Gilan enjoys several natural attractions including: Sea Coasts: Cities such as Roodsar,
Astara, Bandar Anzali, Kalachai, Chaboksar and Kiyashahr are all located next to the seaside....
One of the most beautiful watery landscapes in
Iran is the
Anzali Lagoon which is full of amazing scenes. The lagoon is one of the world’s most famous ones.
Anzali Lagoon is one of last resorts of Iranian wildlife which needs to be protected against fast urbanization that has destroyed natural habitats of uniques living species.
Anzali Lagoon (also Anzali Mordab, Anzali Bay or Anzali Liman) is a coastal liman, or lagoon, in the Caspian Sea near
Bandar-e Anzali, in the northern Iranian province of
Gilan.
The lagoon divides
Bandar-e Anzali into two parts, and is home to both the Selke Wildlife Refuge and the Siahkesheem Marsh.
Anzali ...see more Lagoon is known as a good place for bird watching. The lagoon's water ranges from fresh near the tributary streams to brackish near the mouth into the harbor and the sea.
Studies indicate that in the 19th and early 20th Centuries that the lagoon had a much higher salinity.
The lagoon has decreased in size since the 1930s to less than a quarter of its former extent. However, in the last ten years (As of 2007) water salinity has increased both by the rise of the level of the Caspian Sea which has caused greater interchange of waters, and due to greater salt transport in incoming "fresh" water due to increased upstream irrigation.
The lagoon has been designated a
Ramsar site.
Fishery
Anzali Lagoon showing growth of Caspian lotus (Nelumbo caspicum) and mats of Azolla filiculoides fern.
Prior to 1950 the
Anzali Lagoon provided about 70% of the commercial fish taken in
Gilan Province, with catches of over 5,000 tons annually.
Commercial fishing was done during the spring and autumn spawning cycles when the kutum, pike-perch and bream, would enter the lagoon from the Caspian.
However, a number of factors acted against the continuation of the fishery and by the time commercial fishing ceased in 1960 annual catches were less than 100 tons.
Geography
Located in an area of 15,000 hectares near the northern port city of Bandar Anzali in
Gilan Province, Anzali is one of the few Iranian wetlands which have been registered as an international wetland in the 1975
Ramsar Convention.
The use of Anzali Wetland's bank as the city dump and the release of human and industrial waste into the wetland have already put in danger the lives of animal species and at least 78 species of birds living in the area.
Islands
Among the islands located in the lagoon are Bozorg, Kouchak, and Mianposhteh.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzali_Lagoon
http://www.zamzam-mag.com/?_action=articleInfo&article=913
http://1host2u.ir/Y/Gallery_Tag.php?tagid=Anzali%20Lagoon
