{"id":14547,"date":"2017-03-09T09:47:41","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T09:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/?page_id=14547"},"modified":"2026-10-05T17:28:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T17:28:36","slug":"qanat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/qanat\/","title":{"rendered":"Qanat in Iran: How the Ancient Water System Works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <strong>qanat<\/strong> is a gravity-fed water system that carries groundwater through gently sloping underground tunnels from an aquifer to settlements and farmland. In Iran, qanats have supported communities in arid and semi-arid landscapes for centuries.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/qanat\/#how-a-qanat-works\" >How a Qanat Works<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/qanat\/#the-persian-qanat-and-unesco\" >The Persian Qanat and UNESCO<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/qanat\/#why-qanats-matter\" >Why Qanats Matter<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how-a-qanat-works\"><\/span>How a Qanat Works<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A mother well reaches the aquifer at higher ground. From there, a nearly horizontal tunnel carries water downhill by gravity. Vertical shafts along the route provide access, ventilation and a way to remove excavated material. At the outlet, water enters surface channels for domestic and agricultural use.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-persian-qanat-and-unesco\"><\/span>The Persian Qanat and UNESCO<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UNESCO inscribed <a href=\"https:\/\/whc.unesco.org\/en\/list\/1506\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Persian Qanat<\/a> on the World Heritage List in 2016. The serial property comprises 11 qanats in Iran and recognizes both their engineering and the traditional systems used to manage and distribute water.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"why-qanats-matter\"><\/span>Why Qanats Matter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By moving water underground, qanats limit evaporation and make reliable water supplies possible across dry landscapes. Their construction requires careful control of gradient, while long-term operation depends on regular inspection and maintenance of tunnels and shafts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a deeper look at Iran&#8217;s qanat heritage, see SURFIRAN&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/persian-qanat\/\">Persian Qanat guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8lS_ar5UpiU<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">National Geographic: a visual introduction to Iran&#8217;s qanat tunnels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how Iran\u2019s qanats use gravity-fed underground tunnels to carry water, and why 11 Persian qanats are recognized by UNESCO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":15162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15780,1],"tags":[5239],"class_list":["post-14547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-attractions","category-tourism-iran","tag-qanat"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Qanat-of-Zarch-2.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}