Zerivar

The etymological origin of Zerivar is based on the Central Persian word “zeri”, which means “sea” and the suffix “var”, which means “land, coast”. That is, Zerivar is literally “the edge of the lake”, “the shore of the lake” ^[4] . Other forms of hydronym present in the literature: Zeribar, Zrevar, and Zrebar.

The origin of Lake Zerivar explains many local legends, and the most famous among them is similar to the biblical prince about Sodom from the Old Testament Book of Genesis . According to legend, at the bottom of the modern lake was an ancient city with a spoiled population and an evil tyrant on the throne. The local sage prayed to the Zoroastrian supreme deity to put an end to his atrocities, and Ahura-Mazda heard his prayers, opening dozens of sources near the surrounding mountains, which sank the city in the middle of the night. The sage was later buried near the spurs of the eastern mountains, where at first there was a Zoroastrian sanctuary, and then it was rebuilt into a mosque.

Zerivar is located in the west of Zagros and in the tectonic basin, which parallel to the mountain range extends in the direction from the northwest to the southeast and is tectonically formed during the Mesozoic. The basin from the west is bounded by the Kuh-e Kachlus mountains (1841 m) and Kuh-e-Le-Gure (1944 m), and from the east - by the Kuh-e Kale-Kile-Kovsa mountains (1791 m) and Kuh-e Ney-Sarana ( 1815 m). The average height of the lake above sea level is 1281 m, but depending on the time of year it can fluctuate by ± 3.0 meters. The form of Zerivar is curved towards the east, its length is approximately 5 km, and the largest width is 2.0 km. The area of ​​the lake ranges from 7.2 to 7.5 km²., And including the adjoining wet area - covers 32.92 km². Settlements, except Merivan, include the villages of Kani-Sanan, Dare-Tefi, Pir-Safa, Kani-Sepike and Yangiye on the east coast ^[5] .

In the broadest sense, the indoor pool of the lake is limited by the watersheds on the tops of the surrounding mountains, and its area is 108.27 km². Zerivar is specific in that it has no tributaries on the surface, and dozens of sources near the surrounding mountains and rainfall feed it with water. The area is dominated by a boreal climate with cold winters, when the surface of the lake is sometimes covered with ice. The average rainfall is 768 mm, the relative importance of air is 58%, and the evaporation rate is 1900 mm per year. The maximum volume of the lake is 54 million cubic meters. m. In late summer, the amount of water is reduced to 19 million cubic meters. m., and the greatest depth, reaching 12 m, is reduced by half. Because of the danger from floods in the 20th century, an embankment was erected on the south side of the lake (to Merivan), and a canal was dug up to the Kizilche-Su River, which belongs to the Persian Gulf basin, on the north side. The use of this channel for irrigation has caused concern for environmentalists, who say that it destroys sedimentary rocks, which are key to preserving the entire local ecosystem ^[6] .

Around Zerivar and in the lake itself a lot of plants grow. For example, on a wet bottom along the shores and in the swamp you can find: ordinary reed, cattail, chythorn, gopher umbrella, sedge. The most important factor in plant formation is the natural hydrological cycle with fluctuating water levels, which positively affects biodiversity and dynamically enriches the ecosystem. The mountain slopes around the lake and the swamp have similar geobotanical characteristics with the rest of northern Zagros, and the key factors for the formation of plants are quite high air humidity and a relatively large amount of rainfall. Oak forests predominate on the slopes, while other tree species include sycamore, ash, walnut, hawthorn, almond tree, sweet cherry and wild pear tree, apple tree and pistachio tree. The fish that live in the lake are carp , goldfish, grass carp, white carp. Among the birds can be noted: chomgu , cormorant, gray heron, wild duck, white-winged swamp tern . Animals: Eurasian otter, reed cat , wild boar ^[7] .

• Lake Zerivar (neopr.) . kurdistan.irib.ir . Circulation date May 2, 2019.