Explore Iran: 12 Key Facts

Explore Iran: 12 Key Facts — page 1
1 Iran Is a Land of Mountains and Deserts Iran is the second-largest country in the Middle East It is the eighteenth largest country in the world Its total area is 636,371 square miles 1,648,195 sq km Iran is nearly the size of the US state of Alaska Iran shares borders with Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan Iraq Turkey Armenia and Azerbaijan The Caspian Sea is to the north The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are to the south Iran has rugged mountain chains and large deserts The Zagros Mountains stretch from the northwest to the southeast The Alborz Mountains run along the edge of the Caspian Sea Iran’s highest peak is Mount Damavand It rises 18,934 feet 5,771 m Mountain chains surround basins on a central plateau To the east of the plateau are large deserts The country also has dense forests rainforests and jungles Most of Iran’s people live in the north and west There the land is fertile and the temperatures are moderate The central and eastern parts of Iran are the least populated Mount Damavand is a volcano that last erupted about 7,300 years ago 4