Shahrood (, also Romanized as Shâhrūd, and Shahroud; also known as Shârūd) is a city and capital of Shahrood County, Semnan Province, Iran. Situated about an altitude of 1345 m, it is located at latitude 36°25'N, longitude 055°01'E. The main launch site of the Iranian Space Agency is near Shahrood. It is also well known for unique types of grapes which are cultivated specially in Shahrud. Consequently, Shahrood is known as the City of Grapes. Although absent from earlier historical sources, Shahrud has become an important town since the 19th century because of its location on the road from Tehran east to Khorasan. It now also is on the railway. A road runs from Shahrud across the Alborz mountains to the Caspian coastal plains in the north; it is accessible throughout winter. Shahrud was renamed Imāmrūd after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, but has since reverted to the old name. It is located just south of the historical city of Bastam. Geography Some 410 kilometers to the east of Tehran, halfway between the capital and Mashad, and at the junction with the Gorgan road, sits the modern city of Shahrud, which has grown to absorb the historic town of Bastam situated in the hills a few kilometers to the north. From the north, it is surrounded by the Alborz mountains, and from the south by the arid salty deserts. The river of Tash, after crossing this town, reaches the south deserts. The weather on the mountainous areas is cold and it is somewhat temperate in other parts of the city. Shahrud is located in the Damghan basin, a sub-basin of the Kavir basin which also contains the Great Salt Desert. Climate Shahrud has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk) with hot summers and very cold winters with freezing nights. Precipitation is very low, and mostly falls in winter (often as snow) and spring. History In 2006, traces of a prehistoric, 8000-year-old settlements were found in Shahrud. This is the pre-historical site of Deh Kheyr, Semnan, located in Shahrud Plain, 15 kilometers from the city of Shahrud. The discoveries included ovens, craft workshops, and other evidence of settlements. Archeological excavations in different parts of Shahrud Plain indicate the existence of villages in this area during 7-5 millennium BC. As a modern city, the city of Shahrud was merely a village before the reign of Fath Ali Shah of the