Golestan (Province)

استان گلستان Golestan
Location of the Golestan Province in Iran
Basic data
Country	Iran
Capital	Gorgan
surface	20,195 km²
Residents	1,868,819 (2016 census)
density	93 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	IR-27

Coordinates: 37 ° 16 '  N , 54 ° 51'  E

The Gonbad-e Qabus , the mausoleum of the Ziyarid ruler Qabus (r. 978-1012) in Gorgan

Golestan ( Persian استان گلستان Ostan-e Golestan , DMG Ostān-e Golestān , Azerbaijani Gülüstan , Kurdish گوڵستان Gulistan ) is a province in northern Iran on the southeast coast of the Caspian Sea . Their capital is Gorgan (گرگان).

1,868,819 people live in the province (2016 census). The province covers 20,195 square kilometers and has a population density of 93 people per square kilometer.

Until 1997 it belonged to Mazandaran Province . In addition to Persians , Azerbaijanis , Kurds and Turkmen are also native to the province.

The biggest cities

(VZ = census)

rank	city	Inhabitants (VZ 2016)
1.	Gorgan	350,676
2.	Gonbad-e Qaboos	151.910
3.	Bandar-e Torkaman	53,970
4th	Aliabad	52,838
5.	Azajahr	43,760
6th	Kordkuy	39,881
7th	Kalaleh	36,176
8th.	Aq Qal'eh	35,116
9.	Minudash	30,085
10.	Galikash	23,394

Source: Iran Statistics Bureau

The city of Gorgan was called Esteraba or Astarabad until 1937.

Administrative division

The province of Golestan is divided into 14 administrative districts (Schahrestan).

map	Shahrestan		Population (2016)
	Transcribed	Farsi	total	city	country	Nomads
	Āgh Ghalā	آق قلا	132,733	42,119	90.614	0
	ʿAliyābād	علیآباد	140.709	80,511	60.197	1
	Zādschahr	آزادشهر	96,803	54,887	41,915	1
	Bandar-e Gaz	بندر گز	46,130	27,392	18,738	0
	Gālikash	گالیکش	63.173	23,394	39,779	0
	Gomishan	گميشان	68,773	36,396	32,376	1
	Gonbad-e Kāwus	گنبد کاووس	348,744	154,404	193,671	669
	Gorgan	گرگان	480,541	365,682	114,837	22nd
	Kalāle	كلاله	117,319	41,953	75,366	0
	Kordkuy	کردکوی	71,270	39,881	31,389	0
	Marāwe Tappe	مراوهتپه	60,953	8,671	51,319	963
	Minudash	مینودشت	75,483	30,085	45,398	0
	Rāmiyān	رامیان	86.210	36,270	49,939	1
	Torkaman	ترکمن	79,978	53,970	53,970	0

Products

Cotton , caviar , rice and cereals

Golestan National Park and Hyrcanic Forest

The Golestan National Park is of ecological importance for Iran . It is the oldest Iranian national park, which formerly consisted of two separate protected areas (1957). In 1976 the protected areas Almeh and Yashki were combined to form the national park of today's size (91,890 ha). The Asian Highway runs through the park , which led to considerations about the restructuring of the road network in the national park, which have not yet been implemented. Cutting through the park leads to the disruption of the ecological balance. In addition to a rich flora, the national park is home to over 150 different species of birds, including the rare bearded vulture . The mammals found in Golestan National Park include brown bears , leopards , jackals and various ungulates ( wild boars , deer , gazelles ). An extremely rare subspecies of the cheetah can be found here in very small populations, while the subspecies of the tiger ( Caspian tiger ), formerly native to the province of Golestan, has become extinct here (as worldwide). The Golestan National Park is not only of ecological but also of touristic and cultural importance. On July 5, 2019, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with 14 other forest areas in the provinces of Golestan, Mazandaran and Gilan under the name " Hyrkanian Forests " .

See also

• Caspian Hyrcania mixed forest

Web links

Commons : Golestan  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Mirjam Künkler: Iran Data Portal: Census 2016: Population and Households, by Provinces and Cities. Data portal of the Social Science Research Council ( Princeton University ) and Syracuse University , accessed on July 7, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Iranian Tourism & Touring Online (ITTO)
3. ^ Hyrcanian Forests: Multiple locations (15). UNESCO website, accessed June 7, 2019 .