Khorassan

Khorassan, the largest province of Persia, now lies between 34° and 38° N. lat., and 53° and 61° E. long., and has an area of about 210,000 square miles. It is bounded by Turkestan on the N., Afghanistan on the E., the province of Irak-Ajemi on the E., and those of Fnristan and Kerman on the S. A large part of the surface is occupied by a vast salt desert, and elsewhere sandy plains abound, but the mountain ridges on the N. side, in the districts of Meshed and Astrabad, are cloven by many fertile valleys, in which grain, cotton, rice, hemp, tobacco, and other products nre grown. There are mines of gold, silver, turquoises and other precious stones, and salt. The principal towns are Meshed and Nisliapur.