Kopet Dag
| Kopet Dag | |
|---|---|
| خرِبِت كُپِتدَگ | |
View on the Kopetdag mountains from the Ahal plain.
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| Elevation | 3,211 metres (10,535 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 650 km (400 mi) |
| Geography | |
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| Countries | Iran and Turkmenistan |
| Range coordinates | 38°04′N 57°22′E / 38.07°N 57.37°ECoordinates: 38°04′N 57°22′E / 38.07°N 57.37°E |
The Kopet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh (Persian: کپهداغ; Turkmen: Köpetdag), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range is a mountain range on the frontier between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about 650 kilometres (400 mi) along the border southeast of the Caspian Sea, stretching northwest-southeast from near the Caspian Sea in the northwest to the Harirud River in the southeast. The highest peak of the range in Turkmenistan is southwest of the capital Ashgabat and stands at 2,940 metres (9,646 ft). The highest Iranian summit is Mount Quchan (Kuh-e Quchan) with 3,191 metres (10,469 ft).
The word "kopet" or in Persian "koppeh" means "pile" or "heap", and the word "dag" or "dagh" means "mountain" in Turkish. So "Kopet Dagh" or "Koppeh Dagh" could be defined as "the mountain that is piled or heaped" and therefore the words could mean "piled or hilly mountains" or "low hills" in general.
Geologically, the Kopet Dag Range is made chiefly of Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks with a smaller portion of Jurassic rocks in the southeastern parts. The mountains were formed in the Miocene and the Pliocene during the Alpine orogeny. 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 the Iranian Plate and their final collision, the Iranian Plate was pressed against the Turan Platform. This collision folded the entire rocks that had been deposited in this geosyncline or basin from the Jurassic to the Miocene and formed the Kopet Dag Mountains.
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