ABSTRACT
The qanat is a sustainable technique to tap groundwater without inflicting any damage on the aquifer. The qanat is a main element of the landscape of Iranian arid lands dotted with rows of soil mounds from the mountain foot down to the desert. In desert landscapes, it is common to find features in the shape of a crater in a row, which can be easily seen from the air, and these are the mouths of qanat shaft wells running across a desert. This system works only by gravity and, unlike pumped wells, does not consume any kind of fuel. Regional geographical and climatic conditions played an important role in creating and developing qanat systems. One of the most famous qanats of Iran, Ghasabe Qanat, is located in the town of Gonabad, Khorasan Razavi, northeast of Iran. From archaeological records, its construction dates back to the Achaemenid era, and it has been active ever since.
