Lerik, Azerbaijan

Lerik  is the capital city of Lerik District in the southern area of Azerbaijan not far from the Iran 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 were living 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 census back in 1939 main population of Lerik were Talysh people.

Historical monuments
One of the main sights near Lerik is the Buzeir cave. In the 19th century Jacques de Morgan discovered examples of human imprints belonging to the Neolithic era.

Population
Lerik city population 1939 (approximately after 10 years of rename by Azerbaijan SSR):

Demographics now (according to 2009 census)

The vast majority of the city's population are Talysh, while the rest are Azerbaijanis and other ethnicities.

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.