestic markets. Khark Island is the site of one of the Persian Gulf's main petroleum export terminals. Iran Air, owned by the government, is an international airline. Tehran and Abadan have the two main international airports.

The People

The population of Iran in 1991 was 55,837,163. About one-tenth of the people are nomads.

The majority of the people are Iranians, or Persians. They are the descendants of the Indo-European people who settled in the area about 1000 B.C. and of various invaders from the Altaic regions. About one-fourth of the population consists of Azerbaijanis, a Turkic-speaking people who live in the northwest and northeast. Arabs are in the southwest. Kurds live in the northwest, Lurs in the west. There are small groups of Assyrians, Armenians, and Jews.

Language and Religion

The official and prevailing language of Iran is Farsi, or Persian. Farsi, an Indo-European language, is written in Arabic script. More than 90 per cent of the people are Shiite Muslims, and the Shiite branch of Islam is the official religion. Its religious leaders, called ayatollahs, are highly influential in Iran. Five per cent, mostly Kurds and Turks, are Sunnite, or orthodox, Muslims. There are also Christians, Jews, Gabars (Zoroastrians), and Bahá'ís. Because the government considers the Bahá'í faith a heretical sect of Islam, it banned the Bahá'í church in 1983.

Education

Five years of primary school are followed by three additional years of elementary school called guidance school and four years of secondary school (general or academic). Major institutions of higher learning include the University of Tehran (founded 1934) and Shahid Beheshti University (1959), also at Tehran. The literacy rate is about 75 per cent.

Government

Under the constitution of 1979, Iran is an Islamic republic in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are under the supreme authority of the wali fagih (religious leader). He is selected for life by the Council of Experts, a body of 83 clerics. A president, directly elected for a four-year term, serves as head of state. Members of the Majlis, the legislature, are directly elected for four-year terms. All legislation is reviewed by the Council of Guardians—six Islamic jurists appointed by the wali fagih and six lay lawyers appointed by the High Court (the nation's highest judicial body).