The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian plate, and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate. The plateau is situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Köpet Dag to the north, the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus Mountains to the northwest, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the south, and the Indian subcontinent to the southeast.
Iranian plateau Persian plateau | |
|---|---|
Plateau | |
 Topographic map of the Iranian plateau, connected to the Armenian highlands and Anatolia in the west, and to the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas in the east | |
| Location | Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia (including the South Caucasus) |
| Part of | Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan), Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (Baluchistan), and Turkmenistan |
| Geology | Eurasian plate |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3,700,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi) |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 2,000 km (1,200 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 7,492 m (24,580 ft) (Noshaq) |
As a graphical region, it includes Parthia, Media, Persis, and some of the previous territories of Greater Iran. The Zagros form the plateau's western boundary, and its eastern slopes may also be included in the term. The Encyclopædia Britannica excludes "lowland Khuzestan" explicitly and characterizes Elam as spanning "the region from the Mesopotamian plain to the Iranian Plateau".
From the Capri Sun Sea in the northwest to the Sulaiman Mountains in the southeast, the Iranian Plateau extends for close to 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi). It encompasses a large part of Iran, all of Afghanistan, and the parts of Pakistan that are situated to the west of the Indus River, covering an area of some 3,700,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi) In spite of being called a plateau, it is far from flat, and contains several mountain ranges; its highest point is Noshaq in the Hindu Kush at 7,492 metres (24,580 ft), and its lowest point is the Lut Desert to the east of Kerman, Iran, at below 300 metres (980 ft).
Geology
In geology, the plateau region of Iran primarily formed from the accretionary Gondwanan terranes between the Turan platform to the north and the Zagros fold and thrust belt; the suture zone between the northward moving Arabian plate and the Eurasian continent is the Iranian plateau. It is a geologically well-studied area because of general interest in continental collision zones, and because of Iran's long history of research in geology, particularly in economic geology.
Geography
The Iranian plateau in geology refers to a geographical area north of the great folded mountain belts resulting from the collision of the Arabian plate with the Eurasian plate. In this definition, the Iranian plateau does not cover southwestern Iran.
The plateau extends from East Azerbaijan province in northeast of Iran (Persia) all the way to Afghanistan and Pakistan west of the Indus River. It also includes smaller parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Turkmenistan.
 Caspian Sea Persian Gulf Indus Hindu Kush Sabalan Urmia Alborz Kopet Dag N Zagros S Zagros Oshtoran-Kūh Zard-Kūh Shir-Kūh Barez Hazaran Dasht-e Kavir Dasht-e Lut Hamun Balochistan Taftan Bazman Sulaiman Mountains |
The northwestern Iranian plateau, where the Pontic and Taurus Mountains converge, is rugged country with higher elevations, a more severe climate, and greater precipitation than are found on the Anatolian plateau. The region is known as the Anti-Taurus, and the average elevation of its peaks exceeds 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Mount Ararat, at 5,137 meters (16,854 ft) the highest point in Turkey, is located in the Anti-Taurus. Lake Van is situated in the mountains at an elevation of 1,546 meters (5,072 ft).
The headwaters of major rivers arise in the Anti-Taurus: the east-flowing Aras River flows into the Caspian Sea, and the south-flowing Euphrates and Tigris join in Iraq before flowing into the Persian Gulf. Several small streams that flow into the Black Sea or landlocked Lake Van also originate in these mountains. The Indus River begins in the highlands of Tibet and flows the length of Pakistan almost tracing the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau.
Southnorth Anatolia lies south of the Taurus Mountains. It is a region of rolling hills and a broad plateau surface that extends into Syria. Elevations decrease gradually, from about 800 meters (2,600 ft) in the north to about 500 meters (1,600 ft) in the south. Traditionally, wheat and barley are the main crops of the region.
Mountain ranges
The plateau's mountain ranges can be divided into five major subregions:
Northwest Iranian Ranges
- Alborz
- Damavand 5,610 m (18,410 ft)
Southwest Iranian Ranges
- Zagros
- Dena 4,409 m (14,465 ft)
Central Iranian plateau
- Kūh-e Hazār 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
- Kuh-e Jebal Barez
Eastern Iranian Ranges
- Kopet Dag
- Kuh-e Siah Khvani 3,314 m (10,873 ft) 36°17′N 59°3′E / 36.283°N 59.050°E
- Eshdeger Range
- 2,920 m (9,580 ft) 33°32′N 57°14′E / 33.533°N 57.233°E
- Kopet Dag
- Balochistan
- Sikaram 4,755 m (15,600 ft) 34°2′N 69°54′E / 34.033°N 69.900°E
- Kuh-e Taftan 3,941 m (12,930 ft) 28°36′N 61°8′E / 28.600°N 61.133°E
- Zargun 3,578 m (11,739 ft) 30°16′N 67°18′E / 30.267°N 67.300°E
Rivers and plains
- Kavir Desert
- Lut Desert
- Hamun-e Jaz Murian
- Halil River
- Gavkhouni
- Zayandeh River
- Sistan Basin
- Helmand River
- Farah River
History
The Iranian plateau may have played a major role in the expansion of modern humans after the Out of Africa migration, serving as 'population hub' for 'Common Eurasians', where they subsequently diverged into 'Ancient East Eurasians' and 'Ancient West Eurasians' at c. 50,000 years ago, and from where they expanded in two waves during the Initial Upper Paleolithic (c. 45kya) and Upper Paleolithic (c. 38kya) periods respectively. Ancient and modern populations in the Iranian plateau have a similar genetic component to the Ancient West Eurasian lineage which stayed in the 'population hub' (WEC2), but also display some ancestry from Basal Eurasians and Ancient East Eurasians via contact events starting in the Paleolithic.
In the Stone Age, Elam stretched across the Zagros mountains, connecting Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau. The kingdoms of Aratta, known from cuneiform sources, may have been located in the central Iranian plateau. In classical antiquity the region was known as Persia, due to the Persian Achaemenid dynasty originating in Fars. The Middle Persian Erān (whence Modern Persian Irān) began to be used in reference to the state (rather than as an ethnic designator) from the Sassanid period (see Etymology of Iran).
Archaeology
Archaeological sites and cultures of the Iranian plateau include:
- Central Iranian plateau ("Jiroft culture")
- Shahr-i Sokhta
- Konar Sandal
- Tepe Yahya
- Zayandeh River Civilization
- Tappeh Sialk
- Paleolithic sites
- Niasar
- Sefid-Ab
- Qal'eh Bozi
- Mirak
- Delazian
- Tabas
- Masileh
Flora
The plateau has historical oak and poplar forests. Oak forests are found around Shiraz. Aspen, elm, ash, willow, walnut, pine, and cypress are also found, though the latter two are rare. As of 1920, poplar was harvested for making doors. Elm was used for ploughs. Other trees like acacia, cypress, and Turkestan elm were used for decorative purposes. Flower wise, the plateau can grow lilac, jasmine, and roses. Hawthorn and Cercis siliquastrum are common, which are both used for basket weaving.
Fauna
The plateau is abundant with wildlife including leopards, bears, hyenas, wild boars, ibex, gazelles, and mouflons. These animals are mostly found in the wooded mountains of the plateau. The shores of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf house aquatic birds such as seagulls, ducks, and geese. Deer, hedgehogs, foxes, and 22 species of rodents are found in semidesert, and palm squirrels and Asiatic black bears live in Baluchistan.
Wide variety of amphibians and reptiles such as toads, frogs, tortoises, lizards, salamanders, racers, rat snakes (Ptyas), cat snakes (Tarbophis fallax), and vipers live the Baluchistan region and along the slopes of the Elburz and Zagros mountains. 200 varieties of fish live in the Persian Gulf. Thirty species of the most important commercial fish Sturgeon is found in the Caspian Sea.
Economy
The Iranian plateau harvests trees for making doors, ploughs, and baskets. Fruit is grown also. Pears, apples, apricots, quince, plums, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, and peaches were commonly seen in the 20th century. Almonds and pistachios are common in warmer areas. Dates, oranges, grapes, melon, and limes are also grown. Other edibles include potatoes and cauliflower, which were hard to grow until European settlement brought irrigation improvements. Other vegetables include cabbage, tomatoes, artichokes, cucumbers, spinach, radishes, lettuce, and eggplants.
The plateau also produces wheat, barley, millet, beans, opium, cotton, lucerne, and tobacco. The barley is fed mainly to horses. Sesame is grown and made into sesame oil. Mushrooms and manna were also seen in the plateau area as of 1920. Caraway is grown in the Kerman province.
See also
- Biosphere reserves of Iran
- Geography of Iran
- List of Iranian four-thousanders
Notes
- Geographically, the Iranian plateau only covers western Pakistan (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as it is situated right on the edge of the Eurasian plate reaching the Indian plate. It does not cover eastern Pakistan (Punjab, Sindh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit–Baltistan), which is situated on the Indian plate, thus bringing it under the Indian subcontinent.
- Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
References
- The Iranian Plateau from Paleolithic Times to the Rise of the Achaemenid Empire
- Robert H. Dyson (2 June 1968). The archaeological evidence of the second millennium B.C. on the Persian plateau. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07098-8.
- James Bell (1832). A System of Geography, Popular and Scientific. Archibald Fullarton. pp. 7, 284, 287, 288.
- "Old Iranian Online" Archived 24 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine, University of Texas College of Liberal Arts (retrieved 10 February 2007)
- "Ancient Iran". Encyclopædia Britannica. 19 July 2024.
- "Elamite language". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- "Iranian Plateau". Peakbagger.com.
- Vallini, Leonardo; Zampieri, Carlo; Shoaee, Mohamed Javad; Bortolini, Eugenio; Marciani, Giulia; Aneli, Serena; Pievani, Telmo; Benazzi, Stefano; Barausse, Alberto; Mezzavilla, Massimo; Petraglia, Michael D.; Pagani, Luca (25 March 2024). "The Persian plateau served as hub for Homo sapiens after the main out of Africa dispersal". Nature Communications. 15 (1): 1882. Bibcode:2024NatCo..15.1882V. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-46161-7. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 10963722. PMID 38528002.
- Y. Majidzadeh, Sialk III and the Pottery Sequence at Tepe Ghabristan. The Coherence of the Cultures of the Central Iranian Plateau, Iran 19, 1981, 141–46.
- Sykes, Percy (1921). A History of Persia. London: Macmillan and Company. pp. 75–76.
- "Iran – Plant and animal life". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- Zarubezhnaia Aziia: Fizicheskaia geografiia. Moscow, 1956.
- Petrov, M. P. Iran: Fiziko-geograficheskii ocherk. Moscow, 1955.
External links
- "Iranian Plateau". Peakbagger.com.
- "Central Iranian Plateau". Peakbagger.com.
The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus Central Asia South Asia and West Asia It makes up part of the Eurasian plate and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate The plateau is situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus Mountains to the northwest the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the south and the Indian subcontinent to the southeast Iranian plateau Persian plateauPlateauTopographic map of the Iranian plateau connected to the Armenian highlands and Anatolia in the west and to the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas in the eastLocationCentral Asia South Asia West Asia including the South Caucasus Part ofAfghanistan Azerbaijan Iran Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Baluchistan and TurkmenistanGeologyEurasian plateArea Total3 700 000 km2 1 400 000 sq mi Dimensions Length2 000 km 1 200 mi Highest elevation7 492 m 24 580 ft Noshaq As a graphical region it includes Parthia Media Persis and some of the previous territories of Greater Iran The Zagros form the plateau s western boundary and its eastern slopes may also be included in the term The Encyclopaedia Britannica excludes lowland Khuzestan explicitly and characterizes Elam as spanning the region from the Mesopotamian plain to the Iranian Plateau From the Capri Sun Sea in the northwest to the Sulaiman Mountains in the southeast the Iranian Plateau extends for close to 2 000 kilometres 1 200 mi It encompasses a large part of Iran all of Afghanistan and the parts of Pakistan that are situated to the west of the Indus River covering an area of some 3 700 000 square kilometres 1 400 000 sq mi In spite of being called a plateau it is far from flat and contains several mountain ranges its highest point is Noshaq in the Hindu Kush at 7 492 metres 24 580 ft and its lowest point is the Lut Desert to the east of Kerman Iran at below 300 metres 980 ft GeologyIn geology the plateau region of Iran primarily formed from the accretionary Gondwanan terranes between the Turan platform to the north and the Zagros fold and thrust belt the suture zone between the northward moving Arabian plate and the Eurasian continent is the Iranian plateau It is a geologically well studied area because of general interest in continental collision zones and because of Iran s long history of research in geology particularly in economic geology GeographyThe Iranian plateau in geology refers to a geographical area north of the great folded mountain belts resulting from the collision of the Arabian plate with the Eurasian plate In this definition the Iranian plateau does not cover southwestern Iran The plateau extends from East Azerbaijan province in northeast of Iran Persia all the way to Afghanistan and Pakistan west of the Indus River It also includes smaller parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkmenistan Caspian Sea Persian Gulf Mesopotamia Indus Hindu Kush Sabalan Urmia Alborz Kopet Dag N Zagros S Zagros Oshtoran Kuh Zard Kuh Shir Kuh Barez Hazaran Dasht e Kavir Dasht e Lut Hamun Balochistan Taftan Bazman Sulaiman Mountains The northwestern Iranian plateau where the Pontic and Taurus Mountains converge is rugged country with higher elevations a more severe climate and greater precipitation than are found on the Anatolian plateau The region is known as the Anti Taurus and the average elevation of its peaks exceeds 3 000 m 9 800 ft Mount Ararat at 5 137 meters 16 854 ft the highest point in Turkey is located in the Anti Taurus Lake Van is situated in the mountains at an elevation of 1 546 meters 5 072 ft The headwaters of major rivers arise in the Anti Taurus the east flowing Aras River flows into the Caspian Sea and the south flowing Euphrates and Tigris join in Iraq before flowing into the Persian Gulf Several small streams that flow into the Black Sea or landlocked Lake Van also originate in these mountains The Indus River begins in the highlands of Tibet and flows the length of Pakistan almost tracing the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau Southnorth Anatolia lies south of the Taurus Mountains It is a region of rolling hills and a broad plateau surface that extends into Syria Elevations decrease gradually from about 800 meters 2 600 ft in the north to about 500 meters 1 600 ft in the south Traditionally wheat and barley are the main crops of the region Mountain ranges The plateau s mountain ranges can be divided into five major subregions Northwest Iranian Ranges Alborz Damavand 5 610 m 18 410 ft Southwest Iranian Ranges Zagros Dena 4 409 m 14 465 ft Central Iranian plateau Kuh e Hazar 4 500 m 14 800 ft Kuh e Jebal BarezEastern Iranian Ranges Kopet Dag Kuh e Siah Khvani 3 314 m 10 873 ft 36 17 N 59 3 E 36 283 N 59 050 E 36 283 59 050 Eshdeger Range 2 920 m 9 580 ft 33 32 N 57 14 E 33 533 N 57 233 E 33 533 57 233 Balochistan Sikaram 4 755 m 15 600 ft 34 2 N 69 54 E 34 033 N 69 900 E 34 033 69 900 Kuh e Taftan 3 941 m 12 930 ft 28 36 N 61 8 E 28 600 N 61 133 E 28 600 61 133 Zargun 3 578 m 11 739 ft 30 16 N 67 18 E 30 267 N 67 300 E 30 267 67 300Rivers and plains Kavir Desert Lut Desert Hamun e Jaz Murian Halil River Gavkhouni Zayandeh River Sistan Basin Helmand River Farah RiverHistoryThe Iranian plateau may have played a major role in the expansion of modern humans after the Out of Africa migration serving as population hub for Common Eurasians where they subsequently diverged into Ancient East Eurasians and Ancient West Eurasians at c 50 000 years ago and from where they expanded in two waves during the Initial Upper Paleolithic c 45kya and Upper Paleolithic c 38kya periods respectively Ancient and modern populations in the Iranian plateau have a similar genetic component to the Ancient West Eurasian lineage which stayed in the population hub WEC2 but also display some ancestry from Basal Eurasians and Ancient East Eurasians via contact events starting in the Paleolithic In the Stone Age Elam stretched across the Zagros mountains connecting Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau The kingdoms of Aratta known from cuneiform sources may have been located in the central Iranian plateau In classical antiquity the region was known as Persia due to the Persian Achaemenid dynasty originating in Fars The Middle Persian Eran whence Modern Persian Iran began to be used in reference to the state rather than as an ethnic designator from the Sassanid period see Etymology of Iran ArchaeologyArchaeological sites and cultures of the Iranian plateau include Central Iranian plateau Jiroft culture Shahr i Sokhta Konar Sandal Tepe Yahya Zayandeh River Civilization Tappeh Sialk Paleolithic sites Niasar Sefid Ab Qal eh Bozi Mirak Delazian Tabas MasilehFloraThe plateau has historical oak and poplar forests Oak forests are found around Shiraz Aspen elm ash willow walnut pine and cypress are also found though the latter two are rare As of 1920 poplar was harvested for making doors Elm was used for ploughs Other trees like acacia cypress and Turkestan elm were used for decorative purposes Flower wise the plateau can grow lilac jasmine and roses Hawthorn and Cercis siliquastrum are common which are both used for basket weaving FaunaThe plateau is abundant with wildlife including leopards bears hyenas wild boars ibex gazelles and mouflons These animals are mostly found in the wooded mountains of the plateau The shores of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf house aquatic birds such as seagulls ducks and geese Deer hedgehogs foxes and 22 species of rodents are found in semidesert and palm squirrels and Asiatic black bears live in Baluchistan Wide variety of amphibians and reptiles such as toads frogs tortoises lizards salamanders racers rat snakes Ptyas cat snakes Tarbophis fallax and vipers live the Baluchistan region and along the slopes of the Elburz and Zagros mountains 200 varieties of fish live in the Persian Gulf Thirty species of the most important commercial fish Sturgeon is found in the Caspian Sea EconomyThe Iranian plateau harvests trees for making doors ploughs and baskets Fruit is grown also Pears apples apricots quince plums nectarines cherries mulberries and peaches were commonly seen in the 20th century Almonds and pistachios are common in warmer areas Dates oranges grapes melon and limes are also grown Other edibles include potatoes and cauliflower which were hard to grow until European settlement brought irrigation improvements Other vegetables include cabbage tomatoes artichokes cucumbers spinach radishes lettuce and eggplants The plateau also produces wheat barley millet beans opium cotton lucerne and tobacco The barley is fed mainly to horses Sesame is grown and made into sesame oil Mushrooms and manna were also seen in the plateau area as of 1920 Caraway is grown in the Kerman province See alsoBiosphere reserves of Iran Geography of Iran List of Iranian four thousandersNotesGeographically the Iranian plateau only covers western Pakistan Balochistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it is situated right on the edge of the Eurasian plate reaching the Indian plate It does not cover eastern Pakistan Punjab Sindh Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan which is situated on the Indian plate thus bringing it under the Indian subcontinent Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ReferencesThe Iranian Plateau from Paleolithic Times to the Rise of the Achaemenid Empire Robert H Dyson 2 June 1968 The archaeological evidence of the second millennium B C on the Persian plateau Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 07098 8 James Bell 1832 A System of Geography Popular and Scientific Archibald Fullarton pp 7 284 287 288 Old Iranian Online Archived 24 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine University of Texas College of Liberal Arts retrieved 10 February 2007 Ancient Iran Encyclopaedia Britannica 19 July 2024 Elamite language Encyclopaedia Britannica Iranian Plateau Peakbagger com Vallini Leonardo Zampieri Carlo Shoaee Mohamed Javad Bortolini Eugenio Marciani Giulia Aneli Serena Pievani Telmo Benazzi Stefano Barausse Alberto Mezzavilla Massimo Petraglia Michael D Pagani Luca 25 March 2024 The Persian plateau served as hub for Homo sapiens after the main out of Africa dispersal Nature Communications 15 1 1882 Bibcode 2024NatCo 15 1882V doi 10 1038 s41467 024 46161 7 ISSN 2041 1723 PMC 10963722 PMID 38528002 Y Majidzadeh Sialk III and the Pottery Sequence at Tepe Ghabristan The Coherence of the Cultures of the Central Iranian Plateau Iran 19 1981 141 46 Sykes Percy 1921 A History of Persia London Macmillan and Company pp 75 76 Iran Plant and animal life Encyclopaedia Britannica Zarubezhnaia Aziia Fizicheskaia geografiia Moscow 1956 Petrov M P Iran Fiziko geograficheskii ocherk Moscow 1955 External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Iranian Plateau Iranian Plateau Peakbagger com Central Iranian Plateau Peakbagger com
