Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🗺️

Hamadan province

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Hamadan province is a beautiful part of western Iran.

Hamadan Topography
Hamadan Topography

It sits within the eastern reaches of the Zagros Mountains. This province covers an area of 19,546 square kilometers. It is a very mountainous place with many high peaks. The Alvand range is located just south of Hamadan city. Its highest summit reaches 3,580 meters above sea level. The province shares borders with six other Iranian provinces. To the north, the Kharaqan Mountains form a natural boundary.

Hamadan
Hamadan

The landscape is shaped by its high mountains and rivers. Most rivers start from snowmelt on Mount Alvand. These rivers flow either north or south through the land. The Talvar and Qarachay rivers flow toward the north and east. The Qarachay river eventually reaches Lake Qom in Markazi province. In the south, the Gamasiab river flows near the lowest point. This low point is in a valley near Nahavand.

Ekbatan Dam 3
Ekbatan Dam 3

The Ekbatan Dam was built in 1963 on the Yalfan River. It holds 12 million cubic meters of water for farms.

This land has a very long and famous history. It is one of the most ancient parts of Iran. The modern city of Hamadan sits where Ecbatana once stood. Ecbatana was the capital city for the Medes. Some stories say King Jamshid built this great city. There was once a castle here called Haft Hessar. It was said to have one thousand rooms.

Inscription pierre GanjNameh hamedan
Inscription pierre GanjNameh hamedan

You can still see relics from the Achaemenid period here. One famous item is a Golden Rhyton.

Rython boz
Rython boz

Many different people live in Hamadan province today. In 2016, the population was about 1,738,234 people. Most people in the province are Muslim. In the city of Hamadan, most people speak Persian. In the northern part, many people speak Azerbaijani. People in the west often speak Kurdish. In the south, people speak Luri and Laki. Many residents live in cities like Malayer or Nahavand. Others live in over 1,100 small rural villages.

The weather in Hamadan can be quite extreme. Winters are long and very cold. The mountains stay covered in snow for six to eight months. Temperatures can drop as low as -32 degrees Celsius. Summers are mild but can get quite hot. In the summer, temperatures can reach 39 degrees Celsius. Because it is so hot, many rivers dry up. Most of the land is used for farming or pastures. This helps support the people and animals living there.

402 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (5)
File:Inscription pierre GanjNameh hamedan.jpg
Inscription pierre GanjNameh hamedan.jpg
File:Rython boz.jpg
Rython boz.jpg
File:Hamadan.svg
Hamadan.svg
File:Hamadan Topography.PNG
Hamadan Topography.PNG
File:Ekbatan Dam 3.jpg
Ekbatan Dam 3.jpg
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.