Lerik is the capital city of Lerik District in the southern area of Azerbaijan not far from the Iranian border. It is located in the Talysh Mountains, a northwestern subrange of the Alborz (Elburz) mountain range. The majority of the population is Talysh.
History Lerik is considered one of the ancient settlements of Azerbaijan. There are imprints of ancient people who lived in the caves. Nowadays there are settlement imprints which belong to bronze-Neolithic ages.
Lerik became a center of Zuvand Region of Azerbaijan SSR. In 1930 this region was renamed as Lerik.
According to the census back in 1939, the main population of Lerik were Talysh people.
The city is also said to be the actual Bazz Fortress, where Babak Khorramdin actually resided according to rumors.
Historical monuments One of the main sights near Lerik is the Buzeyir cave. In the 19th century Jacques de Morgan discovered human imprints belonging to the Neolithic era.
Population Lerik city population 1939 (approximately after 10 years of rename by Azerbaijan SSR): Ethnic groupQuantityPercentageTalysh99668.7%Azerbaijani30320.9%Russian1077.4Armenian110.8%Other322.2%Total1 449100%
Demographics now (according to 2009 census) Ethnic groupQuantityPercentageTalysh7222896.92%Azerbaijani22813.06%Russian110.01%Other20.00%
The vast majority of the city's population are Talysh, while the rest are Azerbaijanis and other ethnicities.
Climate
Zuvand State Reserve The Zuvand State Reserve was created in Lerik region to maintain the flora and fauna. The reserve covers 40.3 hectares of land. National academy has settled Botanical Research center, where active observations and researches are made. These forests are habitats for wolves, bears, foxes, wild cats, boars and other animals.
Gallery
References
External links
World Gazetteer: Azerbaijan – World-Gazetteer.com