Alborz Province in the context of "Mazandaran"

Greater Tehran Metropolitan Area is the urban agglomeration around Tehran that covers the central part of the Tehran Province and eastern part of the Alborz Province, that covers the contiguous cities of Tehran, Ray, Shemirānāt, and other areas.

As of 2012, Greater Tehran had a population of close to 14 million residents. The 2016 census had the population at 13.3 million in Tehran Province (only 200 thousands of them outside Tehran and the suburban counties) and 2.2 million in Karaj and Fardis combined. Therefore, it can be estimated that the population of the urban agglomeration was approximately 15 million people in 2016, and it is sinking at a rate of 25 cm per year due to the accelerated influx and overuse of natural resources.

Mazandaran province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is bordered clockwise by Russia (across the sea), Golestan, Semnan, Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, and Gilan Provinces. Mazandaran covers an area of 23,842 km.

The province has diverse natural resources, notably large offshore reservoirs of oil and natural gas. The diverse natural habitats of the province include plains, prairies, forests and rainforest stretching from the sandy beaches of the Caspian Sea to the rugged and snowcapped Alborz sierra, including Mount Damavand, one of the highest peaks and volcanoes in Asia.