The Persian Qanat

UNESCO World Heritage Centre ^ | prior to November 12, 2025 | editors / unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

Throughout the arid regions of Iran, agricultural and permanent settlements are supported by the ancient qanat system of tapping alluvial aquifers at the heads of valleys and conducting the water along underground tunnels by gravity, often over many kilometres.

Each qanat comprises an almost horizontal tunnel collecting water from an underground water source, usually an alluvial fan, into which a mother well is sunk to the appropriate level of the aquifer. Well shafts are sunk at regular intervals along the route of the tunnel to enable removal of spoil and allow ventilation. These appear as craters from above, following the line of the qanat from water source to agricultural settlement. The water is transported along underground tunnels, so-called koshkan, by means of gravity due to the gentle slope of the tunnel to the exit (mazhar), from where it is distributed by channels to the agricultural land of the shareholders.

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TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; iran; persianempire; qanat

[SunkenCiv]

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

[SunkenCiv]

The rest of the Qanat keyword, sorted:

• The End Is Near. Tehran Faces Evacuation As Water Supplies Reach Zero and the City Sinks Into the Desert [11/10/2025]
• Iran's 'water bankruptcy' will weaken regime and nuclear program, UN expert warns President Pezeshkian warns of evacuations without rainfall [11/10/2025]
• Iran in crisis as major drought forces regime to cut off water to Tehran, consider evacuation [11/08/2025]
• The Greatest Threat Facing Iran: Running Out of Water [08/01/2025]
• Khamenei spends all day sleeping, getting high, Mossad-linked account says [08/01/2025]
• Dry Taps, Empty Lakes, Shuttered Cities: A Water Crisis Batters Iran [07/28/2025]
• Investigating ancient irrigation tunnels with a remote controlled car [09/16/2023]
• The Garamantes [07/17/2020]
• Iran Shielding Nuclear Efforts in Tunnel Mazes [01/05/2010]
• Rome's Tremendous Tunnel [04/19/2009]

[SunkenCiv]

• Qanat Water System [Brave search]

[Bob Ireland]

Why Qanat I get any water?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Very fascinating. Thanks, as usual.

Image being the tunnel laborers 3,000 years ago, working with only candle light and primitive tools. Imagine being the system engineer and having to sink exploratory wells to find a suitable aquifer. The Wiki article says these were well-paid workers.

[Bob Ireland]

***Why Qanat I get any water?***

I Qanat be trying hard enough... 🤔

[SpaceBar]

The thing they don’t tell you is that these magnificent ancient earthworks were created almost exclusively by slave labor.

[SunkenCiv]

😁