The Qanat, Water Without a Pump
Caption
The Qanat: water without a pump. A mother well reaches the aquifer, an almost horizontal tunnel carries the water by gravity, shafts let spoil out and air in, and the mazhar delivers it to the fields. Eleven qanats were inscribed together by UNESCO in 2016. #Qanat #Persia #WorldHeritage
Short takes
A qanat has no pump and burns no fuel. Gravity moves the water through an almost horizontal tunnel, often for many kilometres.
The mazhar is where a qanat’s water first meets daylight. Everything before it happens underground.
UNESCO inscribed eleven qanats together in 2016. Local qanat councils still manage them under a communal system.
Image description
Cutaway diagram of a qanat on a sloping hillside. A mother well drops to a blue water-bearing layer, an almost horizontal tunnel rises gently to the surface at the mazhar, shafts with spoil mounds line the tunnel, and trees mark fields at the outlet. Labels name the mother well, shafts, tunnel, mazhar and fields. A side panel lists four parts. Cards read 11 qanats, 2016 and 19,057 hectares. A bar reads Gravity.
