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{{Infobox mountain
| name              = Alborz
| other_name        = Alburz
| photo             = Damavand3.jpg
| native_name       = البرز
| native_name_lang  = fa
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| photo_caption     = [[Mount Damavand]], Iran's highest mountain, located in the Alborz mountain range
| map               = Iran
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| location          = Northern Iran
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| coordinates       = {{Coord|36|4|33|N|51|47|46|E|type:mountain_region:IR|display=inline,title}}
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'''Alborz''' ({{Audio|Alborz pronounce.ogg|listen}} {{lang-fa|البرز}}), also spelled as '''Alburz''', '''Elburz''' or '''Elborz''',  is a [[mountain range]] in northern [[Iran]] that stretches from the border of [[Azerbaijan]] along the western and entire southern coast of the [[Caspian Sea]] and finally runs northeast and merges into the [[Aladagh Mountains]] in the northern parts of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]]. This mountain range is divided into Western, Central, and Eastern Alborz Mountains. The Western Alborz Range (usually called the [[Talish Mountains]]) runs south-southeastward almost along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. The Central Alborz (the Alborz Mountains in the strictest sense) runs from west to east along the entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea, while the Eastern Alborz runs in a northeasterly direction towards the northern parts of the Khorasan region southeast of the Caspian Sea. [[Mount Damavand]], the highest mountain in Iran, is located in the Central Alborz Mountains.

==Etymology==
[[File:Aerial View of Tehran 26.11.2008 04-35-03.JPG|thumb|300px|Alborz Mountain range seen from Tehran]]
The name ''Alborz'' is derived from that of [[Hara Berezaiti|Harā Barazaitī]], a legendary mountain in the [[Avesta]]. ''Harā Barazaitī'' reflects Proto-Iranian *''Harā Bṛzatī''. *''Bṛzatī'' is the feminine form of the adjective *''bṛzant-'' "high", the ancestor of modern Persian ''boland'' (بلند) and ''Barz/Berazandeh'', cognate with Sanskrit ''Brihat'' (बृहत्). ''Harā'' may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from an Indo-European root *''ser-'' "protect". In Middle Persian, ''Harā Barazaitī'' became ''Harborz'', Modern Persian ''Alborz'', which is a [[cognate]] with [[Mount Elbrus|Elbrus]], the highest peak of the Caucasus.<ref name="alborziranica">{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alborz-massif-iran|title=ALBORZ|author=electricpulp.com|publisher=}}</ref>

==Mythology==
[[Zoroastrianism|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 mountains "as though they lay in India."<ref name="alborziranica"/> This could reflect older usage, for numerous high peaks were given the name and some even reflect it to this day, for example, [[Mount Elbrus]] in the [[Caucasus Mountains]], and Mount Elbariz (Albariz, [[Jebal Barez]]) in the [[Kerman]] area above the [[Strait of Hormuz]]. All these names reflect the same Iranian language compound, and share an identification as the legendary mountain [[Hara Berezaiti|Harā Bərəzaitī]] of the [[Avesta]].

==Geology==
The Alborz mountain range forms a barrier between the south Caspian and the [[Iranian plateau]]. It is only 60–130&nbsp;km wide and consists of sedimentary series dating from Upper [[Devonian]] to [[Oligocene]], prevalently [[Jurassic]] [[limestone]] over a [[granite]] core. Continental conditions regarding sedimentation are reflected by thick Devonian [[sandstone]]s and by Jurassic [[shale]]s containing coal seams. Marine conditions are reflected by [[Carboniferous]] and [[Permian]] strata that are composed mainly of limestones. In the Eastern Alborz Range, the far eastern section is formed by [[Mesozoic]] (chiefly Triassic and Jurassic) rocks, while the western part of the Eastern Alborz Range is made primarily of [[Paleozoic]] rocks. [[Precambrian]] rocks can be found chiefly south of the city of [[Gorgan]] situated in the southeast of the [[Caspian Sea]] and in much smaller portions in the central and western parts of the Central Alborz Range. The central part of the Central Alborz Range is formed mainly of the [[Triassic]] and [[Jurassic]] rocks, while the northwestern section of the range is made mainly of the Jurassic rocks. Very thick beds of the [[Tertiary]] (mostly of the [[Eocene]]) green volcanic [[tuff]]s and [[lava]]s are found mainly in the southwestern and south-central parts of the range. The far northwestern part of the Alborz that constitutes what is called the Western Alborz Range or the [[Talish Mountains]] is made mainly of the [[Upper Cretaceous]] volcano-sedimentary deposits with a strip of Paleozoic rocks and a band of Triassic and Jurassic rocks in the southern parts, both in a northwest-southeast direction. As the [[Tethys Sea]] was closed and the [[Arabian Plate]] collided with the [[Iranian Plate]] and was pushed against it, and with the clockwise movement of the [[Eurasian Plate]] towards the Iranian Plate and their final collision, the Iranian Plate was pressed from both sides. The collisions finally caused the folding of the Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and [[Paleogene]] rocks, and the [[Cenozoic]] (chiefly the [[Eocene]]) [[volcanism]] to form the Alborz Mountains mainly in the [[Miocene]]. The [[Alpine orogeny]] began, therefore, with Eocene volcanism in southwestern and south-central parts of the Alborz and continued with the uplift and folding of the older sedimentary rocks in the northwestern, central and eastern parts of the range during the orogenic phases of importance that date from the Miocene and the [[Pliocene]] epochs.

==Ecoregions, flora and fauna==
While the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains are usually semiarid or arid with irregular and low precipitation, the northern slopes of the range are usually humid especially in the western parts of the Central Alborz. In the southern slopes or the [[Elburz Range forest steppe]] ecoregion, the higher elevations are arid with few trees. [[Juniper]] is the most common tree in the inaccessible areas and high elevations, while shrubs are [[pistachio]], [[maple]], and [[almond]]. But in the northern slopes, the [[Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests]] ecoregion is lush and forested. The natural vegetation of this region grows in distinct zones: the Hyrcanian forests on the lowest levels; [[beech]] forests in the middle zone; and [[oak]] forests in higher regions. The wild cypress is the dominant form of vegetation in some valleys, while olive trees grow in the western valleys of the Central Alborz near the [[Sefidrud]]. The [[bezoar ibex]], [[Blanford's fox]], [[Rüppell's fox]], [[red fox]], [[Persian fallow deer]], [[wild boar]], [[Syrian brown bear]], [[Persian leopard]], [[Indian wolf]], [[buzzard]], [[goose]], [[woodpecker]], [[griffon vulture]], and [[eagle]] are among important animals and birds found in the Alborz Mountains. The extinct [[Caspian tiger]] also lived in the Alborz Mountains.

==Ski resorts==
Due to the great snowy winters of the Alborz Mountains, there are several [[ski resorts]] in different places of the range. Some consider that a few of these are among the best in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/feb/24/iran.skiing|title=Iran's biggest secret: the skiing's great|author=Dom Joly|work=the Guardian}}</ref> Some of most important ones are [[Dizin]], [[Shemshak (ski resort)|Shemshak]], [[Tochal]], and [[Darband (Tehran)|Darband]].
==In popular culture==
Mount Damavand is featured twice as an online multiplayer map in the game Battlefield 3. In the game it is featured in Damavand Peak and Alborz Mountains.

==Mounts, summits, alpine lakes and attractions==
* [[Mount Damavand]] [[Amol]] [[Mazandaran]]
* [[Tochal]] mount and summit
* [[Tangeh Savashi]], a popular attraction
* [[Alam Kuh]]
* [[Alamut]]
* [[Dizin]]
* [[Ovan lake]]
* [[List of mountains in Iran]]
* [[List of Iranian four-thousanders]]
{{Central Alborz}}
==Sources==
* North, S.J.R., Guide to Biblical Iran, Rome 1956, p.&nbsp;50

==References==
{{Reflist}}
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==External links==
{{Portal|Iran|Geography}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Alborz}}
* ''Alborz Mountains'', Photos from Iran, [http://www.livius.org/ei-er/elburz/elburz.html ''Livius''].
* [http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/5145 Maps, Photos and a List of peaks]
* {{APOD |date=3 May 2008 |title=Alborz Mountain Milky Way}}

{{Ranges of Iranian Plateau}}
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[[Category:Alborz (mountain range)| ]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Iran]]
[[Category:Caspian Sea]]
[[Category:Iranian Plateau]]
[[Category:Landforms of Alborz Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Ardabil Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Gilan Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Golestan Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Mazandaran Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Semnan Province]]
[[Category:Landforms of Tehran Province]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Gilan Province]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Mazandaran Province]]
[[Category:Physiographic provinces]]