For the nearby village with a similar name, see Lavasan-e Bozorg. For the administrative divisions, see Lavasanat District, Lavasan-e Bozorg Rural District, and Lavasan-e Kuchak Rural District.

Lavasan
Persian: لواسان
City
Lavasan
Lavasan
Lavasan is located in Iran
Lavasan
Lavasan
Coordinates: 35°49′15″N 51°38′03″E / 35.82083°N 51.63417°E / 35.82083; 51.63417[1][2]
Country Iran
Province Tehran
County Shemiranat
District Lavasanat
Population
 (2016)[3]
 • Total
18,146
Time zone UTC+3:30 (IRST)

Lavasan (Persian: لواسان)[a] is a city in, and the capital of, Lavasanat District in Shemiranat County, Tehran province, Iran.[5]

Etymology

The name of Lavasan is a Middle Persian (Pahlavi) word which means "The Mount Blade of Sunrise" or "Mountaintop of Sunrise". It refers to Mount Damavand that is located in the middle of the Alborz Range in the east of Lavasanat District.

History

In the 19th century, during the Qajar era, Lavasan was reportedly a large village, with some 500 houses and about 200 inhabitants.[6]

Under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the 1960s, a hydroelectric dam was built in the southeast of the village which is nowadays one of the water supplies of Tehran.[6]

In the 1980s and during the Iran–Iraq War, it became well known during the War of the cities when many people from Tehran took refuge in the nearby towns such as Lavasan.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

The natives of Lavasan are of Caspian origin.[6] The local dialect, or vernacular, spoken by its natives is a mix of Persian and Caspian.[6]

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 15,448 in 4,645 households.[7] The following census in 2011 counted 15,706 people in 5,033 households.[8] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 18,146 people in 6,130 households.[3]

Geography

The northern heights of Lavasan

Location

Lavasan is located 11 kilometres northeast of Tehran on the slopes of Alborz with an area of 70 square kilometres.[9]

Topography

The Jajrud River flows through the resort city of Lavasan, creating Latyan Dam Lake on the southeast of the city. It is situated 11 kilometers northeast of Tehran. The highrise scenery around Lavasan (with many peaks above 3000 meters) attracts lots of campers and cyclists. The city is accessed by two double lane roads (from Tajrish and Tehranpars) adjoining each other on 1930 meters Quchak Pass, then on a whirling double lane road, down to Jajrood River and Lavasan on its north bank on 1700m.

Climate

Lavasan has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk) with significant continental influences.

Climate data for Lavasan
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.5
(40.1)		 7.5
(45.5)		 12.5
(54.5)		 19.1
(66.4)		 26.3
(79.3)		 31.5
(88.7)		 34.4
(93.9)		 33.9
(93.0)		 29.5
(85.1)		 22.5
(72.5)		 14.1
(57.4)		 7.8
(46.0)		 20.3
(68.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −0.8
(30.6)		 2.0
(35.6)		 6.4
(43.5)		 12.3
(54.1)		 18.8
(65.8)		 23.4
(74.1)		 26.2
(79.2)		 25.9
(78.6)		 21.4
(70.5)		 15.3
(59.5)		 8.0
(46.4)		 2.5
(36.5)		 13.5
(56.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.1
(21.0)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 0.4
(32.7)		 5.5
(41.9)		 11.4
(52.5)		 15.3
(59.5)		 18.1
(64.6)		 18.0
(64.4)		 13.3
(55.9)		 8.1
(46.6)		 1.9
(35.4)		 −2.8
(27.0)		 6.6
(43.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 30
(1.2)		 27
(1.1)		 32
(1.3)		 28
(1.1)		 18
(0.7)		 4
(0.2)		 2
(0.1)		 1
(0.0)		 1
(0.0)		 8
(0.3)		 15
(0.6)		 21
(0.8)		 187
(7.4)
Source: [10]

Notable people

  • Yasser Hashemi Rafsanjani, import-export businessman, son of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (president of Iran 1989–1997)
  • Ali Karimi, footballer
  • Ali Parvin, footballer
  • Amin Hayaee, actor
  • Naser Houshmand Vaziri, sculptor

[11]

See also

  • Basti Hills
  • Fasham
  • Jajrood River
  • Latyan Dam
  • Lavasanat
  • Shemshak

Media related to Lavasan at Wikimedia Commons

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Notes

  1. ^ Also romanized as Lavāsān; formerly Galandovak (گلندوك), also romanized as Galandowak and Galandūak[4]

References

  1. ^ OpenStreetMap contributors (23 September 2024). "باستی هیلز [Basti-ye Hilar], Lavasan, Lavasanat, Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, 33416-81979, Iran" (Map). OpenStreetMap (in Persian). Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  2. ^ "RJCM+8MM Lavasan, Tehran Province, Iran" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1395 : استان تهران [General Population and Housing Census 2016: Tehran Province]. مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] (in Persian). Archived from the original (Excel) on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  4. ^ Lavasan can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "217990" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  5. ^ Mousavi, Mir-Hossein (9 August 1987) [تاریخ تصویب (Approval date) 1366/05/18 (Iranian Jalali calendar)]. ایجاد و تشکیل 3 شهر و 2 بخش و 3 دهستان در شهرستان شمیرانات تابعه استان تهران شاهدشهر [‌Creation and formation of three cities, two districts, and three rural districts in Shemiranat County under Tehran province]. لام تا کام [Lam ta Kam] (in Persian). ‌وزارت کشور [Ministry of the Interior]. هیات وزیران [Council of Ministers]. شناسه [ID] 0B4CF2DD-708C-4E3D-AA8E-165B4425697F. شماره دوره [Course number] 66, شماره جلد [Volume number] 11. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d Encyclopaedia Iranica 2017.
  7. ^ سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1385 : استان تهران [General Population and Housing Census 2006: Tehran Province]. مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran] (in Persian). Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  8. ^ سرشماري عمومي نفوس و مسكن 1390 : استان تهران [General Population and Housing Census 2011: Tehran Province]. Iran Data Portal—Syracuse University (in Persian). مرکز آمار ایران [Statistical Centre of Iran]. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  9. ^ Alian, Sahar. "Identifying Curviness of Overpass Mountain Roads from Remote Sensing Data" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Climate: Lavasan". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  11. ^ lavasani genealogical tree presented in Ayatollah Sadeghi in Qum.

Sources