Dasht-e Kahou

Dasht-e Kâhou (Persian:دشت کاهو means Lettuce Plain; Kurdish: گیادورن means vegetation harvest) is a mountaintop plain above Taq-e Bostan Mount located in north of Kermanshah city in west of Iran.

Dasht-e Kahou, Taq-e Bostan

The plain is a flat area at the top of Taq-e Bostan Mount, which covers an area of about 11 hectares and is about 1840 meters above sea level. Its length in the north–south axis is about 400 meters and in the east–west axis is about 550 meters. Do-kal Peak is located in the northwest of this plain and Taq-e Bostan Peak is located in its southwest. The plain is surrounded by rocky outcrops and its floor consists of fine-grained sediments in bright red color (Terra rossa (soil)).[1] During spring and early summer it covered by varied and rich vegetation. Some plant species of the plain include thyme (sagebrush), safflower (oregano), yarrow and some species of sage and chicory. Archaeological excavations have shown that about forty thousand years ago, Neanderthal humans used natural outcrops of radiolarite or chert around this plain to make stone tools.[2] Due to the development of karst in Taq-e-Bostan mountain, this plain has an important role in supplying water to Taq-e-Bostan spring. Water from snow melt and rain passes through karst channels under the plain into the mountain's calcareous system and comes out as the Taq-e Bostan spring.

Dasht-e Kahou 2019

Implementing a gondola lift project on this plain is planned by municipality of Kermanshah. According to experts, the construction of this station, in addition to severe damage to the prehistoric open-air site, will destroy the unique vegetation and contaminate the karst aquifer of Taq-e Bostan and Do-Ashkaft springs.

References
  1. Brookes, Ian. A. (1989). The physical geography, geomorphology and late Quaternary history of the Mahidasht project area, Qara Su Basin, Central West Iran, Royal Ontario Museum Publications in Archaeology, ROM Mahidasht Project Volume 1
  2. Biglari, F., (2007) Approvisionnement et utilisation des matières premières au Paléolithique moyen dans la plaine de Kermanshah (Iran) : le cas de la Grotte Do-Ashkaft, Aires d'approvisionnement en matières premières et aires d'approvisionnement en ressources alimentaires, Approche intégrée des comportements. Proceedings of the XV UISPP World Congress (Lisbon, 4–9 September 2006) Vol. 5, pp. 227-239. Edited by Marie-Hélène Moncel, Anne-Marie Moigne, Marta Arzarello and Carlo Peretto. BAR International Series 1725
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.