Iran’s Great Salt Desert in Dasht-e Kavir

Great Salt Desert, located in Dasht-e Kavir, is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian Plateau.

Its length and width are about 800 and 320 kilometers, respectively.

With a total surface area of about 77,600 square kilometers, it is the world's 24th largest desert.

The area of the desert is stretched from the Alborz Mountains in the northwest to the Dasht-e Lut in the southeast.

It covers some parts of the Iranian provinces of Khorasan, Semnan, Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd.

The climate of Dasht-e Kavir is arid; it receives little rain or snow.

However, the mountains that surround it provide plenty of runoff water to create some vast seasonal lakes, marshlands and playas.

The region’s temperatures may reach 50 °C (122 °F) in summer, and the average temperature in January is 22 °C (72 °F).

Daytime and nighttime temperatures may vary by as much as 70 °C (130 °F) over the course of a year.

MG/MG