Geography, Weather, & Wildlife of Iran
WARNING: International disputes with Iran are
ongoing, please read this travel warning before
going!
Geography

Lake in the mountains
Iran sits in the Middle East, stretching from
Iraq and Turkey in the west to Afghanistan
and Pakistan in the east; it is one of the largest countries
in the Middle East by both size and population. Being such a large country, Iran
has numerous land borders, including: Iraq to the west, Pakistan and Afghanistan
to the east, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan,
and Armenia to the north, and Turkey to the northwest. The
country also borders the Caspian Sea to its north and the Persian Gulf and Gulf
of Oman to its south.
Iran is a very geographically diverse country. The central
part of the country is a high dry plateau, while it is surrounded by mountains,
which roughly make up the country's borders. These mountain ranges include the
Elbrus Range in the northwest, the Khorasan Range in the east and the Baluchistan
Range in the southeast among others. Although dry, the country is fairly livable
due to the higher elevations and hence lower temperatures.
Weather

River in the forest
Iran has a significant number of mountains throughout their
country, but the land also dips to lower elevations making the weather dependent
on a number of things, most noticeably elevation and season. During winters (about
November to March) the northwest mountains get very cold and can receive a significant
amount of snow at elevation. This region can remain below freezing for much of December
and January. The rest of the country is warmer and rarely dips to below freezing
as this time of year is the rainy season, but again few places get much rain as
most of it is concentrated in the northern mountains and along the Caspian Sea.
Average temperatures in Tehran are about 45° F (7° C) during the winter. During
summers (about June to August) temperatures peak in the southern part of Iran with
average highs of about 100° F (38° C), although the rest of the country is cooler
and Tehran averages about 80° F (27° C) during these months. In some areas the summers
can also bring humidity, although most of the country is fairly dry during this
season.