Dasht-e Lut

As seen from space

Map of biotopes of Iran

  Forest steppe

  Forests and woodlands

  Semi-desert

  Desert lowlands

  Steppe

  Salted alluvial marshes

Dasht-e Lut, also spelled Dasht-i-Lut, is a large salt desert in southeastern Iran and is the world's 25th largest desert.

Iran is climatically part of the Afro-Asian belt of deserts that stretch from the Cape Verde islands off West Africa all the way to Mongolia near Beijing, China. The patchy, elongated, light-colored feature in the foreground (parallel to the mountain range) is the northernmost of the Dasht dry lakes that stretch southward 300 kilometers (190 mi). In near-tropical deserts, elevated areas capture most precipitation. As a result, the Dasht-e Lut is generally considered to be an abiotic zone.

Iran's geography consists of a plateau surrounded by mountains and divided into drainage basins. Dasht-e Lut is one of the largest of these desert basins, 480 kilometers (300 mi) long and 320 kilometers (200 mi) wide,^[1] and is considered to be one of the driest places on Earth.^[2][3][4]

Area of the desert is about 51,800 square kilometers (20,000 mi²).^[5] The other large basin is the Dasht-e Kavir. During the spring wet season, water briefly flows down from the Kerman mountains, but it soon dries up, leaving behind only rocks, sand, and salt.

The eastern part of Dasht-e Lut is a low plateau covered with salt flats. In contrast, the center has been sculpted by the wind into a series of parallel ridges and furrows, extending over 150 km (93 mi) and reaching 75 m (250 ft) in height.^[1] This area is also riddled with ravines and sinkholes. The southeast is a vast expanse of sand, like a Saharan erg, with dunes 300 m (1000 ft) high, among the tallest in the world.^[1]

Hottest land surface

Measurements of MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) installed on NASA's satellite "Aqua" from 2003 - 2005 testify that the hottest land surface on Earth is located in Dasht-e Lut and land surface temperatures reach here 70.7 degrees C (159 degrees F)^{[6][7][8][9][2][3][4]}. Precision of measurements is 0.5 - 1 degrees K^[10][11].

The hottest part of Dasht-e Lut is Gandom Beryan - approximately 480 km² large plateau covered with dark lava^[12]. According to local legend this name (in translation from Persian - "Toasted wheat") originates from an accident where load of wheat left in the desert was scorched by the heat in a few days time^[13].

See also

• Dasht-e Kavir
• Geography of Iran
• International rankings of Iran

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} editors, Richard L. Scheffel, Susan J. Wernert ; writers, Oliver E. Allen ... et al. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-89577-087-5. 
2. ^ ^{a b} http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1102/p16s01-sten.html
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.universetoday.com/guide-to-space/earth/temperature-of-earth/
4. ^ ^{a b} http://www.redorbit.com/images/images-of-the-day/img/13205/hottest_spot_on_earth/index.html
5. ^ Wright, John W. (ed.) (2006). The New York Times Almanac (2007 ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books. p. 456. ISBN 978-0-14-303820-7. 
6. ^ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7149
7. ^ http://www.weather.ir/english/
8. ^ http://www.climatetemp.info/iran/
9. ^ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail.aspx?id=58252&sectionid=351020108
10. ^ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/dataproducts.php?MOD_NUMBER=11 MOD 11 - Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity, MODIS Website
11. ^ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/atbd/atbd_mod11.pdf Zhengming Wan, MODIS Land-Surface Temperature Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (LST ATBD) Version 3.3. April 1999
12. ^ http://www.iranreview.org/content/view/1067/51/ A Journey To Earth's Hottest Point
13. ^ Gandom Beryan in Lut Desert - hottest place on Earth. Wondermondo. 1 November 2010. http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/As/Iran/Kerman/GandomBeryan.htm 

External links

• NASA image and info
• NASA survey on temperatures around the globe

Coordinates: 30°36′18″N 59°04′04″E / 30.60500001°N 59.0677777878°E / 30.60500001; 59.0677777878