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River

Zayandeh River

400 km from source to mouth · Iran.

IranIranFlows into Gavkhuni Lake6th longest in Iran

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthIsfahan
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

400km

Average flow

38m³/s

Basin

41,500km²

Drop

892m

from 2,343 m to 1,451 m

Country

1

The journey

From source to mouth

400 km of river and 48 stops on the way: 28 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

2,343 m1,451 m
Zagros Mountainsat 2,343 m0 km
Zayanderud Dam82 km
Daryācheh-ye Sadd-e Zāyandeh Rūd96 km²83 km
Sedeh Lenjan19,101 people176 km
Zarrin Shahr55,817 people182 km
Si-o-se Pol248 km
Isfahan1,961,260 people249 km
Varzaneh12,714 people364 km
Gavkhuni Lakeat 1,451 m400 km
0100200300400 km
  1. 0 kmZagros Mountainsat 2,343 m
  2. 7 kmDāmaneh4,766 people
  3. 15 kmDārān20,078 people
  4. 82 kmZayanderud Dam
  5. 83 kmDaryācheh-ye Sadd-e Zāyandeh Rūd96 km²
  6. 123 kmZaman Khan Bridge
  7. 162 kmBāgh-e Bahādorān10,279 people
  8. 167 kmKaleh Bridge
  9. 176 kmSedeh Lanjān19,101 people
  10. 176 kmSedeh Lenjan19,101 people
  11. 179 kmChamgordān15,574 people
  12. 182 kmZarrin Shahr55,817 people
  13. 182 kmZarrīn Shahr55,817 people
  14. 184 kmVarnāmkhvāst18,700 people
  15. 190 kmKarkevand7,058 people
  16. 196 kmMobārakeh69,449 people
  17. 199 kmDīzīcheh18,935 people
  18. 203 kmZibashahr10,200 people
  19. 211 kmŢād3,740 people
  20. 211 kmBaba Mahmud Bridge
  21. 213 kmPīr Bakrān13,469 people
  22. 217 kmBahārān Shahr11,284 people
  23. 219 kmZafreh4,000 people
  24. 223 kmShorūdān3,114 people
  25. 224 kmKelīshād va Sūdarjān25,635 people
  26. 224 kmFalāvarjān49,843 people
  27. 225 kmJūjīl6,327 people
  28. 235 kmDorcheh Pīāz37,462 people
  29. 245 kmVahid Bridge
  30. 246 kmMarnan Bridge
  31. 247 kmFelezi Bridge (Isfahan)
  32. 247 kmAzar Bridge (Isfahan)
  33. 248 kmSi-o-se Pol
  34. 249 kmIsfahan1,961,260 people
  35. 249 kmFerdowsi Bridge (Isfahan)
  36. 249 kmJubi Bridge
  37. 250 kmKhaju Bridge
  38. 251 kmIsfahan Artists House
  39. 251 kmBozorgmehr Bridge
  40. 252 kmGhadir Bridge (Isfahan)
  41. 253 kmTepe Ashraf (Isfahan)
  42. 254 kmShahrestan Bridge
  43. 262 kmEşfahānak4,414 people
  44. 284 kmZiyar3,918 people
  45. 354 kmBalan337 people
  46. 354 kmQurtan Castle
  47. 354 kmQurtan1,283 people
  48. 364 kmVarzaneh12,714 people
  49. 364 kmVarzaneh Bridge (Zayandeh River)
  50. 400 kmGavkhuni Lakeat 1,451 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in Iran

At the mouth it carries 38 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 66 seconds. It drops from 2,343 m to 1,451 m, 2.2 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 41,500 km², about the size of NL. 2.8 million people live in it. Highest water: from January to March; lowest: from July to October. It is heavily dammed: reservoirs can hold 80% of a year's flow.

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • IsfahanLargest city on its banks · 1,961,260 people
  • Isfahan Shahid Beheshti International Airport (IFN)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 23 km from the city
  • On the water2 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • From April to June and from September to OctoberThe best months to visit

Zayandeh River, month by month

Highest water: from January to March

Lowest water: from July to October. Best months to visit: from April to June and from September to October.

270
1°29 mmJan
300
4°23 mmFeb
270
9°24 mmMar
200
14°25 mmApr
120
19°10 mmMay
53
24°1 mmJun
6.7
27°1 mmJul
0.0
26°0 mmAug
0.0
22°0 mmSep
1.6
16°3 mmOct
38
9°14 mmNov
140
4°24 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 0.0 m³/s in the lowest month to 300 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Zayandeh River: the basin in numbers

29,169 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

DammedReservoirs can hold 80% of a year's flow: much of the river is a chain of lakes.
  • 2.8millionpeople live in the basin
  • 97/km²people per km²
  • 2,026maverage altitude of the basin
  • 162mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 13.0°Caverage air temperature
  • 4%protected areas
  • 0.3%covered by lakes
  • 1.4km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 8% Cropland
  • 49% Pasture
  • 5% Towns and cities

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Zayandeh River: what you find on the way

  • 5DamsZayanderud Dam and 4 more
  • 6Weirs
  • 3Waterfalls
  • 1Ferry piers
  • 1Marinas
  • 1River beaches

From OpenStreetMap, within 2.1 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Zayandeh River in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 1lake on its wayLakeyas
  • 26mountains at the sourcePeakyas

Lakes and reservoirs (1)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Daryācheh-ye Sadd-e Zāyandeh Rūdkm 8196km²

Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Mountains at the source (26)

Within 15 km of the source, by Peakyas

  1. Shāhkūh9.6 km away
  2. Kūh-e Nīleh3.7 km away
  3. Kūh-e Dārābshāh8.2 km away
  4. Dālān Kūh8.5 km away
  5. Kūh-e Dāmaneh5.3 km away
  6. Mīn Kūh12 km away
  7. Kūh-e Bī Ābeh13 km away
  8. Tappeh-ye S̄abātīyeh11 km away

18 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Zayandeh River: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Zayandeh River: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth23 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

Zayandeh River in pictures

Zayandehroud after sunset
Babak Farrokhi · CC BY 2.0
Paddling on Zayandehrood
Babak Farrokhi · CC BY 2.0
Temporary flow of Zayandehrud water 4 Apr 2025 Mehr 1
Khadijeh Naderi · CC BY 4.0
Temporary flow of Zayandehrud water 4 Apr 2025 Mehr 10
Khadijeh Naderi · CC BY 4.0

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q167814) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed along the river network from the point given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesLakeyas, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit