TEHRAN – The Tabas Salt Lake in South Khorasan province has currently been registered on Iran’s national natural heritage list following approval by the National Council for Registration of Natural Heritage, a provincial official said.

Zahra Rezaei Malakouti, a natural heritage registration expert at the South Khorasan’s Department of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said the proposal dossier was approved at a meeting of the council held at the registration office of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, IRIB reported on Saturday.

She said the seasonal lake is located south of the city of Tabas, near the village of Fahalanj, on the edge of the Great Salt Desert.

Locally known as “Jomjomeh” or “Gharghoo,” the lake is formed by runoff from main and tributary rivers originating in surrounding highlands, which channel annual rainfall into the Tabas basin, she said.

Malakouti said the lake holds water for several months each year. Due to high salt concentrations in the seasonal rivers and high evaporation rates in the desert region, the water contains significant mineral content. She said these minerals combine with salt to produce sodium chloride.

She said the site holds importance among the province’s natural attractions and cited its tourism potential as a reason for its introduction and protection as a national natural monument.

Tabas, located on the edge of the Great Salt Desert, dates back to pre-Islamic times and served as an outpost of the Sassanid Empire. Medieval geographers referred to it as the “Gate of Khurasan” because of its strategic location at the junction of several routes.

AM