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30-566: The Kleiner Odenwald (“Little Odenwald”) is the southern part of the central German hill range , the Odenwald , and is up to 567.8 m above  sea level (NHN) . It is also part of the natural region of Sandstein-Odenwald in the north of the state of Baden-Württemberg . Lying east-southeast of Heidelberg and south of the River Neckar , which separates the Kleiner Odenwald from

60-539: A barrier between the south Caspian and the Iranian plateau . It is only 60–130 km wide and consists of sedimentary series dating from Upper Devonian to Oligocene , prevalently Jurassic limestone over a granite core. Continental conditions regarding sedimentation are reflected by thick Devonian sandstones and by Jurassic shales containing coal seams. Marine conditions are reflected by Carboniferous and Permian strata that are composed mainly of limestones. In

90-471: Is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merges into the smaller Aladagh Mountains and borders in the northeast on the parallel mountain ridge Kopet Dag in the northern parts of Khorasan . All these mountains are part of the much larger Alpide belt . The Alborz range

120-771: Is a cognate with Elbrus , the highest peak of the Caucasus . Zoroastrians seem to identify the range with the dwelling place of the Peshyotan , and the Zoroastrian Ilm-e-Kshnoom sect identifies Mount Damavand as the home of the Saheb-e-Dilan ('Masters of the Heart'). In his epic Shahnameh , the poet Ferdowsi speaks of the mountains "as though they lay in India ." This could reflect older usage, for numerous high peaks were given

150-525: Is at work while the mountains are being uplifted until the mountains are reduced to low hills and plains. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example. As the uplift was occurring some 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of mostly Mesozoic sedimentary strata were removed by erosion over the core of the mountain range and spread as sand and clays across the Great Plains to

180-685: Is divided into the Western, Central, and Eastern Alborz Mountains. The Western Alborz Range (usually called the Talysh ) runs south-southeastward almost along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. The Central Alborz (the Alborz Mountains in the strictest sense) runs from west to east along the entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea, while the Eastern Alborz Range runs in a northeasterly direction, toward

210-626: Is lush and forested. The natural vegetation of this region grows in distinct zones: The wild cypress is the dominant form of vegetation in some valleys, while olive trees grow in the western valleys of the Central Alborz near the Sefidrud . The bezoar ibex , Blanford's fox , Rüppell's fox , red fox , Persian fallow deer , wild boar , Syrian brown bear , Persian leopard , Indian wolf , buzzard , goose , woodpecker , griffon vulture , and eagle are among important animals and birds found in

240-617: The Bauland , south of the Kraichgau and west of the Upper Rhine Plain . In the southeast is part of the Brunnen region . The hills and high points of the Kleiner Odenwald include the following – sorted by height in metres (m) above Normalhöhennull (NHN): Hill range Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys . Individual mountains within

270-823: The Alpide belt . The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera , the Aleutian Range , on through Kamchatka Peninsula , Japan , Taiwan , the Philippines , Papua New Guinea , to New Zealand . The Andes is 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi) long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia , from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to

300-538: The Annamite Range . If the definition of a mountain range is stretched to include underwater mountains, then the Ocean Ridge forms the longest continuous mountain system on Earth, with a length of 65,000 kilometres (40,400 mi). The position of mountain ranges influences climate, such as rain or snow. When air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools, producing orographic precipitation (rain or snow). As

330-581: The Avesta , the main text of Zoroastrianism . Harā Barazaitī is from a Proto-Iranian name, Harā Bṛzatī , meaning "Mountain Rampart." Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective bṛzant- "high", the ancestor of modern Persian bouland and BarzBerazandeh , cognate with Sanskrit Brihat . Harā may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from an Indo-European root * ser- "protect". In Middle Persian, Harā Barazaitī became Harborz , Modern Persian Alborz , which

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360-520: The Department of Paleolithic of the National Museum of Iran and ICHTO of Gilan . The presence of large numbers of cave bear and brown bear remains and sparse stone artifacts at the site indicates that Darband primarily represents a bear den. The co-occurrence of artifacts and bear bones does not imply human predation or scavenging. Because there are no clear cut marks, except a few burning signs on

390-772: The Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Alborz , Caucasus , and the Alps . The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest , which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high. Mountain ranges outside these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera , Appalachians , Great Dividing Range , East Siberians , Altais , Scandinavians , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhyas , Byrrangas , and

420-669: The Iranian plate and their final collision, the Iranian plate was pressed from both sides. The collisions finally caused the folding of the Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic , and Paleogene rocks and the Cenozoic (chiefly the Eocene ) volcanism , to form the Alborz Mountains, primarily during the Miocene . The Alpine orogeny began, therefore, with Eocene volcanism in southwestern and south-central parts of

450-637: The Mithrim Montes and Doom Mons on Titan, and Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes on Pluto. Some terrestrial planets other than Earth also exhibit rocky mountain ranges, such as Maxwell Montes on Venus taller than any on Earth and Tartarus Montes on Mars . Jupiter's moon Io has mountain ranges formed from tectonic processes including the Boösaule , Dorian, Hi'iaka and Euboea Montes . Alborz The Alborz ( listen Persian : البرز ) range, also spelled as Alburz , Elburz or Elborz ,

480-621: The Talish Mountains , is mainly made up of Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary deposits, with a strip of Paleozoic rocks and a band of Triassic and Jurassic rocks in the southern parts, both in a northwest–southeast direction. As the Tethys Sea was closed and the Arabian plate collided with the Iranian plate , and was pushed against it, and with the clockwise movement of the Eurasian plate towards

510-469: The Alborz Mountains. The extinct Caspian tiger also lived in the Alborz Mountains. Archaeological evidence from Alborz indicates that early human groups were present in the region since at least late Lower Paleolithic . The Darband Cave located at the Gilan Province contains evidence for late Lower Paleolithic . Stone artifacts and animal fossils were discovered by a group of archaeologists of

540-524: The Alborz, and continued with the uplift and folding of the older sedimentary rocks in the northwestern, central and eastern parts of the range, during the most important orogenic phases, which date from the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. While the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains are usually semiarid or arid, with irregular and low precipitation, the northern slopes of the range are usually humid, especially in

570-531: The Central Alborz Range is formed mainly of Triassic and Jurassic rocks, while the northwestern section of the range is mainly composed of Jurassic rocks. Very thick beds of Tertiary (mostly Eocene ) green volcanic tuffs and lavas are found mainly in the southwestern and south-central parts of the range. The far northwestern part of the Alborz, that constitutes the Western Alborz Range or

600-435: The Eastern Alborz Range, the far eastern section is formed by Mesozoic (chiefly Triassic and Jurassic) rocks, while the western part of the Eastern Alborz Range is made primarily of Paleozoic rocks. Precambrian rocks can be found chiefly south of the city of Gorgan situated in the southeast of the Caspian Sea and, in much smaller amounts, in the central and western parts of the Central Alborz Range. The central part of

630-623: The air descends on the leeward side, it warms again (following the adiabatic lapse rate ) and is drier, having been stripped of much of its moisture. Often, a rain shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. As a consequence, large mountain ranges, such as the Andes, compartmentalize continents into distinct climate regions . Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to erosional forces which work to tear them down. The basins adjacent to an eroding mountain range are then filled with sediments that are buried and turned into sedimentary rock . Erosion

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660-523: The bear bones, they probably accumulated through natural processes. During Middle Paleolithic period, Neanderthals were most probably were present in the region as their fossil have been found at northwest of Alborz, in the Azykh Cave . Their stone tools found in the Buzeir Cave and Kiaram cave and number of other surveyed sites. Evidence for Modern human comes from a river side site called Garm Roud in

690-485: The east. This mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift. The removal of such a mass from the core of the range most likely caused further uplift as the region adjusted isostatically in response to the removed weight. Rivers are traditionally believed to be the principal cause of mountain range erosion, by cutting into bedrock and transporting sediment. Computer simulation has shown that as mountain belts change from tectonically active to inactive,

720-626: The name, and some even reflect it to this day, including Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains and Mount Elbariz (Albariz, Jebal Barez ) in the Kerman area above the Strait of Hormuz . All these names reflect the same Iranian language compound, and have been speculatively identified, at one time or another, as the legendary mountain Hara Berezaiti of the Avesta . The Alborz mountain range forms

750-614: The northern parts of the Khorasan region, southeast of the Caspian Sea. Mount Damavand , the highest mountain in Iran measuring 5,610.0 m (18,405.5 ft), is located in the Central Alborz Mountains. Mount Damavand is the 12th most prominent peak in the world and the second most prominent in Asia after Mount Everest . The name Alborz is derived from Harā Barazaitī , a legendary mountain in

780-617: The rate of erosion drops because there are fewer abrasive particles in the water and fewer landslides. Mountains on other planets and natural satellites of the Solar System, including the Moon , are often isolated and formed mainly by processes such as impacts, though there are examples of mountain ranges (or "Montes") somewhat similar to those on Earth. Saturn 's moon Titan and Pluto , in particular, exhibit large mountain ranges in chains composed mainly of ices rather than rock. Examples include

810-556: The rest of the Odenwald, its landscape is shaped by the underlying sandstone that also dominates the northern Odenwald. The Kleiner Odenwald lies in the counties of Rhein-Neckar and Neckar-Odenwald and on the territory of the city of Heidelberg . It is bounded in the north by the Neckar and the settlements of Neckargemünd and Eberbach , in the east by the Neckar and e.g. by Obrigheim , in

840-521: The same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology . They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes , for example thrust sheets , uplifted blocks , fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types . Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or

870-567: The south by Reichartshausen , Waibstadt and Eschelbronn and in the west by Wiesloch , Leimen and Heidelberg on the River Neckar. Municipalities in the area are: Lobbach , Bammental , Gaiberg , Wiesenbach , Aglasterhausen , Schwarzach , Neunkirchen and Schönbrunn . The most important streams are the Elsenz , Schwarzbach and Lobbach . Somewhat east of the Kleiner Odenwaldes lies

900-558: The western parts of the Central Alborz. The Alborz is the easternmost extent of many European plant species. In the southern slopes or the Elburz Range forest steppe ecoregion , the higher elevations are arid with few trees. Juniper is the most common tree in inaccessible areas and at high elevation, while common shrubs are pistachio , maple , and almond . But in the northern slopes, the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion

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