Climate : Warm
OldName : Conb
Area : 11316
Population : 1151672
Qom Province (Persian: استان قم, Ostān-e Qom ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran with 11,237 km², covering 0.89% of the total area in Iran. It is in the north of the country, and its provincial capital is the city of Qom.
It was formed from part of Tehran Province in 1995. In 2005, this province had a population of approximately 2,000,000 out of which 91.2% resided in urban areas and 8.8% in rural vicinities.
The province contains one city, four counties, nine rural districts, and 256 villages.
The climate of Qom province varies between a desert and semi-desert climate, and comprises mountainous areas, foothills and plains. Due to being located near an arid region and far inland, it experiences a dry climate, with low humidity and scanty rainfall.
Thus, agriculture is not possible in most of its areas, especially near the salt lake regions. Qom province has two large salt lakes, namely: Howz e Soltan Lake, which lies 36 km due north of Qom, and Namak Lake, which lies 80 km due east of Qom.
Nearly a fifth of Namak Lake lies within Qom province.
Qom is thought to have existed in pre-Islamic ages. Archeological discoveries indicate Qom as a residential area from the 5th millennium BCE. According to the pre-Islamic remaining relics and historical texts, Qom was a large city.
'Kom' was the name of the ancient rampart of the city of Qom, thus, the Arabs called it Qom.
Today, Qom is considered one of the focal centers of the Shiite sect of Islam. Its theological center and the Holy Shrine of Hazrat Ma'soomeh are prominent features of the provincial capital of Qom.
Outside the city is Jamkaran, another site of religious pilgrimages.
Qom has at times again been considered as a possible candidate for moving the political capital of Iran, as Tehran faces an increasing probability of an overdue major earthquake and is notorious for its pollution and traffic congestion.
But business and economic base of Tehran opposes any such moves.
Reference : wikipedia.org
