Astara () is a city in and the capital of the Astara District of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. Astara is a short walk across the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

from

Astara, Iran Astara (; ) is a city in the Central District of Astara County, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district. It lies on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan and on the Caspian Sea. It is an importa ...

Geography

Astara is located in lowland and mountain zone. The region is surrounded by the rich Talish mountain range in the West and

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

in the East. The district is famous for its dishes made of rare fish species from the Caspian Sea. The king of rare trees in the forests of Astara is iron tree.

Climate

Astara has a borderline

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Cfa'') and

hot-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

: ''Csa''). Astara has cool, wet winters and warm, humid summers with lower precipitation. The annual precipitation of the city is one of the highest in Azerbaijan.

Attractions

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland

body of water A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rare ...

, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

. It is an

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

(a basin without outflows) located between

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, to the east of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

and to the west of the broad

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. The sea has a surface area of (excluding the detached lagoon of Garabogazköl) and a volume of . It has a

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

of approximately 1.2% (12 g/L), about a third of the salinity of most

seawater Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approximat ...

that is found in the region.

Astara TV Tower

As the demand for television broadcasting and telecommunication grew in the early 1980s, the Astara TV Tower was built. The television tower was uniquely designed, as its pinnacle is guyed to a horizontal cross-like steel structure.

Economy

Astara, a city in southern Azerbaijan nestled between the Caspian Sea and the Talysh Mountains, offers a unique blend of natural beauty and cultural richness, making it a popular destination for nature lovers and adventure seekers. Astara in Azerbaijan is known for its coastline and beaches along the Caspian Sea, offering attractions like Hirkan National Park, Sym Waterfall, Yanar Bulag (Fire Spring), Shi Waterfall, and Astara Boulevard. Astara Boulevard oasis of seaside fun. This gem of a park spans a kilometre along the Caspian Sea, offering a delightful retreat to locals and visitors alike. Located next to the Iranian border, Astara attracts numerous visitors from Iran, going to Azerbaijan to purchase goods and services that may not be as readily available in Iran.The Tijuana of the Caspian: At the border between Azerbaijan and Iran, everything’s for sale: sex, booze, tattoos—and maybe some revolutionary fervor
By Peter Savodnik, December 2009, ATLANTIC MAGAZINE

Transport

Astara is currently served by a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

railway only headed north. A

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

connection to the Iranian railway network along the shore of the

is planned. This break of gauge station is likely to be equipped with

bogie exchange A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more wheelsets (two wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally ...

and

SUW 2000 SUW 2000 is a Polish variable gauge system that allows trains to cross a break of gauge. It is interoperable with the German Rafil Type V system (built by the Radsatzfabrik Ilsenburg). History The SUW 2000 system was designed by Ryszard Suwalski. ...

variable gauge axle track gauge changing facility. The nearest Airport to Astara is Lankaran International Airport.

Notable people

* Ziya Bunyadov (1923–1997), Azerbaijani historian and World War II veteran * Vagif Akhundov (born 1950), colonel-general * Kazim Azimov (born 1951), Azerbaijani historian of philosophy, culture, sociologist, Orientalist >

Notes

References

*
World Gazetteer: Azerbaijan
– World-Gazetteer.com {{Authority control Populated places in Astara District Azerbaijan–Iran border crossings Port cities in Azerbaijan Divided cities Populated coastal places in Azerbaijan