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'Alborz' (in Persian البرز), also written as 'Alburz' or 'Elburz', is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian (Mazandaran) Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. The largest mountain in the Middle East, Mount Damavand, is located in the range.
The Alborz mountain range forms a barrier between the south Caspian and the Qazvin-Tehran plateau. It is only 60-130 km wide and consists of sedimentary series dating from Upper Devonian to Oligocene, prevalently jurassic limestone over a granite core.
Zoroastrians may identify the range with the dwelling place of the Peshyotan, and the Zoroastrian Ilm-e-Kshnoom sect identify Mount Davamand as the home of the ''Saheb-e-Dilan'' ('Masters of the Heart'). In his epic Shahnameh, the poet Ferdowsi speaks of the Alborz as if it lay in India.^[1]
Also due to its great snowy winters there are several ski resorts, some consider that a few of these are among the best in the world. Some of most important ones are: Dizin, Shemshak, Tochal, and Darbandsar.
It should not be confused with Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, which also derives its name from the legendary mountain Harā Bərəzaitī of the Avesta.

Contents

Etymology

Mounts, summits, and attractions

Source

Notes

External links

Etymology

The name Elbrus is a sound metathesis derived from Alborz. ^[2] The name Alborz is derived from that of Harā Bərəzaitī, a legendary mountain in the Avesta ¹. Harā Bərəzaitī reflects Proto-Iranian
★ Harā Bṛzatī
★ Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective
★ bṛzant- "high", the ancestor of modern Persian boland (بلند) and Barz/Berazandeh¹. Harā may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from an Indo-European root
★ ser- "protect"¹. . In Middle Persian, Harā Bərəzaitī became Harborz, Modern Persian Alborz, which is cognate with Elbrus¹.

Mounts, summits, and attractions

★ Mount Damavand

★ Tochal mount and summit

★ Tangeh Savashi, A popular attraction

★ Alam Kuh

★ Alamut

★ Dizin

★ List of mountains in Iran

Source

★ North, S.J.R., Guide to Biblical Iran, Rome 1956, p. 50

Notes

1. Encyclopedia, "Alborz", W. Eilers [1]
2. Encyclopedia, "Alborz", W. Eilers [2]

External links

★ Maps, Photos and a List of peaks