Map of Iran with provinces and capitals

Provinces of Iran and their capitals

Iran is divided into 31 provinces, each usually named after a region or its main city, such as Tehran, Isfahan, Fars and Khuzestan. Tehran Province contains the capital, Tehran, and Razavi Khorasan contains the city of Mashhad.

Population from Wikidata (latest figure available for each province).

Blank and coloring maps of Iran

Blank map of Iran

Coloring map of Iran

Geography of Iran

Iran covers 1,648,195 km² (636,372 sq mi), and most of it is a high plateau surrounded by mountains. The long Zagros Mountains run from the northwest down toward the Persian Gulf, while the Alborz range curves along the south shore of the Caspian Sea. In the Alborz rises Damavand, a dormant volcano and the country's highest point at 5,610 m (18,406 ft). The center and east are dry basins with two great deserts, the salt-crusted Dasht-e Kavir and the Dasht-e Lut, where satellites have measured some of the hottest ground temperatures on Earth.

Few rivers reach the sea. The Karun, the longest, flows through the plains of Khuzestan to the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf, and many inland rivers end in salt lakes or marshes. Lake Urmia in the northwest, once a very large salt lake, has shrunk sharply in recent decades. The Caspian coast in Gilan and Mazandaran is green and humid, with rice fields and forests, while most of the country is arid, with hot summers and cold winters on the plateau. In the south, the Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.

Fun facts

• Iran is the only country with coasts on both the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
• The Lut Desert, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is known for huge wind-carved ridges called kaluts.
• The ruins of Persepolis, near Shiraz, were a ceremonial capital of the ancient Persian Empire.

Countries bordering Iran

• Afghanistan
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Iraq
• Pakistan
• Turkmenistan
• Turkey