Iran is the eighteenth largest country in the world. Its area roughly equals that of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined, or slightly less than the state of Alaska.Its borders are with Azerbaijan and Armenia  to the north-west; the Caspian Sea to the north; Turkmenistanto the north-east; Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east; Turkey and Iraq to the west; and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the south.

Iran's area is 1,648,000 km² (approximately 636,300 sq mi).

Landscape :
A series of massive, heavily eroded mountain ranges surround Iran's high interior basin. Most of the country is above 1,500 feet, one-sixth of it over 6,500 high. In sharp contrast are the coastal regions outside the mountain ring. In the north, the 400-mile strip along the Caspian Sea, never more than 70 miles wide and frequently narrowing to 10, falls sharply from the 10,000-foot summit to 90 feet below sea level. In the south, the land drops away from a 2,000 foot plateau, backed by a rugged escarpment three times as high, to meet the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Mountains :
The Zagros range stretches from the border with the Republic of Armenia in the north-west to the Persian Gulf, and then eastward into Baluchistan. As it moves southward, it broadens into a 125-mile-wide band of parallel, alternating mountains lying between the plains of Mesopotamia and the great central plateau of Iran. It is drained on the west by streams that cut deep, narrow gorges and water fertile valleys. The land is extremely hard, difficult to access, and populated largely by pastoral nomads.

The Alborz mountain range, narrower than the Zagros but equally forbidding, runs along the Zagros but equally forbidding, runs along the southern shore of the Caspian to meet the border ranges of Khorassan to the east. The highest of its volcanic peaks is 18,600-foot, snow-covered Mt. Damavand. On the border of Afghanistan, the mountains fall away, to be replaced by barren sand dunes.

The arid interior plateau, which extends into Central Asia, is cut by two smaller mountain ranges. Parts of this desert region, known as dasht, are covered by loose stones and sand, gradually merging into fertile soil on the hillsides. Where fresh water can be held, oases have existed from time immemorial, marking the ancient caravan routes. The most remarkable feature of the plateau is a salt waste 200 miles long and half as wide, knows as the kavir (deserts). It remains unexplored, since its treacherous crust has been formed by large, sharp-edged salt masses which cover mud. Cut by deep ravines, it is virtually impenetrable.

Deserts :
The vast deserts of Iran stretch across the plateau from the north-west, close to Tehran and Qom, for a distance of about 400 miles to the south-east and beyond the frontier. Approximately one-sixth of the total area of Iran is barren desert.

The two largest desert areas are known as the Kavir-e-Lut and the Dasht-e-Kavir. Third in size of these deserts is the Jazmurian. It is often said that the Kavir-e-Lut and Dasht-e-Kavir are impossible to cross except by the single road which runs from Yazd to Ferdows, but in recent years, heavy trucks and other vehicles have travelled over long stretches of these deserts which contain extensive mineral deposits -chlorides, sulphates and carbonates - and it is only a matter of time before they are exploited.

Lakes & Seas :
**The Caspian Sea: The Caspian Sea, which is the largest landlocked body of water in the world (424,240 sq. km.), lies some 85 feet below the sea level. It is comparatively shallow, and for some centuries has bene slowly shrinking in size. Its salt content is considerably less than that of the oceans and though it abounds with fish, its shelly coasts do not offer any good natural harbours, and sudden and violent storms make it dangerous for small boats. The important ports on the Caspian coast are: Bandar Anzali, Noshahr, and Bandar Turkman.

** The Persian Gulf: the shallow marginal part of the Indian ocean that lies between the Arabian Peninsula and south-east Iran. The sea has an area of 240,000 square kilometres. Its length is 990 kilometres, and its width varies from a maximum of 338 kilometres to a minimum of 55 kilometres in the Strait of Hormuz. It is bordered on the north, north-east and east by Iran, on the north-west by Iraq and Kuwait, on the west and south-west by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, and on the south and south-east by the United Arab Emirates and partly Oman. The term Persian Gulf is often used to refer not only proper to the Persian Gulf but also to its outlets, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, which open into the Arabian Sea.

The most important islands of the Persian Gulf on the Iranian side are: Minoo, Kharg, Sheikh Saas, Sheikh Sho'ayb, Hendurabi, Kish, Farur, Sirri, Abu Mussa, the Greater and Lesser Tunb Qeshm, Hengam, Larak, Farsi, Hormuz, Lavan, The notable ports on the Persian Gulf coast are: Abadan, Khorramshahr, Bandar Iman Khomeini, Mahshahr, Deilam, Gonaveh, Rig, Bushehr, Bandar Lengeh, Bandar Abbas.

The Iranian shore is mountainous, and there are often cliffs, elsewhere a narrow coastal plain with beaches, intertidal flats, and small estuaries borders the gulf. The coastal plain widens north of Bushehr on the eastern shore of the gulf and passes into the broad deltaic plain of the Tigris, Euphrates and Karun rivers. It is noticeably asymmetrical in profile, with the deepest water occurring along the Iranian coast and a broad shallow area, which is usually less than 120 feet deep, along the Arabian coast.

There are some ephemeral streams on the Iranian coast south of Bushehr, but virtually no fresh water flows into the gulf on its south-west side. Large quantities of fine dust are, however, blown into the sea by predominant north-west winds from the desert areas of the surrounding lands. The deeper parts of the Persian Gulf adjacent to the Iranian coast and the are around the Tigris-Euphrates Delta are mainly floored with grey-green muds rich in calcium carbonate.

The Persian Gulf has a notoriously bad climate. Temperatures are high, though winters may be quite cool at the north-western extremities. The sparse rainfall occurs mainly as sharp down pours between November and April and is heavier in the north-east. Humidity is high. The little cloud cover is more prevalent in winter than in summer. Thunderstorms and fog are rare, but dust storms and haze occur frequently in summer.

Until the discovery of oil in Iran in 1908, the Persian Gulf area was important mainly for fishing, pearling, the building of dhows, sailcloth making, camel breeding, reed mat making, date cultivating, and the production of other minor products, such as red ochre from the islands in the south. Today these traditional industries have declined, and the economy of the region is dominated by the production of oil.

The Persian Gulf and the surrounding countries produce approximately 31 per cent of the world's total oil production and have 63 per cent of the world's proven reserves. The Persian Gulf area will probably remain and important source of world oil for a long period.

**Other Lakes: Along the frontier between Iran and Afghanistan there are several marshy lakes which expand and contract according to the season of the year. The largest of these, the Seestan (Hamun-Sabari), in the north of the Seestan &Y Baluchistan province, is alive with wild fowl.

Real fresh water lakes are exceedingly rare in Iran. There probably are no more than 10 lakes in the whole country, most of them brackish and small in size. The largest are: Lake Urmiya (area: 3,900-6,000 sq. km. depending on season) in Western Azerbaijan, Namak (1,806 sq. km.) in the Central province, Bakhtegan (750 sq. km.) in Fars province, Tasht (442 sq. km.) in fars province, Moharloo (208 sq. km.) in Fars province, Howz Soltan (106.5 sq. km.) in Central province.

climate:
Climate The climate of Iran is dry tropical with very hot summer and cold, with some snow, winter. Winter is normally the rainy season for the whole country.

The Desht-e Kavir Desert, south-east of the capital, is harsh, inhospitable, and very, very hot in summer. Winters are not much better, and at night the temperature can fall well below zero.

The Dasht-e Lut to the south is even worse; almost completely devoid of water from any direction and the last word in extreme aridity. The regions along the mountainous parts of the country have milder summers and colder winters.

The north-west of the country is generally the coldest and among the rainiest parts of the country. The winters in Azarbaijan and Kurdestan can be severe: temperatures sometimes fall as low as -20 oC (-4oF). Snow frequently remains until early spring, or even later in the mountains.

But the coastal regions have quite a different climate. The Caspian coast is damp all year round and provides a pleasant contrast with the dryness of plateaux, which are only a few hours away by road.

Wind is undoubtedly the most unpleasant element especially from June in the east of the country. In Mashhad there are tales of wind from Central Asia lasting for one hundred and twenty days, which in the middle of summer blow at up to 200 km / h.

The temperature can vary widely. In the summer, temperatures vary from a high of 50 o C (122o F) in the south to a low of 1o C (34 o F) in the north-west. Average winter temperature is 5.9 o C (42.6 o F), summer temperature is 37.8 o C (100 o F).

Precipitation also varies greatly, ranging from less than 50 mm (2 in) in the south-east to about 2,000 mm (80 in) in the Caspian region. The annual average is about 250 mm (10 in).

Spring (April to May) and autumn (late September to late November) are good seasons for visiting Iran. Summer is pleasant in Tehran and on the Caspian coast.

Administrative Structure:

Iran is divided into thirty provinces, each governed by an appointed governor. The provinces are divided into counties , and subdivided into districts and sub-districts .

Iran has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world.  Most internal migrants have settled near the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Qom. The listed populations are from the 2006/07 (1385 AP) census. Tehran, with population of 7,705,036, is the largest city in Iran and is the Capital city. Tehran is home to around 11% of Iran's population. Tehran, like many big cities, suffers from severe air pollution. It is the hub of the country's communication and transport network.

Mashhad, with a population of 2.8 million, is the second largest Iranian city and the centre of the province of Razavi Khorasan. Mashahd is one of the holiest Shi'a cities in the world as it is the site of the Imam Reza shrine. It is the centre of tourism in Iran and between 15 and 20 million pilgrims go to the Imam Reza's shrine every year.

Another major Iranian city is Isfahan (population 1,986,542), which is the capital of Isfahan Province. The Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city contains a wide variety of Islamic architectural sites ranging from the eleventh to the 19th century. The growth of suburb area around the city has turned Isfahan to the second most populous metropolitan area (3,430,353).

The forth major city of Iran is Tabriz (population 1,597,312) capital of the East Azarbaijan province which is the second industrial city of Iran after Tehran. Tabriz has been the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s and one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince under the Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history.

The other major cities are Karaj (population 1,532,275), and Shiraz (population 1,227,331). Karaj is located in Tehran province and is situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of Alborz mountains; however, the city is increasingly becoming an extension of metropolitan Tehran.