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1) The Principality of MONACO borders which sea?
A — Caspian Sea
B — Mediterranean Sea
C — Sulu Sea
2) According to data in the year 2022, IRAN has an overall adult literacy rate of _________.
A — 23%
B — 61%
C — 89%
3) True or false: rainbows are very common in Antarctica.
4) While there are several San Juan counties in the Western UNITED STATES, one of these has the highest number of neighboring counties (14) in the U.S. It is also one of the largest counties with a 7,933 square-mile area. Which state is this county located in?
A — Washington
B — Colorado
C — New Mexico
D — Utah
ANSWERS
Question 1:
B . . . . . Mediterranean Sea
Question 2:
C . . . . . 89%
Question 3:
False: they are quite rare in Antarctica; colorless icy haloes are more frequent.
Question 4:
D . . . . . Utah (↗)
Have a Happy Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th!
The following items are major exports of IRAN: carpets, caustic soda, caviar, chemical and petrochemical products, chromium, coal, construction materials, copper, cotton, grain (especially rice and wheat), iron ore, lead, manganese, natural gas, nuts, petroleum, sugarcane, sugar beets, sulfur, various fruit, wool, and zinc. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include China (top importer), India, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Italy, France, Afghanistan, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Greece, Poland, Taiwan, Oman, Singapore, Germany, Austria, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Post #6 of UNESCO Heritage Sites Week
A major hub for Islam, Persian civilization, and the historic Silk Road, IRAN (ایران) maintains almost 20 UNESCO Heritage Sites - not including the six separate sites for the Persian Garden Heritage Site. Recently established as a heritage site in 2010, the Tabriz Historic Bazaar in northwestern Iran was considered by Marco Polo as one of the world's most wealthy and amazing trading centers. The city of Tabriz (تبریز) in East Azerbaijan (استان آذربایجان شرقی) province is home for over 1.5 million residents, and its bazaar is the world's largest indoor covered bazaar! Once the capital of Safavid kingdom, Tabriz earned prosperity in the 13th century as a major trading city along the Silk Road. The Caspian Sea's southern section is about 200 kilometers east of Tabriz. More information can be found on UNESCO's website.
P.S. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for IRAN in West Asia and the Middle East lists 1 extinct-in-the-wild species since the beginning of IUCN recordkeeping, 16 critically endangered species, and 25 endangered species.
The Stenodus leucichthys fish species is extinct in the wild in Iran's Caspian Sea basin, being only alive in captivity within commercial stocks. The country's critically endangered species include the Hawksbill Turtle, Leopard Barbel fish, Persian Sturgeon and Russian Sturgeon, Siberian Crane, Transcaucasian Racerunner lizard, and White-rumped Vulture. Endangered species include the Blue Whale and Fin Whale, Kurdistan Newt, Persian Fallow Deer, Red-breasted Goose, Saker Falcon, and Velvet Scoter. The Kurdistan Newt only lives in western Iran in Kermanshah Province.
In northeast IRAN lies Dasht-e Kavir, aptly named the Great Salt Desert because of its salt deposits and salt dome formations. According to the NASA Earth Observatory which provides a detailed satellite image of Dasht-e Kavir, an ancient ocean formerly inhabited the area where Dasht-e Kavir currently is. As it evaporated, the water's salts remained on land and created a desert land with an abundance of salt. At the western edge of this desert lies the Kavir National Park and Lake Namak. Communities surrounding Dasht-e Kavir include Ārādān, Jandaq, Jow Khvāh, Khvor, Robāţ-e Khān, Semnān, Ţabas, and Ţorūd.
Geographic Location
Most of Dasht-e Kavir is found in northern Eşfahān, extreme southwestern Khorāsān, southern Semnān, and northern Yadz provinces. There is a western extension extending westward into Tehrān province (where Iran's capital, Tehrān, is located), and a small, isolated section of the desert exists at the Eşfahān-Yadz border. Previously, Khorāsān possessed a larger section of the Dasht-e Kavir until Yadz gained more of Khorāsān's territory. Interestingly, Google Maps shows a strange border that is not attached to Khorāsān province, probably because Google Maps wants to make sure the new boundary is correct. However, National Geographic's MapMaker Interactive shows the new borders of Khorāsān and Yadz provinces. National Geographic is known for its accurate cartographic expertise stemming from its research on border alterations and disputes, so it is likely that the MapMaker Interactive boundary is correct. Finally, the desert is approximately 200 kilometers and 300 miles east-southeast of Iran's capital.
The largest lake and enclosed water body in the world, the Caspian Sea is located in Central Asia. The 5 countries of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan share borders with this sea. There are at least four major sources of water flowing into the Caspian Sea, as detailed below.
● Kura (Kür) River — flows through Azerbaijan, meeting the Caspian Sea's southwest shore at the towns of Bankä and Neftçala.
● Terek River — flows through SW Russia, meeting the west shore at the Agrakhanskiy Poluostrov peninsula — the town of Lopatin is located at the tip of that peninsula.
● Ural (Zhayyq) River — flows through Kazakhstan, meeting the north shore at the towns of Atyraū, Balyqshy, and Zhumysker.
● Volga River (longest river in Europe) — flows through western Russia, meeting the northwest shore at the city of Astrakhan.
With a population greater than 77 million, the Islamic Republic of IRAN (ایران) is located in the Middle East with the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Caspian Sea bordering the theocratic country. The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf and bypasses the United Arab Emirates and Oman's Musandam Governorate to the south. Both gulfs are located south of Iran, while the Caspian Sea is north. There are seven countries bordering Iran via land: Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey to the northwest, Iraq to the west, and Turkmenistan to the northeast. The capital of Iran is Tehran (Tehrān, تهران), which has a population of approximately 8.16 million (2016 estimate). Located near Turkmenistan in northeastern Iran, Mashhad (مشهد) is the second-largest city by population. Over 2.77 million residents call the 9th-century ancient city home. Other cities throughout Iran include Chābahār (southeastern Iran, along Gulf of Oman), Esfahan (Isfahan, أصفهان), Kermānshāh, Shīrāz, Tabrīz, and Zāhedān. The currency is the Iranian Rial, and its ISO 4217 currency code is IRR.
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