Environment
Islamic Republic of Iran has border in the north by the states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea; to the south by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; and to the west by Iraq and Turkey. Iran is about 1/5 the size of the America and nearly as big as Queens land, Australia. The country is dominated by three mountain ranges: the volcanic Sabalan and Talesh ranges in the north-west, fertile;
Massive, unrestrained urban and industrial development and War between Iran and Iraq have caused irreparable environmental damage, specially on the southern slopes of the Alborz mountains, along the Caspian Sea and around the Persian Gulf. To it's credit, the in Iran, they has created a few national parks, but the warm glow dissipates once you realize the parks have no fenced areas or rangers. The northern slopes of the Alborz mountain are densely covered with deciduous trees, forming the largest area of vegetation in Iran. There are some forest around Khalkhal zone, south of Nahar Khoran, and at Ardabil, near to Gorgan. Two of the more fascinating animals are the huge Alborz red sheep, with it's black beard and spiraling horns, and the Oreal ram, with a white beard and enormous horns. Mammals animals like wolf, jackal, black bear, hyena, wild boar and lynx are common in the unexplored depths of the forests of Mazandaran province. In the deserts and mountains of Iran you're more likely to come across the more calm Persian monkey and squirrel, galloping Persian gazelles, porcupine, badger and endemic Iranian wild ass.
As you know Iran is very vast, variety of topography and altitude, Iran experiences great extremes of climate. Iran's winters (December to February) can be very cold in most parts of the country, while in summer (June to August) temperatures as high as 40°C (104°F) are nothing out of the ordinary. Regular rainfall is more or less restricted to the far north and west - generally also the coldest parts of Iran.
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