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| Great Salt Desert | |
|---|---|
| Dasht-e Kavir | |
 Sand dunes in theRig-e Jenn in the Kavir Desert | |
  Great Salt Desert | |
| Length | 800 km (500 mi) |
| Width | 500 km (310 mi) |
| Area | 77,600 km2 (30,000 mi2) |
| Geography | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | Khorasan,Semnan,Tehran,Isfahan,Yazd |
| Coordinates | 34°44′15.2″N54°49′37.56″E / 34.737556°N 54.8271000°E /34.737556; 54.8271000 |
TheGreat Salt Desert orKavir Desert (Persian:دشت كوير,romanized: Dasht-e Kavir,lit. 'Low Plains' in classical Persian, fromkhwar (low), anddasht (plain, flatland)) is a large desert lying in the middle of theIranian Plateau. It is about 800 kilometres (500 mi) long by 320 kilometres (200 mi) wide with a total surface area of about 77,600 km2 (30,000 sq mi), making it theworld's 24th largest desert.[1] The desert stretches from theAlborz mountain range in the north-west to theLut Desert in the south-east. It is spread across theIranian provinces ofKhorasan,Semnan,Tehran,Isfahan andYazd.
The Great Salt Desert forms part of a 4,000 km2 (1,500 sq mi) protected ecological zone, theKavir National Park.
The Kavir Desert also contains theRig-e Jenn, an area of sandy dunes traditionally associated withjinn and other evil spirits.
In the center of the desert lies the salt marshes ofKavir Buzurg (Great Kavir), which is about 320 km (200 mi) long and 160 km (99 mi) wide.
On the western edge of the desert lies the 1,800 km2 (690 sq mi)Namak Lake ("salt lake").
Dasht-e Kavir has an arid climate with little precipitation. However, there is usually some rainfall in winter, as well as the mountains that surround it, provide plenty of runoff—enough to create vast seasonal lakes, marshlands and playas. Daytime and nighttime temperatures can vary by as much as 70 °C (130 °F) over the course of a year. The weather can get quite cold during the nighttime in winter, routinely dropping to below 0 °C (32 °F) in some areas.
The desert soil is covered with sand and pebbles; there aremarshes, seasonallakes and seasonal river beds. The high temperatures and low humidity cause extreme vaporization, which leaves the marshes andmud grounds with largecrusts of salt.
| Climate data for Garmsār, Semnan Province, Altitude: 899.9 M from: 1986-2010 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.8 (69.4) | 24.6 (76.3) | 32.2 (90.0) | 36.6 (97.9) | 40.8 (105.4) | 45.0 (113.0) | 47.0 (116.6) | 46.0 (114.8) | 41.0 (105.8) | 36.4 (97.5) | 28.4 (83.1) | 22.2 (72.0) | 47.0 (116.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 10.2 (50.4) | 13.5 (56.3) | 18.8 (65.8) | 25.7 (78.3) | 31.6 (88.9) | 37.7 (99.9) | 40.0 (104.0) | 39.1 (102.4) | 34.8 (94.6) | 27.7 (81.9) | 18.9 (66.0) | 12.1 (53.8) | 25.8 (78.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.7 (40.5) | 7.4 (45.3) | 12.4 (54.3) | 18.6 (65.5) | 24.0 (75.2) | 29.7 (85.5) | 32.4 (90.3) | 31.1 (88.0) | 26.4 (79.5) | 20.0 (68.0) | 12.2 (54.0) | 6.5 (43.7) | 18.8 (65.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.9 (30.4) | 1.3 (34.3) | 6.0 (42.8) | 11.5 (52.7) | 16.4 (61.5) | 21.6 (70.9) | 24.7 (76.5) | 23.2 (73.8) | 18.1 (64.6) | 12.3 (54.1) | 5.6 (42.1) | 0.9 (33.6) | 11.7 (53.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 15.0 (0.59) | 14.5 (0.57) | 26.9 (1.06) | 19.8 (0.78) | 10.8 (0.43) | 1.0 (0.04) | 2.7 (0.11) | 1.0 (0.04) | 0.4 (0.02) | 3.8 (0.15) | 11.1 (0.44) | 14.1 (0.56) | 121.1 (4.79) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 64 | 55 | 47 | 39 | 32 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 28 | 36 | 50 | 64 | 41 |
| Source:[2] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Ardestan, Esfahan Province, Altitude: 1252.4 M from: 1992-2010 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) | 26.4 (79.5) | 32.0 (89.6) | 34.4 (93.9) | 39.6 (103.3) | 43.2 (109.8) | 44.4 (111.9) | 43.4 (110.1) | 39.6 (103.3) | 34.2 (93.6) | 29.4 (84.9) | 22.6 (72.7) | 44.4 (111.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.1 (48.4) | 13.3 (55.9) | 18.4 (65.1) | 24.8 (76.6) | 30.2 (86.4) | 35.8 (96.4) | 38.2 (100.8) | 37.3 (99.1) | 33.0 (91.4) | 26.4 (79.5) | 17.6 (63.7) | 11.2 (52.2) | 24.6 (76.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.6 (40.3) | 8.1 (46.6) | 12.9 (55.2) | 19.0 (66.2) | 24.0 (75.2) | 29.4 (84.9) | 31.9 (89.4) | 30.8 (87.4) | 26.7 (80.1) | 20.7 (69.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 6.8 (44.2) | 19.0 (66.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) | 2.8 (37.0) | 7.4 (45.3) | 13.2 (55.8) | 17.9 (64.2) | 22.9 (73.2) | 25.6 (78.1) | 24.4 (75.9) | 20.4 (68.7) | 15.1 (59.2) | 7.7 (45.9) | 2.4 (36.3) | 13.3 (56.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15.2 (4.6) | −8.4 (16.9) | −5.2 (22.6) | 1.2 (34.2) | 5.8 (42.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 18.2 (64.8) | 15.8 (60.4) | 10.5 (50.9) | 6.6 (43.9) | −3.0 (26.6) | −10.2 (13.6) | −15.2 (4.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 24.1 (0.95) | 15.1 (0.59) | 23.1 (0.91) | 15.5 (0.61) | 13.3 (0.52) | 0.9 (0.04) | 0.4 (0.02) | 0.9 (0.04) | 0.5 (0.02) | 2.0 (0.08) | 8.9 (0.35) | 22.4 (0.88) | 127.1 (5.01) |
| Average snowy days | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 6.1 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 52 | 41 | 33 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 26 | 38 | 51 | 31 |
| Source:[3] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Biarjamand, Semnan Province, Altitude: 1099.3 M from: 1992-2010 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) | 11.2 (52.2) | 16.7 (62.1) | 23.3 (73.9) | 28.6 (83.5) | 33.5 (92.3) | 35.6 (96.1) | 34.7 (94.5) | 30.7 (87.3) | 24.5 (76.1) | 16.3 (61.3) | 9.6 (49.3) | 22.7 (72.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.0 (41.0) | 10.1 (50.2) | 16.5 (61.7) | 21.7 (71.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.0 (82.4) | 23.3 (73.9) | 17.0 (62.6) | 9.6 (49.3) | 4.1 (39.4) | 16.1 (61.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.2 (26.2) | −1.1 (30.0) | 3.4 (38.1) | 9.7 (49.5) | 14.9 (58.8) | 20.0 (68.0) | 22.9 (73.2) | 21.4 (70.5) | 16.0 (60.8) | 9.4 (48.9) | 2.9 (37.2) | −1.5 (29.3) | 9.6 (49.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 15.4 (0.61) | 13.2 (0.52) | 28.2 (1.11) | 23.7 (0.93) | 15.4 (0.61) | 4.3 (0.17) | 0.6 (0.02) | 1.3 (0.05) | 2.0 (0.08) | 3.1 (0.12) | 7.2 (0.28) | 13.1 (0.52) | 127.5 (5.02) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 66 | 57 | 49 | 43 | 35 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 33 | 39 | 50 | 66 | 44 |
| Source:[4] | |||||||||||||
Almost 3,000 years ago, at the start of thepost-glacial era, the Kavir was a series of vast lakes.[citation needed]
Vegetation in the Dasht-e Kavir is adapted to the hot and arid climate as well as to the saline soil in which it is rooted.
Persian gazelles live in parts of steppe and desert areas of the central plateau.Wild sheep (Ovis orientalis),camels,wild goats (Capra aegagrus)[5] andPersian leopards are common in mountainous areas. Night life brings on wild cats,wolves,foxes, and othercarnivores.
The extreme heat and many storms in Dasht-e Kavir cause extensive erosion, which makes it almost impossible to cultivate the lands. The desert is almost uninhabited and knows little exploitation.
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