Damavand is a significant mountain inPersian mythology. It is the symbol of Iranian resistance against despotism and foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature. InZoroastrian texts and mythology, the three-headed dragonAži Dahāka was chained within Mount Damāvand, there to remain until the end of the world. In a later version of the same legend, the tyrantZahhāk was also chained in a cave somewhere in Mount Damāvand after being defeated byKāveh andFereydūn. Persian poetFerdowsi depicts this event in his masterpiece, theShahnameh:
بیاورد ضحاک را چون نَوَند به کوه دماوند کردش بهبند
biyāvard Zahhāk rā čon navand be kuh-e Damāvand kardaš be-band
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 theShahnameh. Damāvand has also been named in the Iranian legend ofArash (as recounted byBal'ami) as the location from which the hero shot his magical arrow to mark the border ofIran, during the border dispute between Iran andTuran. The poem Damāvand byMohammad Taqī Bahār is also one fine example of the mountain's significance inPersian literature. The first verse of this poem reads:
ای دیو سپید پایدربند ای گنبد گیتی، ای دماوند
ey div-e sepid-e pāy-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 thereverse of the Iranian 10,000rial banknote.[11]
The origins and meaning of the word "Damavand" are unclear, yet some prominent researchers[who?] have speculated that it probably means "The mountain from which smoke and ash arises", alluding to the volcanic nature of the mountain.[citation needed]
Fumarole at 5,550 metres (18,210 ft) elevation on the volcano's slope
Mount Damavand rises within theAlborz range in northern Iran, separating the Iranian plateau to the south from theCaspian Sea in the north. This range rises as a result of the collision between theArabian andEurasiantectonic plates. This collision is similar to the collision between theIndian and Eurasian plates to the east, which is causing theHimalaya to rise and does not usually create volcanic activity. Despite this, recent research suggests that a hot region created by the collision is what caused the volcano to rise.[12]
Seismic wave patterns from earthquakes around the volcano indicate that amagma chamber is present between 2 and 5 kilometres (1.2 and 3.1 mi) below the surface. This is separated into two areas - an inner region of hot, likely molten, magma between 3 and 4.5 kilometres (1.9 and 2.8 mi) depth that is surrounded by an area of dense cooled magma. The top of the chamber is believed to lie to the south of the summit, trending somewhat to the west with depth.[13]
Most volcanic activity originates from the summit area. A few flank vents have been noted, but these are largely on the upper slopes to the southwest and northeast of the summit. A secondary crater, termed Haji Dela, has some young lava flows 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northeast of the summit.[12][14]
Volcanic activity in the Mount Damavand region first occurred in thePleistocene almost 1.78 million years ago, but the current edifice began to be built around 600,000 years ago.[12]
Its last eruption was around 5300 BCE in theHolocene. Its steep cone is formed of ash andlava flows mainly oftrachyte,andesite, andbasalt. Most eruptive activity appears to be lava flows, though some smallpyroclastic flow deposits have been noted in drainages radiating from the mountain. One major explosive event is known to have erupted about 280,000 years ago.[6]
Quaternary lavas are directly on theJurassic sediments.[15] The volcano is crowned by a small crater with sulfuric deposits. Despite the lack of historical eruptions, ongoing thermal activity at Mount Damavand suggests the volcano is not extinct.[6]Subsidence at a rate of 5 millimetres (0.20 in) per year and horizontal expansion at 6 millimetres (0.24 in) per year was observed there between 2003 and 2008, but was gravity driven rather than a result of magmatic activity.[16]
Fumaroles near the summit crater of Mount Damavand in May 2014
Mineralhot 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. Hot springs at the base and on the flanks andfumaroles near the summit indicate a hot or cooling magma body still present beneath the volcano.[6][17] The area around the volcano is the most thermally active in Iran and the springs are being monitored to see if fluctuations in water volume and mineral content are useful in crude prediction of large regional earthquakes.[18]
The most important of these hot springs isLarijan Hot Spring in a village by the name of Larijan in the district of Larijan Amol in Lar Valley. The water from this spring is believed to be useful in the treatment of chronic wounds and skin diseases and is bottled for distribution throughout Iran. Near these springs there are public baths with small pools for public use.[17]
A fewglaciers are present on the upper slopes of Damavand, the largest of which is Yakhar Glacier.[19] During theLast Glacial Maximum, the area covered by glaciation was much larger and the climatic snow line was between 600 and 1,100 metres (2,000 and 3,600 ft) below what is seen in the present day.[20] The glaciers on Damavand as well as a few other isolated locations are the source of the few permanently flowing rivers in Iran.[21]
A major settlement formountain climbers is the new Iranian Mountain Federation Camp in the village ofPolour, located on the southern side of the mountain.
There are at least 16 known routes to the summit,[22] 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[23] at 4,220 m (13,850 ft). The Northeastern route is the longest and requires two days to reach the summit starting from the downhill village of Nāndal and a night stay at Takht-e Fereydoun (elevation 4,300 m (14,100 ft), a two-story shelter. The western route is noted for its sunset view.Simurgh (Sīmorgh/Sīmurgh) shelter in this route at 4,100 m (13,500 ft) is a newly constructed two-story shelter. There is a frozen waterfall/icefall[24] (Persian name Ābshār Yakhī) about 12 m (39 ft) tall.[citation needed]
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 theIranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization is presently in the process of renaming an upcoming ancient festivity after Mount Damavand. "We have proposedTirgan Festivity,TabariNowruz, to be named as Damavand National Day," she added. Tirgan Festivity is held inAmol County'sRineh region inMazandaran province.[37]
^2009 U.S. military topographic mapping gives 18,365 feet (5,598 meters) but states in the margin that all elevations are derived fromSRTM. Asummitpost map is based on the Persian language 1999 Iranian government 1:50,000 mapping which plots two 5620 contour circles, with a 5628 m spot height for the highest spot on the crater rim (WNW side) and 5626 m for the highest point on the southeast side (and a 5610 m spot height in the due north position.) This is supported byGPSevidence andSRTM data.
^Moradi, Anvar; Maghsoudi, Mehran; Moghimi, Ebrahim; Yamani, Mojtaba; Rezaei, Nasser (June 2021). "A Comprehensive Assessment of Geomorphodiversity and Geomorphological Heritage for Damavand Volcano Management, Iran".Geoheritage.13 (2): 39.Bibcode:2021Geohe..13...39M.doi:10.1007/s12371-021-00551-1.S2CID233303860.
^Noroozi, Jalil; Talebi, Amir; Doostmohammadi, Moslem (2020). "The Alborz Mountain Range".Plant Biogeography and Vegetation of High Mountains of Central and South-West Asia. Plant and Vegetation. Vol. 17. pp. 117–149.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-45212-4_4.ISBN978-3-030-45211-7.S2CID226738400.
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