near Malayer Mount Almuqulak, between Asadabad and Bahar; reaches a height of 2,997 m Mount Buqati, about 85 km northeast of Hamadan in Sardrud district Rivers The rivers that flow north and east from Mount Alvand are largely seasonal; they carry far less water in the summer if they flow at all. The main ones are the Talvar and the Qarachay. The Talvar is ultimately a tributary of the Safidrud, the longest river in Iran. It begins on the slopes of the Kuh-e Safid, in the northwest of the province. The Qarachay, which is also called the Siahrud, begins in the Alvand highlands between Hamadan and Malayer. It receives several tributaries in the northern Alvand area, including the Siminarud, the Khaku, and the Farjin. It then flows eastward and eventually reaches Lake Qom in Markazi province. The main rivers south of the Alvand range are the Gamasiab, which is another name for the Karkheh River in its upper stages, and the Qelqelrud, which is itself a tributary of the Gamasiab. The Gamasiab rises southeast of Nahavand, near the lowest point in the province. It crosses the Nahavand plain before receiving the Malayer and Qelqelrud as tributaries and eventually crosses the Zagros to the southwest. The most important dam in the province is the Ekbatan Dam (formerly called the Shahnaz Dam), which was built in 1963 on the Yalfan River some 10 km southeast of Hamadan. Its reservoir has a capacity of 12 million cubic meters and it provides 2,400 liters of water per second, which is mostly used for agricultural irrigation. Climate Hamadan province typically has relatively long, cold winters and mild summers. There are usually between 120 to 140 days of frost throughout the year, and mountains are snow-covered for 6-8 months of the year. Temperature extremes range from -32° C in winter to 39° C in summer, but average temperatures usually range between -4°C in December to 25° C in July. The weather is generally milder the further south one goes. During the winter, the northern plains are exposed to strong winds that blow 4 meters per second on average. These winds are humid and are also accompanied by rainfall. The province receives above-average rainfall, typically averaging 315 mm in a year. Almost no rain falls during the summer, between June and September. Wildlife In the valleys between the province's mountains, there are springs and small lakes that