Topography: Iran has rugged mountain chains surrounding several basins collectively known as
the Central Plateau, which has an average elevation of about 900 meters. East of the Central
Plateau are two large desert regions, a salt desert in the north and a rock and sand desert in the
south. There are lowland areas along the Caspian coast, in Khuzestan Province at the head of the
Persian Gulf, and at several dispersed locations along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman coasts.