Lake Hovz-e Soltan

North of Qom, a shallow salt basin lies between the Alborz foothills and the dry interior of the Iranian plateau. Seasonal watercourses carry runoff and salts into the low ground, where evaporation leaves a pale crust over soft mud. The extent of water changes with rain and the flow of the streams. This salt-marsh country belongs to the wider chain of closed basins around the central desert, where rivers end inland rather than reaching the sea.