Mount Damavand ( fa, دماوند ) is a

dormant Dormant, "sleeping", may refer to: Science *Dormancy Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps ...

stratovolcano, the highest peak in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

and

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

and the highest volcano in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

), at an elevation of . Damāvand has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore. It is in the middle of the

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs ...

range, adjacent to ''Varārū'', ''Sesang'', ''Gol-e Zard'', and ''Mīānrūd''. It is near the southern coast of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad s ...

, in Amol County, Mazandaran Province, northeast of the city of

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

. Mount Damāvand is the 12th most prominent peak in the world and the second most prominent in Asia after

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow ...

. It is part of the Volcanic Seven Summits mountaineering challenge.

Symbolism and mythology

Damavand is a significant mountain in Persian mythology. It is the symbol of Iranian resistance against despotism and foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature. In

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon

Aži Dahāka Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک) ...

was chained within Mount Damāvand, there to remain until the end of the world. In a later version of the same legend, the tyrant

Zahhāk Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک) ...

was also chained in a cave somewhere in Mount Damāvand after being defeated by

Kāveh Kaveh the Blacksmith ( fa, کاوه آهنگر – Kāve Āhangar ), is a 5000-year-old figure in Iranian mythology who leads a popular uprising against a ruthless foreign ruler, Zahāk. His story is narrated in the '' Shahnameh'', the nationa ...

and Fereydūn. Persian poet Ferdowsi depicts this event in his masterpiece, the ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50 ...

'':

''biyāvarad Zahhāk rā čon navand
be kuh-e Damāvand kardaš be-band'' He brought Zahhak like a horse to mount Damavand,
And tied him at the peak tight and bound.

The mountain is said to hold magical powers in the ''Shahnameh''. Damāvand has also been named in the Iranian legend of Arash (as recounted by Bal'ami) as the location from which the hero shot his magical arrow to mark the border of

, during the border dispute between Iran and Turan. The poem Damāvand by Mohammad Taqī Bahār is also one fine example of the mountain's significance in Persian literature. The first verse of this poem reads:

''ey div-e sepid-e pāy dar band,
Ey gonbad-e giti, ey Damāvand'' O white giant with feet in chains,
O dome of the world, O Damāvand.

Mount Damavand is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 10,000 rial banknote. The origins and meaning of the word "Damavand" is unclear, yet some prominent researchers have speculated that it probably means "The mountain from which smoke and ash arises", alluding to the volcanic nature of the mountain. Damavand Smoke Hole

Geology

Setting and structure

Mount Damavand rises within the

range in northern Iran, separating the Iranian plateau to the south from the

in the north. This range rises as a result of the collision between the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates. This sort of collision is similar to the collision between the Indian and Eurasion plates to the east, which is causing the Himalaya to rise and does not usually create volcanic activity. Despite this, recent research suggests that a hot region created by the collision is what caused the volcano to rise. Seismic wave patterns from earthquakes around the volcano indicate that a magma chamber is present between and below the surface. This is separated into two areas - an inner region of hot, likely molten, magma between and depth that is surrounded by an area of dense cooled magma. The top of the chamber is believed to lie to the south of the summit, trending somewhat to the west with depth. Most volcanic activity originates from the summit area. A few flank vents have been noted, but these are lagely on the upper slopes to the southwest and northeast of the summit. A secondary crater, termed Haji Dela, has some young lava flows northeast of the summit.

Eruptive activity

Volcanic activity in the Mount Damavand region first occurred in the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

almost 1.78 million years ago, but the current edifice began to be built around 600,000 years ago. Its last eruption was around 5300 BCE in the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

. Its steep cone is formed of ash and

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

flows mainly of trachyte,

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

, and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

. Most eruptive activity appears to be lava flows, though some small pyroclastic flow deposits have been noted in drainages radiating from the mountain. One major explosive event is known to have erupted about 280,000 years ago. Quaternary lavas are directly on the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

sediments. The volcano is crowned by a small crater with sulfuric deposits. Despite the lack of historical eruptions, ongoing thermal activity at Mount Damavand suggests the volcano is not extinct. Subsidence at a rate of per year and horizontal expansion at per year was observed there between 2003 and 2008, but was gravity driven rather than a result of magmatic activity.

Thermal springs

Mineral

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

are mainly located on the volcano's flanks and at the base, giving evidence of volcanic heat comparatively near the surface of the earth. Hot springs at the base and on the flanks and fumaroles near the summit indicate a hot or cooling magma body still present beneath the volcano. The area around the volcano is the most termally active area in Iran an the springs are being monitored to see if fluctuations in water volume and mineral content are useful in crude prediction of large regional earthquakes. The most important of these hot springs is

Larijan Hot Spring Larijan Hot Spring or Larijan Mineral Spring or Rineh Thermal Spring (''Abe garm-e-Ma'dani-e-Larijan'') is a Hot mineral spring located about south of Amol, Iran, near Mount Damavand. It has several individual bathtubs and some public pools for ...

in a village by the name Larijan in the district of Larijan in Lar Valley. The water from this spring is believed to be useful in the treatment of chronic wounds and skin diseases and is bottled for distribution throughout Iran. Near these springs there are public baths with small pools for public use.

Glaciers

A few

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

s are present on the upper slopes of Damavand, the largest of which being Yakhar Glacier. During the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Late Glacial Maximum, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Ice sheets covered much of Northern North America, Northern Eu ...

, the area covered by glaciation was much larger and the climatic snow line was between and below what is seen in the present day. The glaciers on Damavand as well as a few other isolated locations are the source of the few permanently flowing rivers in Iran.

Routes to the summit

A major settlement for mountain climbers is the new Iranian Mountain Federation Camp in the village of Polour, located on the south of the mountain. There are at least 16 known routes to the summit, with varying levels of difficulty. Some of them are dangerous and require ice climbing. The most popular route is the southern route which has steps and a camp midway called Bargah Sevom Camp/Shelter at . The Northeastern route is the longest and requires two days to reach the summit starting from the downhill village of Nāndal and a night stay at Takht-e Fereydoun (elevation , a two-story shelter. The western route is noted for its sunset view. Simurgh (Sīmorgh/Sīmurgh) shelter in this route at is a newly constructed two-story shelter. There is a frozen waterfall/icefall ( Persian name Ābshār Yakhī) about tall whose elevation of makes it the highest fall in Iran and the Middle East.

Geographical location

Wildlife

Fish

Damavand rivers and slopes are famous for brown trout (''Salmo trutta'').

Mammals

Armenian mouflon (''Ovis orientalis'') and wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') live in the region of Damavand Mts. Persian leopard (''Panthera pardus saxicolor'') and Syrian brown bear (''Ursus arctos syriacus'') also inhabit in this region. Smaller mammals include the snow vole (''Chionomys nivalis''), mouse-like hamster (''Calomyscus bailwardi'') and Afghan pika (''Ochoton rufescens'').

Birds

The attractive and unreachable Caspian snowcock (''Tetraogallus caspius'') lives at high altitudes.

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos'') breeds in this area. Griffon vultures (''Gyps fulvus'') are common. Chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar'') has a high population and nests between stone and shrubs. Red-fronted serin (''Serinus pusillus''), linnet (''Carduelis cannabina''), snow finch (''Montifringilla nivalis''), rock sparrow (''Petronia petronia''),

rock bunting The rock bunting (''Emberiza cia'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a bunting. T ...

(''Emberiza cia'') and horned lark (''Eremophila alpestris'') are native; in winter they come to the lower hillsides. In spring northern wheatear (''Oenanthe oenanthe''), rock thrush (''Monticola saxatilis''), and nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos'') come from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

for breeding.

Grey-necked bunting The grey-necked bunting (''Emberiza buchanani''), sometimes referred to as grey-hooded bunting (a name also in use for chestnut-eared bunting) is a species of bird in the family Emberizidae. It breeds along a wide distribution range from the Cas ...

(''Emberiza buchanani''), black-headed bunting (''Emberiza melanocephala'') and common rosefinch (''Carpodacus erythrinus'') come from

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Reptiles and amphibians

Marsh frog The marsh frog (''Pelophylax ridibundus'') is a species of water frog native to Europe and parts of western Asia. Description The marsh frog is the largest type of frog in most of its range, with males growing to a size around 100 mm (3.9 ...

s (''Rana ridibunda'') live in Lar riversides.

Meadow viper :''Common names: meadow viper, Ursini's viper, Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . meadow adder,Brown, John Haynes (1973). ''T ...

(''Vipera ursinii''), blunt-nosed viper (''Macrovipera lebetina''),

Iranian valley viper ''Montivipera latifii'', known as Latifi's viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . the Iranian valley viper,Mehrtens J ...

(''Vipera latifii'') and

Caucasian agama The Caucasian agama (''Paralaudakia caucasia'') is a species of agamid lizard found in the Caucasus, E/S Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan (Russia), E Turkey, Iraq, N Iran, Afghanistan, NW Pakistan, and parts of Kas ...

(''Laudakia caucasia'') are among the reptiles of this mountainous region.

Flora

On the southern slope of Damavand, there are remnants of wild pistachia trees ('' Pistacia atlantica''). Along its riversides different kinds of ''Salix'' trees like willow (''

Salix acomphylla Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

'') and oleaster ('' Elaeagnus angustifolia'') are found. Greek juniper ('' Juniperus excelsa'') is common in the higher altitudes. On northern slopes, because of higher humidity, there are wild oak, beech, hornbean and hazel trees like: Persian oak (''

Quercus macranthera ''Quercus macranthera'', commonly called the Caucasian oak, or the Persian oak, is a species of deciduous tree native to Western Asia (northern Iran, Turkey; and in the Caucasus in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) that is occasionally grown as a ...

''), Oriental beech ('' Fagus orientalis''), Eastern hornbeam (''

Carpinus orientalis ''Carpinus orientalis'', known as the Oriental hornbeam, is a hornbeam native to Hungary, the Balkans, Italy, Crimea, Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus. and occurs usually on hot dry sites at lower altitudes in comparison to the ''Carpinus ...

''), and Turkish hazel ('' Corylus colurna''). There are also many wild flowers such as mountain tulip ('' Tulipa montana'') and Persian stone cress (''

Aethionema grandiflorum ''Aethionema grandiflorum'', commonly known as Persian stonecress or Persian candytuft, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, preferring to grow at 750 to 2600m on limestone slopes. It is sometimes kept as a garden plant, and occasion ...

''). At higher altitudes, shrubs tend to be sphere and cushion like, examples are : ''Astragalus'' species (''

Astragalus microcephalus ''Astragalus'' is a large genus of over 3,000 species of herbs and small shrubs, belonging to the legume family Fabaceae and the subfamily Faboideae. It is the largest genus of plants in terms of described species. The genus is native to temp ...

''), mountain sainfoin ('' Onobrychis cornuta'') and prickly (''

Acantholimon erinaceum ''Acantholimon'' (prickly thrift) is a genus of small flowering plants within the plumbago or leadwort family, Plumbaginaceae. They are distributed from southeastern Europe to central Asia and also in South America, but also cultivated else ...

''). Different kinds of grasses complete this alpine scene. '' Iris barnumiae demawendica'' (formerly ''Iris demawendica''), is found and named after the mountain.Richard Lynch From mid-May to mid-June the foothills of Damavand are covered in red poppies. This unique type of poppy, growing in areas between 2,000 and 3,500 metres, is referred to in botany books as the Lar poppy or Rineh poppy (Rineh and Lar are villages in the foothills of Damavand).

National Heritage Site

An anthropologist of Mazandaran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department, Touba Osanlou, has said that a proposal has been made by a group of Iranian mountaineers to register the highest peak in the Middle East, Mount Damavand as a national heritage site. Mazandaran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department has accepted the proposal, the Persian daily Jam-e Jam reported. Osanlou noted that the

Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization ( fa, وزارت میراث فرهنگی، گردشگری و صنایع دستی ایران, ''Vâzart-e Miras-e Ferhengi-ye, Gârdâshigâri-ye vâ Sânai'-ye Dâsti-ye Iran'') is ...

is presently in the process of renaming an upcoming ancient festivity after Mount Damavand. "We have proposed Tirgan Festivity, Tabari Nowruz, to be named as Damavand National Day," she added. Tirgan Festivity is held in Amol County's Rineh region in Mazandaran province.

Gallery

File:990513-Damavand-IMG 4857-2.jpg, alt=Damavand Summit, Damavand Summit, Mazandaran Province,

, August 2020 File:970525-Damavand-IMG 6598-2.jpg, alt=Sulfuric gas, Sulfurous gasses issuing from a fumarole near the summit of Damavand, August 16, 2018 File:970524-Damavand-IMG 6560-Bargah-Camp-2.jpg, alt=The third court base camp, Base camp, the third court (4250m), Damavand mountain, the south face, August 15, 2018 File:960903-IMG 9442-2.jpg, alt=Damavand summit, the west side, Damavand mountain, the west side, view from Tochal summit, Tehran, Iran File:Damavand in winter.jpg, Damavand summit in winter, view from Dizin File:990617-SulfurStone-IMG 5572 copy 04.jpg, alt=Sulfur stone from Damavand Summit, Specimen of native Sulphur from the summit of Damavand, indicative of

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the Earth#Surface, surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the su ...

File:یک هزار ریال - سری ششم رضا شاه - کد ۵۸ (پشت).png, Mount Damavand on the reverse of a 1938 1000

Iranian Rial The rial ( fa, ریال ایران, riyâl-è Irân; sign: ﷼; abbreviation: Rl (singular) and Rls (plural) or IR in Latin; ISO code: IRR) is the official currency of Iran. There is no official symbol for the currency but the Iranian standar ...

banknote

Explanatory notes

References

External links

U.S. Geological Survey

CIA: The World Factbook
* BERNARD HOURCADE, AḤMAD TAFAŻŻOLĪ
"Damāvand"

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...

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