Ramsar () is a city in the Central District of Ramsar County, Mazandaran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.

History

In 1971, Ramsar hosted the

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

, also known as the Convention on Wetlands. This international

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

for the conservation and sustainable use of designated

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

(which under the treaty are known as Ramsar sites) was signed in and named after the city of Ramsar.

Overview

Ramsar lies on the

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, ...

. It was also known as Sakhtsar in the past. The climate of Ramsar is hot and humid in summer and mild in winter. The proximity of the forest and the sea in this city attracts tourists in all seasons. Ramsar has an airport. The city of Ramsar was a small village in western Mazandaran until the Qajar period, and during the first Pahlavi period, with the rule of

Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

and with the support of the government, it became a city with many tourist facilities. Ramsar is the westernmost county and city in

Mazandaran Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari, Iran, Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is border ...

. It borders the

to the north, Rudsar county of

Gilan Gilan Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, in the northwest of the country and southwest of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Rasht. The province lies along the Caspian Sea, in Iran's Region 3, west of the province of ...

province to the west, Qazvin Province to the south, and

Tonekabon Tonekabon () is a city in the Central District of Tonekabon County, Mazandaran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology Toneka was a large and fortress-like city with a fence and a hard and stron ...

to the east.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

The

Gilaks Gilaks ( Gilaki: گيلٚکؤن, ) are an Iranian peoples native to south of Caspian sea. They form one of the main ethnic groups residing in the northern parts of Iran. Gilak people, along with the closely related Mazandarani people, comprise ...

form the majority of the city's population. Their dialect of Gilaki is similar to that found in eastern

and belongs to the Eastern or Bie-Pish branch.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 31,659 in 9,241 households. The following census in 2011 counted 32,294 people in 10,432 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 35,997 people in 12,153 households.

Geography

Climate

Ramsar has a

humid subtropical climate 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfa'', Trewartha: ''Cf''), with warm, humid summers and cool, damp winters. Ramsar is the cloudiest city in Iran, as well as one of the cloudiest cities of this latitude, with annual sunshine of around 1582 hours.

Northern Iran Northern Iran (), is a geographical term that refers to a relatively large and fertile area, consisting of the southern border of the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountains. It includes the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan (ancie ...

, as well as most portions of Iran, is separated by mountains. As a result, the air in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

is very dry. When driving to Ramsar from Tehran, one drives up the mountains until arriving at a tunnel. On passing through this tunnel and coming out the other side, the environment is very different; it is more humid and green due to moisture from the

, and this abundance of mist and rain is part of the attraction for tourists from the desert zones of Iran.

Radioactivity

Ramsar's Talesh Mahalleh district is the most radioactive inhabited area known on Earth, due to nearby

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s and building materials originating from around them. A combined population of 2,000 residents from this district and other high radiation neighborhoods receive an average

radiation dose Ionizing (ionising) radiation, including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have enough energy per individual photon or particle to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some pa ...

of 10 mSv per year, ten times more than the

ICRP The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an independent, international, non-governmental organization, with the mission to protect people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. Its ...

-recommended limit for exposure to the public from artificial sources. Record levels were found in a house where the effective radiation dose due to external radiation was 131 mSv/a, and the

committed dose The committed dose in radiological protection is a measure of the stochastic health risk due to an intake of radioactive material into the human body. Stochastic in this context is defined as the ''probability'' of cancer induction and genetic dam ...

from

radon Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to b ...

was 72 mSv/a. This unique case is over 80 times higher than the world average background radiation. One of the most commonly used models of

radiation-induced cancer Exposure to ionizing radiation is known to increase the future incidence of cancer, particularly leukemia. The mechanism by which this occurs is well understood, but quantitative models predicting the level of risk remain controversial. The most wi ...

posits that the risk rises linearly with dose at a rate of 5% per Sv. If this linear no-threshold model is correct, it should be possible to observe an increased incidence of cancer in Ramsar through careful long-term studies currently underway. Early anecdotal evidence from local doctors and preliminary cytogenetic studies suggested that there may be no such harmful effect, and possibly even a radio-adaptive effect. More recent epidemiological data show a slightly reduced lung cancer rate and non-significantly elevated

morbidity A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that are asso ...

, but the small size of the population (only 1800 inhabitants in the highest-irradiated areas) will require a longer monitoring period to draw definitive conclusions. Furthermore, there are questions regarding possible non-cancer effects of the radiation background. An Iranian study has shown that people in the area have a significantly higher expression of the CD69 gene and a higher incidence of stable and unstable chromosomal aberrations. Chromosomal aberrations have been found in other studies. Pending further study, the potential health risks had moved scientists in 2001–02 to call for relocation of the residents and regulatory control of new construction. The radioactivity is due to the local geology. Underground water dissolves

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

in uraniferous

igneous rock Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

and carries it to the surface through at least nine known hot springs. These are used as spas by locals and tourists. Some of the radium precipitates into

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...

, a form of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, and the rest diffuses into the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

, where it is absorbed by crops and mixes with drinking water. Residents have unknowingly used the radioactive limestone as a building material for their homes. The stone irradiates the inhabitants and generates

gas which typically promotes

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. Crops contribute 72 μSv/yr to a critical group of 50 residents.

Environmental protection

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 160 contracting parties to the convention, with 1920 wetland sites, totaling , designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Presently, there are 160 contracting parties, up from 119 in 2000 and from 18 initial signatory nations in 1971. Signatories meet every three years as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the first held in

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, Italy, in 1980. Amendments to the original convention have been agreed to in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(in 1982) and Regina, Canada (in 1987).

Tourism

Ramsar is a popular sea resort for Iranian tourists. The town also offers

s, the green forests of the

Alborz The Alborz ( ) 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 northeast and merge ...

Mountains, the vacation palace of the last

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

, and the Hotel Ramsar. south of Ramsar and above sea level in the

Alborz mountains The Alborz ( ) 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 northeast and merge ...

is Javaher Deh village, which is an important tourist attraction in Ramsar county. The road from Ramsar to Javaher Deh connects the city to Safarood forest park.

Twin towns and sister cities

Ramsar is twinned with: *

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune ...

, Chile (since 28 January 2009) *

Al Wakrah Al Wakrah () is the capital city of the Al Wakrah Municipality in Qatar. Al Wakrah's eastern edge touches the shores of the Persian Gulf and Qatar's capital Doha is situated immediately north of the city. Governed by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Jassi ...

, Qatar (since 14 June 2010) *

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

, Iran (since 9 January 2013)

Notable people

* Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (b. 1983) - Football player * Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei (b. 1960) - Politician * Abbas Ali Khalatbari (1912–1979) - Iranian diplomat * Hossein Khalatbari (1949-1985) - Iranian fighter pilot * Elika Abdolrazzaghi (b. 1979) - Cinema, stage and TV actress * Mohammad-Ali Taskhiri (1948-2020) - Iranian cleric and diplomat * Hooman Khalatbari (b. 1969) - Music conductor * Rahim Ebadi (b. 1957) - Politician

Gallery

File:Hotelghadim.JPG, The Old Hotel of Ramsar File:Ramsar-shah-table.JPG, The desk of Mohammad Reza Shah File:جنگل دالیخانی .jpg, Dalikhani Forest File:Palais ramsar.jpg, Marble palace in Ramsar File:Ramsar Hotel.jpg, Ramsar Hotel File:جواهرده.jpeg, Javaher Deh File:Ramsar Walkway.jpg, A walkway in front of the old hotel File:جنگل دالیخانی.jpg, Dalikhani Forest File:North of Iran - Ramsar (palace).jpg, A palace in Ramsar File:Mazandaran Ramsar Coast.jpg, Ramsar Caspian coast File:Ramsar bridge, 2016.JPG, Ramsar Bridge File:Ramsar, Mazandaran Bazar, 23 April 2016.jpg, Ramsar Bazaar File:Baazar Ramsar.jpg, Ramsar International Shopping File:Ramsarfishmarket.jpg, Ramsar Fish Market File:Ramsarsea.jpg, Ramsar seaside

Notes

References

External links

*
Ramsar's radioactivity

{{Ramsar County, state=collapsed Cities in Mazandaran province Populated coastal places in Iran Populated places on the Caspian Sea