Geography

Geography of Iran

Continent: Asia
Region: Southwest Asia, Middle East
Coordinates: 32°00'N, 53°00'E
Area: Ranked 18th, 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), 99.27% land, 0.73 % water
Borders: Total land borders: 5,440 km (3,380 mi),Afghanistan: 936 km (582 mi), Armenia: 35 km (22 mi), Azerbaijan (proper): 432 km (268 mi), Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan exclave): 179 km (111 mi), Iraq: 1,458 km (906 mi), Pakistan: 909 km (565 mi), Turkey: 499 km (310 mi), Turkmenistan: 992 km (616 mi)
Highest point: Kuh-e Damavand (Mount Damavand), 5,610 m (18,406 ft)
Lowest point: Caspian Sea, −28 m (−91.9 ft)
Longest river: Karun
Largest lake: Lake Urmia

Iran is located in southwest Asia and borders the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Caspian Sea. Its mountains have helped to shape both the political and the economic history of the country for several centuries. The mountains enclose several broad basins, or plateaus, on which major agricultural and urban settlements are located. Until the 20th century, when major highways and railroads were constructed through the mountains to connect the population centers, these basins tended to be relatively isolated from one another.

Typically, one major town dominated each basin, and there were complex economic relationships between the town and the hundreds of villages that surrounded it. In the higher elevations of the mountains rimming the basins, tribally organized groups practiced transhumance, moving with their herds of sheep and goats between traditionally established summer and winter pastures. There are no major river systems in the country, and historically transportation was by means of caravans that followed routes traversing gaps and passes in the mountains. The mountains also impeded easy access to the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea.

With an area of 1,648,000 square kilometres (636,000 sq mi), Iran ranks eighteenth in size among the countries of the world. Iran is about one-fifth the size of the continental United States, or slightly larger than the combined area of the western United States (Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Idaho).

Iran shares its northern borders with three post-Soviet states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. These borders extend for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi), including nearly 650 kilometres (400 mi) of water along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Iran's western borders are with Turkey in the north and Iraq in the south, terminating at the Shatt al-Arab, which Iranians call the Arvand Rud.

The Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman littorals form the entire 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) southern border. To the east lie Afghanistan on the north and Pakistan on the south. Iran's diagonal distance from Azerbaijan in the northwest to Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast is approximately 2,333 kilometres (1,450 mi).

Ecosystem and biosphere

Iran's bio-diversity ranks 13th in the world.[1]

Ramsar sites (23/06/75) Area (km²)
Anzali Wetland Complex,[2] Gilan Province 150
Arjan Meadow,[3] Fars Province 22
Lake Gori,[4] East Azarbaijan Province 1.2
Lake Kobi,[5] West Azarbaijan Province 12
Lake Parishan,[3] Fars Province 40
Miankaleh Peninsula, Gorgan Bay, Lapoo-Zaghmarz Ab-bandan[6] Mazandaran Province 1000

Environmental concerns

Natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast

Environment - current issues: air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water in some areas; urbanization.

Resources and land use

Iranian provinces' contribution to GDPIranian provinces' contribution to GDP. Tehran host 45% of Iran's industries.[7]

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 27%
forests and woodlands: 13%
other: 49% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:

94,000 km2 (36,000 sq mi) (1993 est.)

Area and boundaries

Area:
total: 1,648,000 km2 (636,000 sq mi)
land: 1,636,000 km2 (632,000 sq mi)
water: 12,000 km2 (4,600 sq mi)

Land boundaries:
total: 5,440 kilometres (3,380 mi)
border countries: Afghanistan 936 kilometres (582 mi), Armenia 35 kilometres (22 mi), Azerbaijan-proper 432 kilometres (268 mi), Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave 179 kilometres (111 mi), Iraq 1,458 kilometres (906 mi), Pakistan 909 kilometres (565 mi), Turkey 499 kilometres (310 mi), Turkmenistan 992 kilometres (616 mi)

Coastline: 2,440 kilometres (1,520 mi)
note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea, for 740 kilometres (460 mi)

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
continental shelf: natural prolongation
exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in the Persian Gulf
territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caspian Sea −28 metres (−91.9 ft)
highest point: Mount Damavand 5,610 metres (18,410 ft)

International territorial disputes

Iran is currently engaged in international territorial disputes with several neighbouring countries.

The country protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought. The lack of a maritime boundary in the Persian Gulf with Iraq also prompts jurisdictional disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab. Iran and the United Arab Emirates have a territorial dispute over the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa islands, which are administered by Iran. Iran currently insists on dividing the Caspian Sea resources equally among the five littoral states, after the Russian-backed former soviet breakaway republics refused to respect the 50-50 agreements between Iran & the Soviet Union (despite their international obligation). Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan & Turkmenistan continue to claim territorial waters thus regarding the Caspian Sea as open international body of water, dismissing its geographically lake nature.[8]

References

  1. ^ http://presstv.com/program/152328.html
  2. ^ "Ramsar Information Sheet: Anzali Wetlands Complex", accessed 28 November 2008
  3. ^ a b "Ramsar Information Sheet: Lake Lake Parishan and Dashte-Arjan", accessed 1 December 2008
  4. ^ "Ramsar Information Sheet: Lake Gori", accessed 1 December 2008
  5. ^ "Ramsar Information Sheet: Lake Kobi", accessed 1 December 2008
  6. ^ "Ramsar Information Sheet: Miankaleh Peninsula, Gorgan Bay and Lapoo-Zaghmarz Ab-bandans", accessed 28 November 2008
  7. ^ CSIS: The US, Israel, the Arab States and a Nuclear Iran. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  8. ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Iran
  • This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
  • This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.

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