Tehran province
Tehran Province ( "Ostān-e Tehrān") is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It covers an area of and is located to the north of the central plateau of Iran. The province was put as part of the First Region with its secretariat located in its capital city, Tehran, upon the division of the provinces into 5 regions solely for coordination and development purposes on June 22, 2014. Tehran Province borders Mazandaran Province in the north, Qom Province in the south, Semnan Province in the east, and Alborz Province in the west. The metropolis of Tehran is the  capital city of the province and of Iran. , this province includes 13 townships, 43 municipalities, and 1358 villages. Tehran Province is the richest province of Iran as it contributes approximately 29% of the country's GDP. Furthermore, it houses approximately 18% of the country's population. Tehran Province is the most industrialized province in Iran; 86.5% of its population resides in urban areas and 13.5% of its population resides in rural areas. The province gained importance when Tehran was claimed the capital by the Qajar dynasty in 1778. Today, Tehran, with a population of 8 million, is ranked amongst the  40 most populous metropolitan cities of the world. Geography. The province of Tehran has over 12 million inhabitants and is Iran's most densely populated region. Approximately 86.5 percent reside in urban areas and 13.5 percent in rural areas of the province. The largest rivers of this province are Karaj River and Jajrood River. Mountain ranges such as The Alborz span the north; Savad Kooh and Firooz Kooh are located in the north east; Lavasanat, Qarah Daq, Shemiranat, Hassan Abad and Namak Mountains are in the southern areas; Bibi Shahr Banoo and Alqadr are situated in the south east and  the heights of Qasr-e-Firoozeh being located to the east of the province. Environmentally, the climate of Tehran province is stable and has 4 seasons, in winter it's cold and snowy, in spring & autumn it's mild and fresh and rainy, and in summer it's warm to hot and dry. but in the mountains it is cold & and semi-humid all year round, and in the higher regions is cold with long winters. The hottest months of the year are from mid-July to mid-September when temperatures range from to and the coldest months experience around  January–February, but at certain times in winter it can reach . Tehran city has cold winters and warm to hot summers. Average annual rainfall is approximately , the maximum being during the winter season mostly in the form of snow. On the whole, the province has a cold semi-arid, steppe climate in the south and an alpine climate in the north. History. Tehran Province has several archeological sites indicating settlements dating back several thousand years. Until 300 years ago, Rey was the most prominent of the cities of the province. However, the city of Tehran rose to become the larger  city and capital of Iran by 1778, and since then has been the political, cultural, economic, and commercial nucleus of Iran. Tehran has over 1,500 historical sites of cultural significance registered with the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran. The oldest of these in Tehran province are the remains of two sites in Firuzkuh County that date back to the 4th millennium BCE. Cities. The following table shows the ten largest cities of Tehran Province: Divisions. Tehran Province is sub-divided into sixteen Counties ("shahrestan"), listed below with their populations at the 2016 Census: Tehran province today. Tehran is the commercial  heart of Iran. Tehran province has over 17,000 industrial units employing 390,000 people, 26% of all units in Iran. The province contains 30% of Iran's economy, and comprises 40% of Iran's consumer market. The province has three hydro dams namely Latiyan, Lar, and Amir Kabir as well as two natural lakes, providing the water supply of Tehran and the province. The province contains 170 mines, over 330 square kilometres of forests, and over 12800 square kilometres of pasture. Generally speaking, year round, regions such as the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains, especially in the mountains, valleys, and  rivers and artificial lakes formed behind the great dams of Amir Kabir, Latiyan and Lar along with natural lakes of Jaban and Tarr provide considerable recreation for the province. Moreover, due to excessive snowfall in the northern areas of the province during the winter season, the Alborz mountains form an excellent environment for winter sports such as skiing. Dizin, Shemshak, and Tochal are the most popular skiing resorts. Transportation. Road transport. Tehran Province is covered with and connected to other provinces with a big Freeway and Expressway network: Rail network. National Rail Network. The city of Tehran is connected to  the North, South, West and East with railway. It has weekly trains for Istanbul. Tehran is the headquarters of RAJA (Iran national railway). There maybe plans to build high speed railway lines from Tehran to Mashhad and Isfahan. Tehran Metro. Tehran is served by a system of metro of 3 urban lines (1, 2, 4) and one suburban line (5) serving Karaj and Tehran western suburbs. There are plans to extend the system to 8 urban lines and 4 express suburban lines. Airports. Tehran Province has two main passenger airports: It also has numbers of air force bases. Religious centers . Colleges and universities. Tehran province's major universities are: