a mountain range on the border of Iran with Turkey and Iraq. Length, approximately 240 km; average elevation, approximately 3,000 m. The Kurdistan Range is predominantly composed of crystalline and metamorphic schists, marbles, and sandstones. The range is dissected by short but deep gorges, sometimes open at both ends, as the Kotur River Gorge. Sparse oak forests are found on the damper western slopes; hilly dry steppes cover the eastern slopes. The mountain crests are covered with alpine meadows and phryganeoid vegetation.