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Iran
Environment
Contrary to popular perception, Iran is much more than barren deserts. Forests, snow-capped mountains and even beaches abound, but not all are well looked after. Massive, unrestrained urban and industrial development and the Iran-Iraq War have caused irreparable environmental damage, particularly on the southern slopes of the Alborz range, along the Caspian Sea and around the Persian Gulf. To its credit, the Iranian government has created a few national parks, but the warm glow dissipates once you realise the parks have no fenced areas or rangers. The northern slopes of the Alborz are densely covered with deciduous trees, forming the largest area of vegetation in Iran. There are some lovely pockets of forest around Khalkhal, south of Ardabil, and at Nahar Khoran, just south of Gorgan. Mammals such as the wolf, jackal, wild boar, hyena, black bear and lynx are common in the unexplored depths of the forests of Mazandaran province. In the deserts and mountains you're more likely to come across the more sedate Persian squirrel and mongoose, galloping Persian gazelle, porcupine, badger and endemic Iranian wild ass. Two of the more fascinating creatures are the huge Alborz red sheep, with its black beard and spiralling horns, and the Oreal ram, with a white beard and enormous horns. The Islamic Republic of Iran is bordered to the north by the states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan (all formerly of the USSR) and the Caspian Sea; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; to the south by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf; and to the west by Iraq and Turkey. Iran is about one-fifth the size of the USA and nearly as big as Queensland, Australia. The country is dominated by three mountain ranges: the fertile, volcanic Sabalan and Talesh ranges in the north-west; the very long, Jurassic-era Zagros range, down the western border; and the dominant Alborz range, home of Iran's highest mountain, the permanently snowcapped Damavand (5670m/18600ft), to the north of Tehran. The two great Iranian deserts, the Dasht-é Kavir (more than 200000 sq km/78000 sq mi) and the Dasht-é Lut (more than 166000 sq km/64,740 sq mi), occupy most of the north-east and east of the central plain. Because of its size, variety of topography and altitude, Iran experiences great extremes of climate. Winters (December to February) can be unpleasantly cold in most parts of the country, while in summer (June to August) temperatures as high as 45°C (113°F) are nothing out of the ordinary, particularly in the south. Regular rainfall is more or less restricted to the Caspian coast and the northwest - generally also the coldest parts of Iran.
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