Hormuz Island

Hormuz Island جزیره هرمز
Island
Khezr Beach, Hormuz Island, Persian Gulf, Iran, 2008
Hormuz Island
Coordinates: 27°04′N 56°28′E / 27.067°N 56.467°E / 27.067; 56.467Coordinates: 27°04′N 56°28′E / 27.067°N 56.467°E / 27.067; 56.467
Country	Iran
Province	Hormozgān
Area
• Land	42 km2 (16.2 sq mi)
Elevation	186 m (610 ft)
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)

Hormuz Island (/hɔːrˈmuːz/; Persian: جزیره هرمز‎‎ Jazireh-ye Hormoz), also spelled Hormoz, is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. Located in the Strait of Hormuz, 5 miles off the Iranian coast, the island is part of Hormozgān Province.

Hormuz Island has an area of 42 km² (16 sq mi). It is covered by sedimentary rock and layers of volcanic material on its surface. The highest point of the island is about 186 metres (610 ft) above sea level. Due to a lack of precipitation, the soil and water are salty. Specialists have helped cultivar white mangrove or Hara trees to grow in the climate. Due to the lack of fresh water, Iranian engineers have constructed a water pipeline from the mainland. There are many virgin beaches that go all around the island.

The island, known as Organa (Όργανα) to the ancient Greeks and as Jarun in the Islamic period, acquired the name of "Hormuz" from the important harbour town of Hormuz (Ormus) on the mainland 60 km away, which had been a center of a minor principality on both sides of the strait. The principality paid tributes to the Mongol-ruled Ilkhanate and was an important source of income from maritime trade. The town's ruler decided to shift his residence to the island around 1300, in order to evade attacks by Mongolian and Turkish groups from the interior. The ruler later made peace with the Ilkhans.

A new town was built on the northern tip of Jarun island which was called New Hormuz for a number of years to distinguish it from the old town on the mainland until this fell into ruins. Slowly the name of the new town came to be used for the island as well.