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 PERSIA 315 ince. Another branch is the Zagros range, which divides ancient Assyria from Media, and, splitting into a confused mass of ridges and valleys in Kurdistan, continues south- ward under the appellation of the Luristan and Bakhtiyari mountains along the western borders of the table land. In Farsistan, and thence eastward to the S. E. corner of the kingdom, the plateau is separated from the Persian gulf by several parallel ridges, from three to seven in number, crossed by barren valleys rising from the low shore into the in- terior. From the principal ranges we have mentioned run a multitude of branches that cover the surface of Persia with a network of rocky lines, and it has been said that in the vastest of Persian plains one is never out of sight of mountains. Salt deserts occupy prob- ably two thirds of the Iranian table land, and many of them are covered by a saline efflores- ence which glitters brightly in the sunshine. The Great Salt desert, the most extensive of these tracts, lies in the centre of the country, and is 400 m. in length and 250 m. in breadth. The nature of this desert varies in different places. In some the surface is marshy; in others it is dry and produces a few plants such as prefer a salt soil; and over considerable tracts sand predominates, which in places is so light and fine as to be extremely dangerous to travellers, who are sometimes overwhelmed and buried in the drifts raised by the wind. Inhabited oases dot the desert, though there are none of great extent. Throughout the re- mainder of the plateau the soil is of good qual- ity and productive wherever it is well watered. The arid climate and the absence of artificial irrigation, however, combine to give a brown, barren, and monotonous aspect to the country generally. In the spring a light herbage makes its appearance on the plains, but rapidly with- ers away under the heat to which they are ex- posed during ten months of the year. But wherever moisture is present, either naturally or by artificial means, the country is exceed- ingly fertile. Among the more favored regions are the beautiful plains which lie between the mountains of Azerbijan; the rich valleys at the southern base of the Elburz range, which are clothed with verdure throughout the year ; and the celebrated garden district of Shiraz, near the southern termination of the table land. The coast provinces of the Caspian, from 10 to 50 m. in width, and the plain about equally broad along the shores of the Per- sian gulf, constitute the northern and south- ern lowlands of Persia, between which there is a striking contrast. In Ghilan, Mazande- ran, and Astrabad, the country is abundantly supplied with water, the climate is hot and moist, and the luxuriance of the forest growth is almost tropical. The Deshtistan, or warm region of the south, is a burning waste of sand throughout almost its whole extent, with only an occasional patch of vegetation to re- lieve its utter aridity. The coast line of Persia measures about 800 m. on the Persian gulf and the gulf of Oman, and 400 m. on the Cas- pian.^ The principal gulf port is Bushire, the terminus of the submarine telegraph cable from Kurrachee, in lat. 29 K, Ion. 50 53' E., through which nearly all the Persian trade with India is carried on. The only other har- bor on the S. coast of any importance is Bunder Abbas, or Gornbrun, on the strait of Orrnuz. The Caspian ports are Enzeli, near Eesht, the capital of Ghilan, which is visited once a fort- night by Russian steamers from the Volga, and Meshedi Sar, the seaport of Balfrush in Mazanderan.- The deficiency of rivers in so vast a country is still more remarkable than the small number of good harbors, for there is scarcely a navigable stream in the whole king- dom. In the north the rapid Aras (Araxes) separates Azerbijan from Transcaucasia, and E. of the Caspian the river Atrek flows be- tween the khanate of Khiva on one side and Astrabad and Khorasan on the other. These can scarcely be classed as strictly Persian riv- ers, being only boundaries of the kingdom. While the greater part of Persia suffers from want of water, the northern provinces border- ing upon the Caspian sea are as remarkable for the multitude of their streams, although many of them are mere torrents, full in winter and nearly drying up in summer. The largest riv- er in this region is the Sefid-rud, which drains the mountainous district E. of Lake Urumiah by means of its chief affluent, the Kizil-Uzen, and pours into the Caspian sea through the province of Ghilan. In the basin of the Ti- gris, the principal Persian streams are the Ka- run, with its head waters in the Bakhtiyari range, and the Kerkha, from the mountains of Persian Kurdistan. -These rivers flow near- ly parallel through Khuzistan, and both unite with the Shat-el-Arab, the Kerkha about 50 m. above the Karun. The principal cities and towns of Persia are situated upon the banks or in the immediate vicinity of streams, where the greatest fertility prevails ; but few of these streams are of any commercial importance as highways of communication, as many of them never reach the sea, but are absorbed in ^ the sands of the desert. A striking characteristic of Persian topography is the number of salt lakes. The largest is Lake Urumiah in the W. part of Azerbijan, between lat. 37 5' and 38 15', at the height of 4,300 ft. above the sea. It is about 90 m. long, from 20 to 30 m. broad, and 12 ft. deep on an average. Although its waters are clear, one fourth of their weight is made up of saline matter in solution. The lake is fast drying up, and is bordered by large tracts covered with salt. Another great salt lake, next in size to this, is Bakhtegan in the E. portion of Farsistan, directly under the 54th meridian ; it is about TO m. long and 8 m. wide. Comparatively little is known of the geology of Persia. A primitive character is attributed to the Elburz range, in which are found porphyry colored with chlorite, and