Mount Damavand


Mount Damavand, a potentially active volcano 5600-m high, is a stratovolcano which is the highest peak in Iran and the highest volcano in Asia.
Damāvand has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore. It is in the middle of the Alborz range, adjacent to Varārū, Sesang, Gol-e Zard, and Mīānrūd. It is near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, in Amol County, Mazandaran Province, 66 kilometres northeast of the city of Tehran.
Mount Damāvand is the 12th most prominent peak in the world and the second most prominent in Asia after Mount Everest. 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 texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon Aži Dahāka 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 was also chained in a cave somewhere in Mount Damāvand after being defeated by Kāveh and Fereydūn. Persian poet Ferdowsi depicts this event in his masterpiece, the Shahnameh:
بیاورد ضحاک را چون نوند

به کوه دماوند کردش ببند
biyâvarad Zahhâk râ čon navand

be kuh-e Damâvand krdš beband
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 the location from which the hero shot his magical arrow to mark the border of Iran, 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:
ای دیو سپید پای در بند

ای گنبد گیتی، ای دماوند
Ey div-e sepid-e pâyi 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 rials 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.

Geology

Mount Damavand first erupted in the Pleistocene almost 1.78 million years ago. After several known eruptions around 600,000 and 280,000 years ago, its last eruption was around 5300 BC in the Holocene. Its steep cone is formed of ash and lava flows mainly of trachyte, andesite, and basalt. The Quaternary lavas are directly on the Jurassic sediments. The volcano is crowned by a small crater with sulfuric deposits. There are also fumaroles, hot springs, and mineral deposits of travertine. Mount Damavand could be considered as a potentially active volcano, because there are fumaroles near the summit crater emitting sulfur, which was known to be active on July 6, 2007.

Thermal springs

Mineral hot springs are mainly located on the volcano's flanks and at the base, giving evidence of volcanic heat comparatively near the surface of the earth. While no historic eruptions have been recorded, hot springs at the base and on the flanks, and fumaroles and solfatara near the summit, indicate a hot or cooling magma body still present beneath the volcano.
The most important of these hot springs are located in Abe Garm Larijan in a village by the name Larijan in the district of Larijan in Lar Valley. The water from this spring is useful in the treatment of chronic wounds and skin diseases. Near these springs there are public baths with small pools for public use.

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 longest route is the Northeastern and it takes two days to reach the summit starting from the downhill village of Nāndal and a night stay at Takht-e Fereydoun about tall and the elevation of is the highest fall in Iran and the Middle East.

Geographical location

Wildlife

Fish

Damavand rivers and slopes are famous for brown trout.

Mammals

and wild goat live in the region of Damavand Mts. Persian leopard and Syrian brown bear live in this region. Some smaller mammals are the snow vole, mouse-like hamster and Afghan pika.

Birds

The attractive and unreachable Caspian snowcock lives at high altitudes. Golden eagle breeds in this area. Griffon vultures are common. Chukar partridge has a high population and nests between stone and shrubs. Red-fronted serin, linnet, snow finch, rock sparrow, rock bunting and horned lark are native; in winter they come to the lower hillsides. In spring wheatear, rock thrush, and nightingale come from Africa for breeding. Grey-necked bunting, black-headed bunting and common rosefinch come from India.

Reptiles and amphibians

s live in Lar riversides. Meadow viper, blunt-nosed viper, Iranian valley viper and Caucasian agama are among the reptiles of this mountainous region.

Flora

On the southern slope of Damavand, there are remnants of wild pistachia trees. Along its riversides different kinds of Salix trees like willow and oleaster are found. Greek juniper is common in the higher altitudes. On northern slopes, because of higher humidity, there are wild oak, beech and hazel trees like: Persian Oak, Eastern Hornbean, and Oriental beech. There are also many wild flowers such as mountain tulip and Persian stone cress. At higher altitudes, shrubs tend to be sphere and cushion like, examples are : Astragalus species, mountain sainfoin and prickly. Different kinds of grasses complete this alpine scene.
Iris barnumiae demawendica, is found and named after the mountain.
Between mid-May to mid-June the foothills of :fa:%D9%BE%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87:Damavand-Poppies.jpg|Damavand are covered in red poppies.This unique type of poppy, growing in areas between 2000 to 3500 meters high, is mentioned as Lar poppy or Rineh poppy in valid botany books..

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 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.