Miyānkāle peninsula is a narrow but long peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

 in Māzandarān Province

Mazandaran Province

Mazandaran Province is a Caspian province in the north of Iran. Located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, it is bordered clockwise by the Golestan, Semnan, Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, and Gilan provinces....

 in the north of Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 situated in the extreme south-eastern part of the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

. The long and narrow peninsula is 48 km long, and between 1300 and 3200 meters wide.

It sets apart the Gorgan Bay from the Caspian Sea. The elevation of the peninsula from the sea level is 23 meters and four villages are situated on it namely: Ashuradeh

Ashuradeh

Ashūradeh , or Ashur Ada , is the only island of the Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea. Ashuradeh's surface is .It is located on the eastern end of the Miankaleh peninsula in the county of Behshahr of Māzandarān Province of Iran, from Bandar Torkaman and from Gorgan.The island can be reached via...

, Qezel-e shomali, Qezel-Mehdi and Qavasatl.
The city situated at the opposite side of the peninsula's end is Bandar Torkaman

Bandar Torkaman

Bandar Torkaman is a city in and capital of Torkaman County, Golestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census its population was 45,045, in 9,755 families.Bandar Torkaman is a port on the Caspian Sea. It is approximately from Tehran...

. The island of Ashuradeh

Ashuradeh

Ashūradeh , or Ashur Ada , is the only island of the Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea. Ashuradeh's surface is .It is located on the eastern end of the Miankaleh peninsula in the county of Behshahr of Māzandarān Province of Iran, from Bandar Torkaman and from Gorgan.The island can be reached via...

 lies off the eastern tip of the peninsula.

Ecology

Miankaleh peninsula is one of the richest ecological havens in West Asia and perhaps in the whole world. It is home to many unique Caspian bird and reptile species native to this region. It's also a very important internationally-recognized refuge for migratory birds.

The peninsula, with Gorgan Bay, was designated a Ramsar site in 1975.

Threat

This nature reserve is unfortunately highly under threat by Industry & Tourism. While tourism-related activities continue to pollute the area, the Iranian government plans to build a huge hotel complex right in the middle of this nature park. Parts of the peninsula have already been sold by the government for industrial & residential purposes.
The number of migratory birds has fallen significantly during the past few years. Extensive fishing & hunting has damaged the ecological balance & many species are either moribund or under threat of total extinction.

Source

• Bakhtiyari, Sa'id, Atlas-e gitashenasi-ye Ostanha-ye Iran (Geographical atlas of Iran's provinces), Tehran: 1383 H.sh., p.168.