Alborz Mountains

Alborz
Alburz
Mount Damavand, Iran's highest mountain, located in the Alborz mountain range
Naming
Native name	البرز
Geography
Location	Northern Iran

Alborz ( listen  Persian: البرز‎‎), also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, 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 Aladagh Mountains in the northern parts of Khorasan. This mountain range is divided into Western, Central, and Eastern Alborz Mountains. The Western Alborz Range (usually called the Talish Mountains) 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 runs in a northeasterly direction towards the northern parts of the Khorasan region southeast of the Caspian Sea. Mount Damavand, the highest mountain in Iran, is located in the Central Alborz Mountains.

The name Alborz is derived from that of Harā Barazaitī, a legendary mountain in the Avesta. Harā Barazaitī reflects Proto-Iranian *Harā Bṛzatī. *Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective *bṛzant- "high", the ancestor of modern Persian boland (بلند) and Barz/Berazandeh, cognate with Sanskrit Brihat (बृहत्). 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 is a cognate with Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus.