Ghezel Ozan

Aerial view of the Qizil Üzan in the border area of Ardabil Province, Zanjan Province and East Azerbaijan Province.

Qizil Üzan, (Persian: قزل اوزن - Qezel Owzan) which means Floating Gold In Turkish and Azerbaijani languages, is a river flowing in northwestern and northern Iran.

It flows through Kordestan Province, Zanjan Province, East Azerbaijan Province, Ardabil Province, and Gilan Province.

It is one of two tributaries forming the Sefīd-Rūd river, with the Shahrood. The Sefīd-Rūd is a major river and tributary of the Caspian Sea.

Course

The Qizil Üzan headwaters are in the Zagros Mountains, in a region near Divan Darreh in Kordestan Province. It runs northeastwards through Zanjan County and Tarom County in Zanjan Province, and then eastwards through the Alborz mountain range in Ardabil Province and Gilan Province.

At Rudbar in the southwestern Alborz, it joins the Shah Rud−Shahrood river to form the Sefīd-Rūd river (meaning White River in Persian). Then the Sefīd-Rūd flows northwards in Gilan Province, through the Alborz range to the Caspian Sea.

Nomenclature

Sometimes the Qizil Üzan and the Sefīd-Rūd are considered as one river, and the words "Qizil Üzan" and "Sefīd-Rūd" are used synonymously for the entire river that flows from the Zagros Mountains in Kordestan Province to the Caspian Sea. That definition's full river length is approximately 670 kilometres (420 mi), making it Iran's second longest river after the Karun.

See also

• Alborz mountain range topics
• Zagros Mountains topics