| Official Name: | Garmsar |
| Native Name: | Persian: گرمسار |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Pushpin Map: | Iran |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Iran |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Semnan |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Garmsar |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Central |
| Population As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Total: | 48672 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | IRST |
| Utc Offset: | +3:30 |
| Coordinates: | 35.2206°N 52.3389°W |
| Coordinates Footnotes: | [1] |
Garmsar (Persian: گرمسار) is a city in the Central District of Garmsar County, Semnan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[2]
Garmsar is about 95km (59miles) southeast of Tehran. It lies on the edge of Dasht-e Kavir, Iran's largest desert. Many people in the city commute to Tehran due to its proximity. Ghasre Bahram, The Stone Way, Stonvand Castle, the Sar Darre Mountains, and Kavir Desert National Park are tourist attractions located in the area.
Garmsar has a Tat and Persian majority. Persian and Tati are the main languages in Garmsar County. Other languages such as Azeri and Kurdish are still spoken by older people from different ethnicities like Osanlu(azari) and Pazuki, Gharachorloo and Shadloo (kurdish) in the nearby villages. Younger generation speaks Persian along with their native language.
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 38,891 in 10,951 households.[3] The following census in 2011 counted 40,985 people in 12,539 households.[4] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 48,672 people in 16,075 households.[5]
Garmsar has a hot desert climate (BWh) in Köppen climate classification and (BW) in Trewartha climate classification.
The Hablehrood river originating from Dalichai-Firouzkooh flows to the plateau of Garmsar. Its water is extensively used for agriculture. Since salt water mixes with Hablehrood before its arrival to the city, the water is not fit for drinking. Hablehrood is the only permanent river in Semnan province. Thanks to the water provided by Hablehrood, people in Garmsar grow wheat, barley, cotton and yellow melon. Garmsar is known across Iran for its sweet and crispy yellow melons.[6]
The many river branches and the irrigated fields provide recharge to the aquifer. Since ancient times, groundwater in the Garmsar area has been exploited by ghanats (qanats, karezes) and shallow wells, mainly for irrigation of agricultural land, but also for household purposes. In the last decades, the number of deep-wells has increased sharply and the ghanats have fallen dry.[7]
Yet, at the fringes of the fan, problems of waterlogging occur owing to irrigation losses higher up that are transported through the aquifer to the lower lying areas causing shallow watertables, while the evaporation from the shallow watertable brings salts into the rootzone which henceforth is salinizing. As a result, the agriculture in the fringes suffers low yields or is impossible.
The traditional cuisine of the city is called Tahchin. It differs from the classic Tahchin common in other cities. Tahchin is a tasty and fragrant rice-based food where marinated raw meat is slowly cooked inside the rice over a low flame for several hours.[6]