Talysh Mountains

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Talysh Mountains (L) Talis daglari 088.jpg
Talysh Mountains
Talysh Mountains in Masalli Masalli08.jpg
Talysh Mountains in Masalli

Talysh Mountains is a mountain range in far southeastern Azerbaijan and far northwestern Iran within Ardabil Province and Gilan Province. [1]

Contents

Geography

The Talysh Mountains extend southeastward from the Lankaran Lowland in southeastern Azerbaijan to the lower part of the Sefid Rud (White River) in northwestern Iran.

A few peaks rise above 10,000 ft (3,000 m).

Geology

Geologically, the Talish Mountain Range is made mainly of the Late 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 north-west-southeast direction. [2]

Ecology

The maximum annual precipitation in the Talysh Mountains is between 1,600 mm to 1,800 mm, which along the Lankaran Lowland is the highest precipitation in both Azerbaijan and Iran. The humid semi-subtropical coastal lowlands along the Caspian Sea, including the Lankaran Lowland, lie at the eastern base of the mountains. [3]

The Talysh Mountains are covered by lowland and montane forests. The area is part of the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion. [4]

The Caspian tiger used to occur in the Talysh Mountains. [5]

See also

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Atropa pallidiflora is a close relative of the infamous deadly nightshade and, like it, is an extremely poisonous plant, containing a variety of tropane alkaloids valued in medicine for their anticholinergic, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties and deliriant in excess. Atropa pallidiflora is the least well-known of the four currently accepted species of Atropa and is endemic to the remarkable Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests of Northern Iran, which can boast all the species of Atropa currently recognised, with the sole exception of the strictly Ibero-Maghrebi Atropa baetica. The binomial Atropa pallidiflora was published by Eva Schönbeck-Temesy in volume 100 ('Solanaceae') of Karl Heinz Rechinger's monumental Flora Iranica in 1972. The specific name pallidiflora signifies 'bearing flowers of a pale, wan or washed-out hue' and, while appropriate, is not especially evocative, given that the flowers of most Atropa species are far from vivid. The flowers of A. pallidiflora, like those of A.baetica, vary from greenish to yellow, but, as the designation 'having pallid flowers' might suggest, the yellow in question is a dingy greenish-yellow that is far from ornamental. The geographical term 'Hyrcanian' in the common name signifies that the plant is native to what was once the satrapy of Hyrcania, the name of which derives from an Iranian root meaning 'wolf' : Hyrcania is thus the 'Land of Wolves'. The name is an apt one, since the Hyrcanian forests have long been known as a hunting ground of legendary richness and beauty : the lush forests could support an abundance of large, mammalian herbivores, which in turn could support an abundance of apex predators - notably the wolf, but also the Persian leopard and even the tiger. The word 'Hyrcanian' will be familiar to any diligent reader of the works of William Shakespeare, as an epithet of the proverbially savage Caspian Tiger, known to the dramatist from his reading of the works of various Latin authors - who, in turn, were familiar with the Ancient Greek coinage 'Hyrcania' and the lands adjoining the Caspian Sea to which the place name referred. Regarding the richness of the Hyrcanian flora - of which Atropa pallidiflora is a noteworthy element - it is worth mentioning that the name of the modern Iranian province of Golestan has the delightful meanings of 'Rose Garden' and 'Land of Flowers'.

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References

  1. Microsoft Encarta World Atlas 2001, Microsoft Corporation
  2. Geological Map of Iran, National Geoscience Database of Iran, www.ngdir.ir
  3. Encyclopædia Britannica
  4. "Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  5. Heptner, V. G.; Sludskij, A. A. (1992) [1972]. "Tiger". Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola[Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2. Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats)]. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation. pp. 95–202.

38°42′N48°18′E / 38.7°N 48.3°E / 38.7; 48.3