Chalus County

Chalus County is in Mazandaran province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Chalus.

History
After the 2006 National Census, Kelardasht-e Gharbi Rural District was created in Kelardasht District, and Birun Bashm and Kuhestan Rural Districts, and the city of Marzanabad, were separated from it in the establishment of Marzanabad District.

After the 2011 census, Kelardasht District was separated from the county in the formation of Kelardasht County, with Kelardasht as its capital and only city. The village of Hachirud merged with other villages to become a city.

Language
The people residing in Chalus speak Mazanderani. In western Chalus, the dialect of Kalarestaqi is spoken and in eastern Chalus, the dialect of Kojuri. During the Pahlavi dynasty, a group of Langrud people migrated from Gilan to Chalus. The Langrudi living in Chalus speak Eastern Gilaki. The Eastern Gilaki language is spoken in the entire Chalus River valley, though some Kurdish tribes were established in Kojur and Kelardasht in the Qajar period.

Population
At the time of the 2006 census, the county's population was 119,559 in 33,193 households. The following census in 2011 counted 122,736 people in 37,756 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the county as 116,542 in 39,105 households.

Administrative divisions
Chalus County's population history and administrative structure over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.

Climate
The warm, humid climate of Chalus was formerly considered unhealthy, and the bulk of the population of Chalus, as of all other towns in this region, used to migrate in summer to the summer pastures on the slopes around Delir and in the Kelardasht basin, one of the most popular and longest-settled districts in the region.