Iran's Geographic Challenge at The Zagros Mountains

The topography of Iran consists of rugged, mountainous rims surrounding high interior basins. The main mountain chain is the Zagros Mountains, a series of parallel mountains. The Zagros mountain range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran&western border while covering much of southeastern Turkey and northeastern Iraq. This mountain range has a total length of 1,600 km (990 mi). The mountains create a geographic barrier between the Mesopotamian Plain, which is in Iraq, and the Iranian plateau. The high altitude of the Zagros mountains produces a series of choke points and valleys perfect agriculture and human devolpment. It has also long defended the Kurds in times of war by acting as a natural barrier via which Kurds could defend.