Prelims ask
Spell the pair: Elbrus / Elburz. Damavand, Caspian, Iran.
Asia · Young fold
Elburz (Alborz)
- Countries
- Northern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea.
- Length
- About 900 km.
- Orientation
- East–west.
- Mountain type
- Young fold
- Plates
- Arabian–Eurasian convergence, along the southern Caspian.
- Highest peak
- Damavand, 5,610 m. A volcano, and the highest peak in Iran. Exam-safe figure.
- Rivers that rise here
- Short rivers drop north to the Caspian, including the Sefid-Rud system. The south flank has little perennial flow.
- Climate and rain shadow
- Sharp rain shadow. The Caspian slope carries the wet Hyrcanian forests. Tehran, on the south side, is arid.
Mains use
Best short example of an east–west wall with a wet windward coast and a dry capital city on the lee side.