Dasht-e Lut | |
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Floor elevation | 108 m (354 ft)[1] |
Length | 480 km (300 mi) |
Width | 320 km (200 mi) |
Area | 51,800 km2 (20,000 sq mi) |
Geography | |
Country | Iran |
Coordinates | 30°36′18″N 59°04′04″E / 30.60500001°N 59.0677777878°E |
Official name | Lut Desert |
Criteria | vii, viii |
Reference | 1505 |
Inscription | 2016 (40th Session) |
Website | www.lutDesert.ir |
The Lut Desert, widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut (Persian: دشت لوت, "Emptiness Plain"), is a salt desert located in the provinces of Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran. It is the world's 33rd-largest desert, and was included in UNESCO's World Heritage List on July 17, 2016.[2] The name is derived from 'Lut' which means bare and empty in Persian[3][4][5] and 'dasht' which means plain in Persian.[6][7] The surface of its sand has been measured at temperatures as high as 70.7 °C (159.3 °F),[8][9] making it one of the world's driest and hottest places.[10]