ELBURZ. The mountains of Elburz, at the foot of the southern slopes of which the town of Teheran is situated. They extend from the plains of Kazvin on the west, to the_town of Deraavend on the east, forming the division between the low belt of country on the southern shores of the Caspian, and the high lands of the central province of Irak. They aro a portion of the lofty chain which branches off from the Caucasus, and, after passing through Azerbijan, the north of Persia and Afghanistan, ternainato in the range of the Himalaya. The line of these inountains, though occasionally broken in Persia, especially in Khorasan, where it is intersected by several extensive plains, may easily be traced throughout the whole of this vast tract of Asia, 400 miles, from long. 50° to 56° east. The Elburz, although of the enormous height of 18,526 feet above the sea, has not a very itnposing appearance from the plain of Teheran. Kazbek is 16,546feet, but, with
the exception of the huge cone of Demavend, no peak towers above its fellows, and from a distance the summit of the mnge seems to be nearly level. In summer the snow disappears almost entirely from the southern face, but on the northern side it remains in large quantities throughout the year. Like the generality of mountains in Persia, those of Elburz are but scantily clothed with vegetation, the plants growing on the slopes having a dry, blighted appearance, and, as usual, there is a total want of trees of natural growth. They are, like many other parts of this extensive range, rich in mineral productions, copper, iron, lead, and orpi ment being found in large quantities. Five rivers, besides smaller streams, take their rise in the Elburz, within 25 miles north of Teheran.— Chesney's Euphrates p. 4 ; MacGregor, p. 134.