Zagros Mountains

The Zagros highlands west of Isfahan rise in successive ridges above the central Iranian plateau. Snow and rain on these mountains feed streams that descend towards the plains. Among them is the Zayandeh Rud, which rises on the flanks of Zard Kuh and flows east through the Isfahan basin. Its upper course cuts a narrow valley through the foothills before reaching the broad cultivated lands around the city, linking a well-watered mountain source to an otherwise semi-arid plain.