Quantitative assessment geoturism of Gonabad Qasabeh Qanat, Eastern Iran

Introduction: The tourism industry, the largest service industry in the world, has a special place in different fields of every country. This industry is one of the primary sources of foreign exchange in more than ۱۵۰ countries and the primary source in more than ۶۰ countries (Camilleri, ۲۰۱۸). Iran is a dry and semi-arid country due to its location in certain geographical latitudes (Amiri & Eslamian, ۲۰۱۰). In the east and center of the Iranian plateau, due to deficient annual rainfall, surface water flows such as permanent rivers and springs have been very limited (Modarres et al., ۲۰۰۷; Jamshidipour et al., ۲۰۲۲). Life in this area depends on underground water. The qanat and its system can be called the most efficient underground water extraction system in the desert areas of Iran (Papli-Yazdi et al., ۱۹۹۹). Gonabad's catchment area is ۱۸۷۲ square kilometers; almost half is in the highlands (mainly in the south), and the other half is in the plains. This area has ۳۰۰ qanats with an annual discharge of ۳۰ million cubic meters (Mirani Moghadam et al., ۲۰۲۱). The length of Qasbah Qanat is more than ۳۳ km, its wells are more than ۴۰۰ rings, and its mother well is more than ۳۰۰ meters at the deepest point (Papli-Yazdi et al., ۱۹۹۹). Qanats can be studied as geological sites from hydrogeological, historical, and cultural geological aspects (Gray, ۲۰۰۸; Jamshidipour et al., ۲۰۲۲) (Figures. ۱ and ۲). In this research, the geotourism potential of Gonabad Qasabeh Qanat has been investigated from the perspective of scientific values, representativeness, economics, Potential for use, and tourism views.

کلیدواژه ها:

Gonabad Qasabeh Qanat ، qanat ، geoturism ، Iran