Iran

1. Iran Najla Al-Khulaifi Mr.Sweeney Grade 8-C

2. Where Iran is located • Iran is located in the Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan.

3. Geographic Features of Iran • Most of Iran is situated on the coast of the Caspian Sea and Khuzestan. Iran is one of the world's most mountainous countries, its landscape is dominated by rugged mountain range that separate various basins or plateaus from one another. The populous western part is the most mountainous, with ranges such as the Caucusas, Zagros and Alborz Mountains; the latter contains Iran's highest point, Mount Damvand at 5,604 m (18,386 ft), which is not only the country's highest peak but also the highest mountain on the Eurasian landmass west of the Hindu Kush. The eastern part consists mostly ofdesertbasins like the saline Dasht-e Kaver Iran's largest desert, located in the north-central portion of the country, and the Dasht-e lush, in the east, as well as some salt lakes. This is because the mountain ranges are too high for rain clouds to reach these regions. Except for some scattered oases, such as Tabas these deserts are uninhabited.

4. Climate of Iran • mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

5. Environment of Iran • The wide range of temperature fluctuation in different parts of the country and the multiplicity of climatic zones make it possible to cultivate a diverse variety of crops, including cereals (wheat, barley, rice, and maize (corn)), fruits (dates, figs, pomegranates,melons, and grapes), vegetables, cotton, sugar beets and sugarcane, pistachios (38% of the world's output in 2005), nuts, olives, spices (i.e. saffron), tea, tobacco , and medicinal herbs. More than 2,000 plant species are grown in Iran; only 100 of which are being used in pharmaceutical industries. The land covered by Iran’s natural flora is four times that of the Europe’s.

6. History of Iran • Make a timeline of the important historical events of your country or province.

7. Customs and Traditions • The Iranian New Year (Norouz) is an ancient tradition celebrated on March 21 to mark the beginning of spring in Iran, Afghanistan, Albania, Georgia, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstanand also by Kurds in Turkey and IraqNorouz was nominated as one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2004.

8. Government of Iran • the Islamic Revolutionary Party (IRP) was Iran's sole political party until its dissolution in 1987; Iran now has a variety of groups engaged in political activity; some are oriented along political lines or based on an identity group; others are more akin to professional political parties seeking members and recommending candidates for office; some are active participants in the Revolution's political life while others reject the state; political pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh), and Islamic Engineers Society; active pro-reform student groups include the Office of Strengthening Unity (OSU); opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been repressed by the government include Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), and Komala

9. Economy of Iran • Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures .petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments

10. Tourism in Iran • The tourist industry declined dramatically during the war with Iraq in the 1980s but has subsequently revived. The majority of the 300,000 tourist visas granted in 2003 were obtained by Asian Muslims, who presumably intended to visit important pilgrimage sites in Mashhad and Qom. About 1,659,000 foreign tourists visited Iran in 2004; most came from Asian countries, including the republics of Central Asia, while a small share came from the countries of the European Union and North America. Several organized tours from Germany, France, and other European countries come to Iran annually to visit archaeological sites and monuments. The government reported that in 2004 some 4 million tourists, including over 2 million Iranians on vacation, spent nearly US$2 billion in Iran, an increase of 10 percent over 2003. However, in the early 2000s the industry still faced serious limitations in infrastructure, communications, regulatory norms, and personnel training

11. Bibliography • iran facts. 6 Jan. 2008 <http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran#Tourism>. • https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html. 6 Jan. 2008     <http://https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html>.