Volcano Damavand Iran
This volcano is not volcanically active and no eruption is recorded, though is believed to be extinct, but it is not entirely an extinct volcanic cone, it is a dormant stratovolcano, and still there are dozens of thermal and hot mineral springs in the lower elevations and hot gases (fumaroles) emerging near the summit. These thermal springs at the base and steam vents on the top indicate that a hot magma body is present beneath near the surface of the earth.
The peak of Damavand Volcand is covered permanently by snow during the year and the summit crater contains a small pool.

From spring 2007 till now, there has been extraordinary emission of gases and sulfurous materials and temprature of the hot spring is increased significantly.
Despite the huge size and importance of this recent geologic origin volcano, there has been no reliable study to reveal the geological and geochemical aspects of the volcano that so far remained a mystery and the secrets remain hidden till now, the last eruption is about 35000 year ago.



Damavand Volcano, Iran
Located approximately 50 kilometers northeast of Tehran, it is an impressive stratovolcano that reaches 5,670 meters (18,598 feet) in elevation. Part of the Alborz Mountain Range that borders the Caspian Sea to the north, it is a young volcano that has formed mostly during the Holocene Epoch (over approximately the last 10,000 years). The western flank of the volcano includes solidified lava flows with flow levees—“walls” formed as the side edges of flowing lava cooled rapidly, forming a chute that channeled the hotter, interior lava. Two such flows with well-defined levees are highlighted by snow on the mountainside.
Damavand is the highest peak in Iran and the highest volcano in the Middle East. The mountain and its surrounding areas are popular hiking, climbing, and skiing destinations. While no historic eruptions of the volcano are recorded, hot springs on the flanks of the volcano and fumaroles (steam vents) in the summit crater suggest that a hot or cooling magma body is still present beneath the volcano. This continuing activity, while minor, indicates a dormant rather than extinct volcano.
Astronaut photograph


ISS010-E-13393 was acquired January 15, 2005 with a Kodak 760C digital camera with a 400 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The
International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC
Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.
Earth Observatory


Volcano Damavand, Iran
ERUPTIVE HISTORY
Location: 35.951�N , 52.109�E
Elevation: 18,602 feet (5670 m)
Its 5671-m summit is the highest point in the Middle East.
Damavand volcano towers dramatically 50 km to the NE above Iran's capital city of Tehran. The 5670-m-high stratovolcano is the highest volcano in the Middle East and was constructed above the southern rim of a 9-km-wide caldera.
The well-preserved summit crater of the trachyandesite-to-trachytic volcano contains a small lake, and young lava flows from summit and flank vents cover the western side of the volcano. The earliest lava flows are thought to post-date roughly 38,500 year old terraces. The absence of Pleistocene glacial erosion suggests that the main stage of edifice construction occurred during the Holocene (Catalog of Active Volcanoes of the World). No historical eruptions are known, but hot springs are located on the volcano's flanks, and fumaroles are found at the summit crater. (Description courtesy of the SI/USGS Global Volcanism Program)
The natural beauty of Mt. Damavand
A dormant volcano with a narrow summit. Location Alborz Mountains, Iran. Height 5671. First climbed W.T Thomson, 1837. The seasoned traveler in Iran is so used to seeing gaunt, rugged precipice , jagged peaks and bare deserts, that the sight of Damavand is a relief and surprise to the eye. Visible From many kilometers away, thought it is surrounded on every side by the peaks and ridges of the albroz, its superior height and singular outline compel attention. It is not surprising that such a prominent mountain should figure in the national epic of Iran.
An image from the Iranian Epic of Shahnama Photo courtesy of Answers.com. For more information on Shahnama, click HERE Written around 1000AD, the great Iranian poet, Ferdowsi Tousi, relates in his epic �Shahnama� how the tyrant Zohak is overthrown by the young Feridun and imprisoned in chains to die in a cavern on the slops of Damavand. Local legend asserts that his groans may still be heard on this slopes.For more information on Mt. Damavand, Summitpost.org has an amazing array of photographs, trip reports, links and climber summit logs available HERE.
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