| Aladagh Mountains | |
|---|---|
 Map of Iran with Aladagh Mountains in northeast | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Shahjahan |
| Elevation | 3,032 m (9,948 ft) |
TheAladagh Mountains or theAladagh Range refers to a mountain range situated in the southeastern section ofIran'sNorth Khorasan province, southeast of theCaspian Sea. The range is located 25 kilometres south ofBojnurd, the capital city of North Khorasan. The Aladagh Mountains merge with theElburz orAlborz Mountains in the west and then run southeastwards in a northwest-southeast direction.[1] The highest peak of the range isMount Shahjahan with an elevation of 3,032 metres. This peak is located about 35 kilometres east ofEsfarayen, almost in southeastern part of North Khorasan Province.
Linguistically, the wordAladagh comes from theTurkic branch of theAltaic language family (- and, more specifically, from theKhorasani Turkic language ) and consists of two parts,ala anddagh /dag.Ala means "variegated", "patchwork", "particoloured " or "speckled" anddagh means "mountain", and therefore the wordAladagh means "(the)variegated or speckled mountain (range)".[2]
Geologically, the mountains were mainly uplifted in theAlpine orogeny during theNeogene and especially in theMiocene, although the orogenic phase continued in thePliocene. The range is made chiefly ofJurassic rocks in the western, south-central, eastern and southeastern parts, with a smaller portion ofPaleozoic rocks in the north-central section.[3]
The Aladagh Mountain Range consists of high mountains situated far from the temperate mediterranean climate of the northwestern and western mountains of Iran. Aside from the highest section of the central Elburz that has a cold mountain climate, even theElburz Mountain Range has a generally Mediterranean climate in the eastern, central, and Western parts.