View source for Astara, Iran

{{about||the administrative subdivision of Iran|Astara County|the village in East Azerbaijan Province|Astara, East Azerbaijan}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name =Astara
|native_name = {{lang|fa|آستارا}}
|settlement_type        = city
|image_skyline =
|imagesize = 
|image_caption = from top CW: Breakwater of Astara, [[Laton Waterfall]], [[Estil Lagoon]], A dredger in Astara port, Pyramid roof Buildings of the city
|pushpin_map            =Iran
|mapsize                =
|subdivision_type       = [[List of countries|Country]]
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Iran}}
|subdivision_type1 =[[Provinces of Iran|Province]]
|subdivision_name1 =[[Gilan Province|Gilan]]
|subdivision_type2 =[[Counties of Iran|County]]
|subdivision_name2 =[[Astara County|Astara]]
|subdivision_type3 =[[Bakhsh]]
|subdivision_name3 =[[Central District (Astara County)|Central]]
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Oruj-Ali Kuhi
|leader_title1             = [[Islamic Consultative Assembly|Parliament]]
|leader_name1              = [[Vali Dadashi]]
|established_title      =
|established_date       = 
|area_total_km2           = 
|area_footnotes           = 
|population_as_of         = 2011
|population_total = City: 46,805 <ref>http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-5068&srt=n1pn&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=462370885</ref>
County: 86,757  <ref name="amar.org.ir">http://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/2/census-90/shahrestanha-jamiat-90.xlsx</ref><ref>http://www.geohive.com/cntry/iran.aspx?levels=Gilan</ref>
|population_density_km2   =auto
|timezone               = [[Iran Standard Time|IRST]]
|utc_offset             = +3:30
|timezone_DST           = [[Iran Daylight Time|IRDT]]
|utc_offset_DST         = +4:30
|coordinates            = {{coord|38|25|45|N|48|52|19|E|region:IR|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m              = 
|website                  = 
|area_code =  
|footnotes              =
}}
'''Astara''' ({{IPA-fa|ɒstaɾɒ|pron|Astara-Iran.ogg}}; {{lang-fa|آستارا}}, also [[Romanize]]d as '''Āstārā''')<ref>{{GEOnet3|-3054011}}</ref>  is a city in and the capital of [[Astara County]], [[Gilan Province]], [[Iran]].  At the 2011 census, its population was 86,757 in 25,192 families.<ref name="amar.org.ir"/>  It lies on the border with [[Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan Republic]] and on the [[Caspian Sea]].  It is a relatively important border trade center between Iran and the [[Caucasus]]. 
== Agriculture ==

Rice has been cultivated in this region for many years, where some indigenous cultivars (landrace) were conventionally bred by farmers.<ref name="pazuki">{{cite journal |last=Pazuki |first=Arman |last2=Sohani |first2=Mehdi |lastauthoramp=yes |year=2013 |title= Phenotypic evaluation of scutellum-derived calluses in ‘Indica’ rice cultivars |url= http://aas.bf.uni-lj.si/september2013/08Pazuki.pdf |format=PDF |journal= Acta Agriculturae Slovenica |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=239–247 |doi=10.2478/acas-2013-0020 |accessdate=February 2, 2014}}</ref>

==Climate==
Astara has a [[humid subtropical climate]] with cold, wet winters and hot, humid summers.

{{Weather box |metric first= Yes |single line= Yes |location= Astara  
|Jan high C= 8.8  
|Feb high C= 8.8
|Mar high C= 11.2
|Apr high C= 16.6
|May high C= 22.3
|Jun high C= 27.3
|Jul high C= 30.5
|Aug high C= 29.8
|Sep high C= 25.6
|Oct high C= 20.3
|Nov high C= 15.2
|Dec high C= 11.3  
|Jan low C= 1.9 
|Feb low C= 2.1
|Mar low C= 4.8
|Apr low C= 9.3
|May low C= 14.0
|Jun low C= 18.1
|Jul low C= 20.6
|Aug low C= 20.5
|Sep low C= 17.5
|Oct low C= 13.1
|Nov low C= 8.4
|Dec low C= 4.3
|rain colour=green
|Jan rain mm= 95.6
|Feb rain mm= 90.2
|Mar rain mm= 108.3
|Apr rain mm= 60.7
|May rain mm= 56.5
|Jun rain mm= 45.9
|Jul rain mm= 41.2
|Aug rain mm= 88.8
|Sep rain mm= 230.0
|Oct rain mm= 239.0
|Nov rain mm= 144.6
|Dec rain mm= 91.7
|Jan rain days= 11
|Feb rain days= 10
|Mar rain days= 12
|Apr rain days= 10
|May rain days= 9
|Jun rain days= 6
|Jul rain days= 4
|Aug rain days= 7
|Sep rain days= 10
|Oct rain days= 13
|Nov rain days= 11
|Dec rain days= 9
|unit rain days = 1.0 mm
|Jan humidity = 84
|Feb humidity = 85
|Mar humidity = 86
|Apr humidity = 83
|May humidity = 80
|Jun humidity = 74
|Jul humidity = 71 
|Aug humidity = 75
|Sep humidity = 82
|Oct humidity = 86
|Nov humidity = 87
|Dec humidity = 85 
|source 1=Iranian Meteorological Organization <ref>http://www.irimo.ir/english/statistics/climanormals/gilan/astara.txt</ref> 
|date=June 2011
}}

== People ==
* Religion: Mostly [[Shi'a Islam]]
* Ethnic groups: [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijani]]<ref>http://www.gchto.ir/en/pages/about-gilan/astara.php</ref> and Minority [[Talysh people|Talysh]]
* Language: [[Azerbaijani language|Azeri]],<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://library.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=102834&ParentID=0&BookID=97560&MetaDataID=27846&Volume=1&PageIndex=196&PersonalID=0&NavigateMode=CommonLibrary&Content= دائره المعارف بزرگ اسلامی - آستارا]</ref> and Minority [[Talysh language|Talysh]]<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

== Famous people from Astara ==
* [[Fereydun Ebrahimi]] - Procurator-General in [[Azerbaijan People's Government]]
* [[Ebrahim Nabavi]] - Iranian journalist
* [[Behzad Behzadi]] - an author of [[Azerbaijani language]] dictionaries
* [[Payan Rafat]] - football player

== Transport ==
An extension of the [[Qazvin]] line over [[Resht]] to reach Astara is planned to connect the Iranian railway network to the Azerbaijan [[broad gauge]] railway along the shore of the [[Caspian sea]] headed north.

==Education==
* [[Islamic Azad University of Astara]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Iran}}
* [[Astara, Azerbaijan]]
* [[Astarachay]]
* [[Kazi Magomed–Astara–Abadan pipeline]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Astara, Iran}}
* [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home1/iranica/articles/v2_articles/astara&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/logs/pdfdownload.html Astara] entry in the [https://web.archive.org/web/20061019004703/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/home/index.isc Encyclopædia Iranica]
* {{cite journal |last=Pazuki |first=Arman |last2=Sohani |first2=Mehdi |lastauthoramp=yes |year=2013 |title= Phenotypic evaluation of scutellum-derived calluses in ‘Indica’ rice cultivars |url= http://aas.bf.uni-lj.si/september2013/08Pazuki.pdf |format=PDF |journal= Acta Agriculturae Slovenica |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=239–247 |doi=10.2478/acas-2013-0020 |accessdate=February 2, 2014}}

{{Gilan Province}}
{{Astara County}}

[[Category:Populated places in Astara County]]
[[Category:Cities in Iran]]
[[Category:Cities in Gilan Province]]
[[Category:Azerbaijan–Iran border crossings]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Caspian Sea]]
[[Category:Astara, Iran| ]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns in Iran]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Iran]]
[[Category:Ports and harbours of Iran]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns of the Caspian Sea]]