Sahand ( fa, سهند), is a massive, heavily eroded stratovolcano in

East Azerbaijan Province East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armeni ...

, northwestern

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 Turkmeni ...

. At , it is the highest mountain in the province of East Azarbaijan. Sahand is one of the highest mountains in Iranian Azerbaijan, in addition to being an important dormant volcano in the country. The Sahand mountains are directly south of

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

, the highest peak of which is Kamal at an elevation of . Approximately 17 peaks can be accounted for as being over in height. Due to the presence of a variety of flora and fauna, the Sahand mountains are known as the bride of mountains in

. The absolute dating of Sahand rocks indicates that this volcano has been sporadically active from 12 million years ago up to almost 0.14 million years ago. Sahand is made chiefly of

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite ...

and associated felsic rocks.

Winter sports

Sahand Ski Resort Sahand Ski Resort is a ski resort in northern slopes of Mount Sahand, in vicinity of Tabriz, North West of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is ...

is on the northern foothills of the mountain and near the city of Tabriz. In the complex the Sahand Skiing Stadium has a 1200 meters length ski area and skiing and snowboarding is practiced in the resort. The

snow sculpture Snow sculpture or snow art is a sculpture form comparable to sand sculpture or ice sculpture in that most of it is now practiced outdoors, and often in full view of spectators, thus giving it kinship to performance art in the eyes of some. The ...

competition, which runs once a year at mid-winter in the stadium, is a famous entertainment that attracts spectators and competitors from all over the country.

References

* {{Portalbar, Iran Stratovolcanoes of Iran Mountains of Iran Mountaineering in Iran Landforms of East Azerbaijan Province Mounts of East Azerbaijan Province Miocene stratovolcanoes Pliocene stratovolcanoes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes

Winter sports

See also

References