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Aladagh Mountains

geography Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Aladagh Mountains are a grand mountain range in Iran. They sit in the North Khorasan province. This area is southeast of the Caspian Sea. The mountains are 25 kilometres south of Bojnurd. Bojnurd is the capital city of that province. The range runs from the northwest toward the southeast. In the west, they join the Alborz Mountains.

The name Aladagh tells a story about how they look. The name comes from the Khorasani Turkic language. It is made of two separate parts. The first part is "ala," which means speckled or many-colored. The second part is "dagh," which means mountain. Together, the name means the variegated or speckled mountain range. This might describe the different colors of the rocks.

These mountains were formed a long time ago. They rose up during a time called the Alpine orogeny. This happened during the Neogene period. Much of this growth happened during the Miocene. The mountain building continued into the Pliocene period. This is how the land was pushed upward.

Many different types of rocks make up the range. Most of the mountains are made of Jurassic rocks. You can find these in the west and the south. They are also in the central and southeast parts. A smaller part in the north-central section has Paleozoic rocks. These are even older than the Jurassic rocks. The highest peak is called Mount Shahjahan. It is located east of Esfarayen.

The weather here is different from other parts of Iran. The mountains are far from the Mediterranean climate. That climate is found in the northwest and west. The central part of the Elburz range is also different. Some high parts of the Elburz have a cold mountain climate. However, most of the Elburz range is Mediterranean. The Aladagh Mountains sit in their own special place.

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