ALLĀHO AKBAR, KŪH-E

 

ALLĀHO AKBAR, KŪH-E, a mountain range that forms part of the northern rim of the Khorasan trench in northeastern Iran, to the north of the city of Qūčān. The massif is almost 100 km long and rises to a height of over 3,000 m. It links Kopet-Dag (Qobba Dāḡ) in the northwest with Hazār Masǰed in the southeast and is regarded by some authorities as part of the Kopet-Dag range. It consists largely of cretaceous limestones and was formed in the Tertiary period as a result of alpine orogenesis. Like the Ālā Dāḡ massif, the Allāho Akbar mountains belong to the northeastern frontier of Iran, which is subject to frequent earthquakes. The danger of earthquakes is heightened in these regions by the fact that the Allāho Akbar mountains, according to Scharlau (1963), form the junction of the Alborz and Caucasus ranges. Climatically and botanically the area belongs to the steppe region characterized by juniper. Though the woods have for the most part been devastated by human exploitation, the mountain pastures are still used for summer grazing. Along the boundary between Kopet-Dag and the Allāho Akbar mountains runs the traditional, easily traversed route between Khorasan and Central Asia (the road from Qūčān to Ashkhabad).

Bibliography:

K. Scharlau, “Das Nordost-iranische Gebirgsland und das Becken von Mesched,” Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, N.S. 7, 1963, pp. 23-35.

E. Ehlers, Iran: Grundzüge einer geographischen Landeskunde, Darmstadt, 1980, pp. 358-59.

(E. Ehlers)

Originally Published: December 15, 1985

Last Updated: August 2, 2011

This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 8, pp. 890-891

Cite this entry:

E. Ehlers, “ALLĀHO AKBAR, KŪH-E,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/8, pp. 890-891, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/allaho-akbar-kuh-e-a-mountain-range-that-forms-part-of-the-northern-rim-of-the-khorasan-trench-in-northeastern-iran-to (accessed on 30 December 2012).