Page 203 - Volcano and Geothermal Tourism

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Volcano Tourism in Iran:

Mt Damavand, the Highest

Peak in the Middle East

Kazem Vafadari

Introduction

Mt Damavand is the second highest volcano in
Asia after Kunlun in Tibet and the highest
volcano in the Middle East. Damavand is also the
name of an area (Damavand county) in the
north-east of Tehran, the capital of Iran. Mt
Damavand the volcano is located in the Alborz
mountain range in the north of Iran, which form
a natural barrier between the south part of the
Caspian Sea and the central plateau of Iran
(Figure 12.1). This mountain range is more than
1500km long and its width varies from 30 to
130km (Esham, 1972; Guest, 2004). The length
of this mountain range determines the nature of
the ‘Caspian Mild’ climate in the northern part Figure 12.1 Location of Mt Damavand
of Iran, which is significantly different to the
desert and semi-desert climate of the central
plateau of Iran. kilometres per hour some times and the direction
Summer and winter are the two major seasons is from the north and north-west to the east.
of Mt Damavand, spring and autumn are usually Mt Damavand is also important in the history
too short and not significant. The short spring is of Iran, and was registered as a national heritage
however very attractive at Damavand especially site in 2009. Damavand in Iranian mythology is
because of its natural red poppy fields that start the very heart and centre of Persia where the
blooming at the beginning of May in the lower Iranian people reside (Mansour, 2002). Damavand
parts and gradually cover the upper parts in June. is also the symbol of Iranian resistance against
The minimum temperature at high altitudes in foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature. The
Damavand is –60°C and the highest is –2°C in mountain is said to hold magical powers in the
summer. There are strong winds which exceed 150 ‘Shahnameh’, which means ‘the book of kings’ in

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