'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎99v] (203/610)

166
Hlburz.
5iizil,Uzua area.
other depends of course on their size, and the larger the vil
lages the greater the distance between them, but throughout
the coaststrip, except where the hills impinge close on the
shore between the deltas, villages are numerous and close
together although frequently hidden away in the jungle. Mr.
Rabino calculates the population of Gilan on a basis of 5
inhabitants per house. In 37 of the villages of Tunakabun
the average is only 4 per house.
The Elburz generally provide little cultiveable land and
are sparsely populated, especially in the “ miyanband ” sec
tions of the rivers flowing North between the “ Secondary
watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. to the North ”, as defined in Chapter II page 94,
and the Caspian lowlands. The more open and populous of
these districts are Hazar Jarib, (i. e. upper Tejen valley),
Larijan (upper Haraz valley), Kujur, Pul, Kalardasht, Dd
Hazar (Tunakabun) and Dailiman.
South of this “ Secondary watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. to the North ” numer
ous villages are found along the narrow strip of cultiveable
land in the valleys and side valleys of Nur, Firuzkuh (i. e.
Hablehrud), Damavand, Jajarud, Laura, (i.e. Karaj watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. )
Shahrud, including Alamut and Talaghan, but, viewed from
an altitude, these valleys constitute a mere fraction of the
mountain area of desolate uninhabitable wastes. A few of
these villages, especially in the Damavand area contain as
many as 300 houses, but they do not average more than 15
to 40 houses. In relation to their natural resources these
valleys are actually over populated.’ The. crops produced
are insufficient in varying degrees for the maintenance of the
inhabitants, who eke out a precarious livelihood by carrying
rice and charcoal for sale on the plateau, and migrate during
the winter months to trade, fetch rice, or work as labourers
in the Caspian lowlands, with their equable climate, cheap
food and easier conditions.
The hills on both sides of Section 4 of the Kizil Uzun river
above Manjil through Tarum, being lower than the Elburz
south east of the a Safid-Itud, give rise to fewer streams, while
the Kizil Uzun is considerably below the level of the land on
both sides and is not utilized for irrigation. Tarum consequently
is thinly populated and the villages appear as oases in the
wilderness. They average 40 to 50 houses each. 1
1 For division of the Kizil Uzun valley into sections according to their natural
features see Chapter 2, pages 102-6. n ^ .
a i,e., Kizil Uzun below ManjU, where its name is changed to Safid Rud.