qanat

Also known as karez, kariz, qanats, kanât, kanâts, fakkara, fakkaras, käris

thumb|Channel of the Qanats of Ghasabeh in Iran's Razavi Khorasan Province, 2015.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of: cultural heritage
Country of origin: Iran
Image: QanatFiraun.JPG
Has use: agricultural irrigation

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described by source: National Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan
Commons category: Qanat
native label: قنات

Sources (1)

wikidata.org

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~56 min read

Encyclopedic overview

45 sections

Contents

Etymology
Origins
Features
Impact on settlement patterns
Construction
Preparations
Excavation
Maintenance
Applications
Watermills
Cooling
Ice storage
By country
Africa
Algeria
Egypt
Libya
Morocco
Tunisia
Asia
Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
China
Iran
Iraq
India
Indonesia
Israel and Palestine
Japan
Jordan
Oman
Pakistan
Syria
Europe
Greece
Italy
Luxembourg
Spain
The Americas
Symbolism in Iranian culture
See also
References
Bibliography
External links

thumb|Channel of the Qanats of Ghasabeh in Iran's Razavi Khorasan Province, 2015.

A qanāt () or kārīz () is a water supply system that was developed in ancient Iran for the purpose of transporting usable water to the surface from an aquifer or a well through an underground aqueduct. Originating approximately 3,000 years ago, its function is essentially the same across the Middle East and North Africa, but it is known by a variety of regional names beyond today's Iran, including: kārēz in Afghanistan and Pakistan; foggāra in Algeria; ' in the Atlas Mountains; the daoudi-type falaj in Oman and the United Arab Emirates; and ʿuyūn' in Saudi Arabia. In addition to those in Iran, the largest extant and functional qanats are located in Afghanistan, Xinjiang in China (the Turpan water system), Oman, and Pakistan.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “qanat” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.