Great Salt Desert
The Great Salt Desert or Kavir Desert, and dasht ) is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian Plateau. It is about long by wide with a total surface area of about, making it the world's 24th largest desert. The desert stretches from the Alborz mountain range in the north-west to the Lut Desert in the south-east. It is spread across the Iranian provinces of Khorasan, Semnan, Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd.
Features
The Great Salt Desert forms part of a protected ecological zone, the Kavir National Park.The Kavir Desert also contains the Rig-e Jenn, an area of sandy dunes traditionally associated with jinn and other evil spirits.
In the center of the desert lies the salt marshes of Kavir Buzurg, which is about long and wide.
On the western edge of the desert lies the Namak Lake.
Climate and structure
Dasht-e Kavir has an arid climate with little precipitation. However, there is usually some rainfall in winter, as well as the mountains that surround it, provide plenty of runoff—enough to create vast seasonal lakes, marshlands and playas. Daytime and nighttime temperatures can vary by as much as over the course of a year. The weather can get quite cold during the nighttime in winter, routinely dropping to below in some areas.The desert soil is covered with sand and pebbles; there are marshes, seasonal lakes and seasonal river beds. The high temperatures and low humidity cause extreme vaporization, which leaves the marshes and mud grounds with large crusts of salt.
Post-glacial lake system
Almost 3,000 years ago, at the start of the post-glacial era, the Kavir was a series of vast lakes.Wildlife
Vegetation in the Dasht-e Kavir is adapted to the hot and arid climate as well as to the saline soil in which it is rooted.Persian gazelles live in parts of steppe and desert areas of the central plateau. Wild sheep, camels, wild goats and Persian leopards are common in mountainous areas. Night life brings on wild cats, wolves, foxes, and other carnivores.