![]() ![]() The high number of natural phenomena throughout the year and the richness of culture in the local communities, turn this desert into a place of natural and cultural importance. Landform evolution in the Quaternary period in this desert represents a particular history of geological and geomorphological changes. The river flows along 2000 km long, from Ravar Mountains passing the west margin of Gandom Beryan into the salt depression. The presence of the river in Lut increases the singularity of the desert. Another unique feature of the desert is the Shur river. ![]() The Hamada plain in the central part of the Lut has a reverse triangular shape pointing towards the south to Shurgaz Hamun playa. The severe hot daily temperature decomposes rock outcrops in the mountains that get deposited on the plains. The geomorphologic conditions of the central part of the Lut are developed as a pebble and sand plain. The area of the core zone is about 23,000 square kilometers and the protected area, that works as a buffer zone, is about 18,000 square kilometers which includes Rig- e Yallan (sand dunes), Kalut (yardang), Nebka (depressions), Shur river, Gandom Beryan (plateau covered With dark lava) and the central Hamada (Desert pavement). The responsibility of preventing illegal exploitation of desert falls under the Forest, Range and Watershed Management Organization.The Lut Desert is located in the southeast part of Iran among three provinces of Kerman, Sistano Baluchestan, and Khorasan-e Jonubi. ICHHTO has inscribed the Lut Desert on its national heritage list. The Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization the Iranian Department of Environment and the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) are the three principal agencies sharing conservation and management responsibilities. A buffer zone has been established with 15 villages and Shahad town with nearly 6000 dwellers. Apart from that, the state owns a greater part of Lut desert. Not being easily accessible to the major population centre coupled with its extreme weather conditions leaves much of Lut desert easily protected. Settlements are allowed only on the western part of the desert. Visiting Lut Desert is off limits during summer and come winter the temperature plummets below zero. ( Erik Albers / Flickr) Conservation and protection By then the wheat had scorched due to heat, the place got its name thereafter.Ĭaravanserai, a resting place for travellers in Dasht-e-lut. Few days later the abandoned wheat caught the attention of another caravan passing by. A caravan of camels carrying loads of wheat had an accident due to which they had to leave their wheat in the Gandom Beryan area. There is a local legend regarding the origin of the name. The hottest part of Dasht-e Lut is a 480 km² area called ‘Gandom Beryan’ which means scorched wheat in Persian. The highest temperature recorded was 159.3 degrees Fahrenheit (70.7 ☌) officially recorded in 2005. However, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite measured the temperature from 2003 to 2010, during which it was found to have the hottest surface on Earth. This desert is also known for its sinkholes, parallel ridges and furrows in contrast to the eastern part of the desert which is a low plateau with salt flats. With no one around to monitor the temperature in this parched area, maintaining a weather station is impractical. A nebkha dune is also formed here when sands are trapped around plants. These include linear, compound crescentic, star, and funnel-shaped dunes. A wide variety of dunes are displayed here. Despite its scorching temperature and abiotic living condition, the Lut desert is an arid beauty with rock formations, salt plains, and sand dunes inching upwards and standing tall at 300 meters. On JUNESCO inscribed Dasht-e Lut in the World Heritage List. Also known as Dasht-e Lut, Persian for “Emptiness Plain,” the Lut Desert spans up to an area of 5,400 sq km and is bereft of wildlife and vegetation. Here the mercury rises up to 70 ☌ (159 ☏) and it is hot enough to fry an egg. The Lut Desert in the southeast Islamic Republic of Iran takes the crown of being the hottest place on Earth. He barely made out alive from a place he later called “a confused mass of impassable tangled dunes.” Weather and topography Gabriel’s dreams of conquering the central Lut Desert saw light on March 1937. Seven centuries ago, famed traveller Marco Polo made his journey through the desert on a camel’s back. ( Erik Albers / Wikimedia Commons)Īlfons Gabriel, a Viennese physician and adventurer, found himself spellbound by Iran’s Lut desert during the 1920s and 1930s. Dasht-e Lut desert in Kerman Province, Iran. ![]()
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