Kavir Buzurg, meaning Great Kavir (great salt marsh), lies in the center of the Dasht-e Kavir

Dasht-e Kavir

Dasht-e Kavir , also known as Kavir-e Namak or Great Salt Desert is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian plateau. It is about 800 kilometers long and 320 kilometers wide with a total surface area of about 77,600 square kilometers , making it the Earth's 23rd largest desert...

, which is a desert located in the middle of the Iranian plateau

Iranian plateau

The Iranian plateau, or Iranic plateau, is a geological formation in Southwest Asia. It is the part of the Eurasian Plate wedged between the Arabian and Indian plates, situated between the Zagros mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north, the Hormuz Strait and Persian...

. The Kavir Buzurg covers an area of about 320 km by 160 km. It is separated from the neighboring kavirs by a surrounding ring of sandy hills. This is located in a rain shadow

Rain shadow

A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...

 desert that receives little moisture. When water evaporates from the salt marsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

es, it creates crusts of salt that covers a dark saline mush. These crusts are easily penetrated by a traveler, making journeying across the kavir dangerous. This region is nearly uninhabited, with humans primarily dwelling on the surrounding hills and mountains.