The Zagros Mountains from space, September 1992 ^[1]

The Zagros Mountains (Kurdish: Zagros - زاگرۆس, Persian: رشته كوههاى زاگرس), make up Iran's and Iraq's largest mountain range. The Kurdish language (Kurdish Kurdî or کوردی is a term used for the language spoken by Kurds. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. A mountain range is a chain of Mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys They have a total length of 1 500 km from western Iran, on the border with Iraq to the southern parts of the Persian Gulf. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the The mountain range ends at the Straits of Hormuz. Navigation Ships moving through the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS which separates inbound from outbound traffic to reduce the risk of collision The highest points in the Zagros Mountains are Zard Kuh (4 548 m) and Mt. Zard Kuh, (meaning Yellow Mountain Zardkuh or Zard-e Kuh-e Bakhtiari (in Persian: زردكوه بختياري) is located in the central Zagros Dena (4 359 m). Dena (in Persian: دنا is a mountain range within the Zagros Mountains of West/Southwestern Iran. The Hazaran massif in the Kerman province forms an eastern outlier of the range, the Jebal Barez reaching into Sistan. Hazaran ( Hazar, Bīd Khān) is the name of a massif of the Central Iranian Plateau, Kerman province, Iran, an eastern outlier of the Kermān is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the south-east of the country The Jebal Barez are a mountain chain in the Kerman Province of Iran. Modern Sistan ( is a border region in southeastern Iran (see Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and southwestern Afghanistan (see Nimruz Province

The Zagros Mountains were formed by collision of two tectonic plates — the Eurasian and Arabian Plates. Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere The Eurasian Plate is a Tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional Continents of Europe The Arabian Plate is one of three Tectonic plates (the African Arabian and Indian crustal plates) which have been moving northward over millions of Stresses induced in the Earth's crust by the collision caused extensive folding of the preexisting layered sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock types (the others being igneous and Metamorphic rock) Subsequent erosion removed softer rocks, such as mudstone (rock formed by consolidated mud) and siltstone (a slightly coarser-grained mudstone) while leaving harder rocks, such as limestone (calcium-rich rock consisting of the remains of marine organisms) and dolomite (rocks similar to limestone containing calcium and magnesium). Mudstone (also called mudrock) is a fine grained Sedimentary rock whose original constituents were Clays or Muds Grain size is up Siltstone is a Sedimentary rock which has a composition intermediate in grain size between the coarser Sandstones and the finer Mudstones and Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 Dolomite (ˈdɒləmaɪt is the name of a Sedimentary Carbonate rock and a Mineral, both composed Calcium (ˈkælsiəm is the Chemical element with the symbol Ca and Atomic number 20 Magnesium (mægˈniːziəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Mg, Atomic number 12 Atomic weight 24 This differential erosion formed the linear ridges of the Zagros Mountains. Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind

The depositional environment and tectonic history of the rocks were conducive to the formation and trapping of petroleum, and the Zagros region is an important part of Persian Gulf oil production. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit

Salt domes and salt glaciers are a common feature of the Zagros Mountains. A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when a thick bed of Evaporite minerals (mainly salt or Halite) found at depth intrudes vertically into A salt glacier is a flow of Salt (typically Halite) that is created when a rising Diapir in a Salt dome breaches the surface much like Salt domes are an important target for oil exploration, as the impermeable salt frequently traps petroleum beneath other rock layers.

Etymology

The name Zagros is derived from the Zagarthians/Sagarthians--and Indo-European, Iranic immigrants from Europe who once inhabited the mountains, from the shores of Lake Van to the coasts of Makran. Lake Van (Van Gölü Gola Wanê Վանա լիճ Daryacheye Van ("Lake of Van" is the largest Lake Makran ( Urdu / Persian: مکران) is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along The Zangana and Chigini tribes of the Kurds are the remnants of these ancient Sagarthians. For other usages see Zengana (disambiguation The Zangana (Kurdish Zengene) are a branch of southern Kurds and a tribal confederation The Sagartians ( Asagartiya, Old Persian Aš-ša-kar-ti-ia, Assyrian KUR Sa-ga-ar-ta-a-a, Greek Σαγαρτιοιwere an ancient Iranian Other explanations deriving the name from Greek Zagreus, meaning stormy, or the name Za-G'R' means 'great mountain' in the Avestan language, are invalid. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta.

Type and age of rock

The mountains are divided into many parallel sub-ranges (up to 10, or 250 km wide), and have the same age as the Alps. Iran's main oilfields lie in the western central foothills of the Zagros mountain range. An oil field is a region with an abundance of Oil wells extracting Petroleum (crude oil from below ground The southern ranges of the Fars Province have somewhat lower summits, reaching 4000 metres. Fars (pronounced/fɑː(ɹs ( Persian: فارس Fârs) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. They contain some limestone rocks showing abundant marine fossils. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system.

The Kuhrud Mountains form one of the parallel ranges at a distance of approx. 300 km to the east. The area between these two impressive mountain chains is home to a dense human population that lives in the intermediate valleys which are quite high in altitude with a temperate climate. Their rivers, which eventually reach salt lakes, create fertile environments for agriculture and commerce. The salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of Water which has a concentration of Salts (mostly Sodium chloride) and other minerals significantly

Zagros in history

Signs of early agriculture date back as far as 9000 BCE to the foothills of the Zagros Mountains^[2], in cities later named Anshan and Susa. Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa) Jarmo is one archaeological site in this area. Jarmo (Qal'at Jarmo is an Archeological site located in Northern Iraq on the foothills of Zagros Mountains east of Shanidar, where the ancient skeletal remains of Neanderthals have been found, is another. The cave site of Shanidar is located in the Zagros Mountains of Kurdistan in Iraq. The Neanderthal (neɪˈændərtɑːl also with /niː-/ and /-θɔːl/ or Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from

Some of the earliest evidence of production has been discovered in the Zagros Mountains; both the settlements of Hajji Firuz and Godin Tepe have given evidence of wine storage dating between 3500 and 5400 BC. History In ancient times he was known as Khwajah Piruz. This aspect of Nowruz was so prominent that the mayors of towns were literally displaced by Godin Tepe is a prehistoric settlement in western Iran, situated in the valley of Kangavar. ^[3]

During early ancient times, the Zagros was the home of "barbarian" peoples such as the Kassites, Guti, and Mitanni, who periodically invaded the Sumerian and/or Akkadian cities of Mesopotamia. The Kassites were an Ancient Near Eastern tribe who gained control of Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire after ca Mitanni ( Hittite cuneiform, also Mittani) or Hanigalbat ( Assyrian Hanigalbat Khanigalbat cuneiform) Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The mountains create a geographic barrier between the flatlands of Mesopotamia which is in Iraq and the Iranian plateau.

References

See also

• Taurus Mountains
• Alborz Mountains

External links

• Zagros, Photos from Iran, Livius. For the Taurus Mountains on the moon see Montes Taurus. For Mount Taurus outside Cold Spring New York, see Bull Hill. For the Iranian Frigate Alborz see Iranian frigate Alborz. For Alborz High School (in Persianدبیرستان البرز see Alborz High
• The genus Dionysia
• Iran, Timeline of Art History
• Mesopotamia 9000 - 500 B.C.