Elburz
Elburz is a mountain range located between the Caspian Sea and the central Iranian plateau. The range serves as a natural border for Iran and its northern neighbors (Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkmenistan) in the Caucasus. The extinct volcano of Mount Damavand is the peak of the Elburz Range, rising to about 5,600 meters. Elburz is covered by an ice cap of about 140 square kilometers, with seventy-seven minor and steadily retreating glaciers radiating from it, some reaching 400 meters in thickness. Lakes are mostly of glacial origin, small in area, but deep.
The range consists of steep, narrow, parallel ridges crossed only by the Safid River, whose valley forms the main trans-Elburz route.
The northern slope of the Elburz is rainy and forested, and the southern slope is semiarid. Snowcapped water peaks provide seasonal flow used for irrigation and industry. Elburz is composed of both hard crystalline rocks and magma. In the surrounding valleys, mineral springs are common and in a few places, sulfurous fumes escape through fissures, often deep under the ice cover. Pine forests mingled with birch and mountain ash cover the north of the main ridge valleys and lower mountain slopes of Elburz. In higher elevations, forests have been replaced by alpine meadows rich in flowers. The foothills of Elburz, lying to the north of Tehran, act as a major recreational attraction for both alpinists and nature enthusiasts.
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