ORIGINAL PAPER A new approach for preparing the geomorphological map based on the active rock glaciers in southwestern Iran Mehrnoosh Ghadimi 1 & Ebrahim Moghimi 1 & Mahmod Reza Sahebi 2 & Arash Malekian 3 & Mahdi Ahmadi 4 Received: 24 July 2014 /Accepted: 13 April 2015 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2015 Abstract The geomorphological map was produced using aerial photos, Landsat satellite images, and field checking as the necessary precursor for an improved understanding of the glacial history of the region. The map reveals the main char- acteristics of the glacial geomorphology. This paper presents a new approach for preparing the geomorphological map of active rock glaciers in the Zagros Mountains, SW of Iran, covering an area of 421 km 2 . The outcome of the mapping and fieldworks proved reliability of the geomorphological map of the region based on aerial photos in determination of the precise location of the glaciers. Subsequently, Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 images taken in 1999–2013 were analyzed using the cross-correlation technique to derive the sur- face kinematics. The BCOSI-Corr^ software was also employed for measurement of the displacement velocity of the active rock glaciers. The results show that the rock glaciers in Oshtorankooh are active and displaced maximally in July, i.e., the warmest month of the year in the region. While the highest displacement velocity between 1999 and 2002 was only about 2 cm/year, which increased to 12 cm/day in 2013. The ground surface temperature (GST) observations analyzed using MODIS data show a temperature increase of 0.6 °C over this time period. Keywords Geomorphological map . Rock glaciers . Oshtorankooh Introduction Geomorphology is a branch of science, responsible for seek- ing the causes of formation landforms on the earth. In this regard, in hardly accessible areas, investigation of the land- form evolution and development with incapable field-based glaciological measurements is indeed challenging. Geomorphological map is an alternative optimum approach and a really effective tool not only in management of natural resources but also in different planning and development ac- tivities Shashikant et al. (2014). Rock glaciers are outstanding features of the alpine periglacial areas. They are tongue- or lobed-shaped masses of angular clasts which have an internal icy structure and move down slope (Barsch 1996) and (Kääb 2007). The rock glaciers, as geomorphological features of the mountain cryosphere, are attributed to permafrost creep and serve as indicator of past and present mountain permafrost Haeberli et al. (2006); hence, assessment of their location and activity is of a high importance. The location of rock glaciers could be determined through mapping and by interpretation of the aerial photos. Many researchers have adopted this approach in determination of location and characteristics of rock glaciers. Darvilla et al. (2014) have mapped the glacial geo- morphology of Patagonian containing the five southernmost ice lobes of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet. The resulted map precisely revealed the glacial history of the ice lobes and en- abled reliable dating of the glacial limits. Tracking any varia- tion in location of a rock glacier in a time range, i.e., displace- ment velocity is a very important characteristic of rock gla- ciers. Depending on this quantity, they are classified into * Mehrnoosh Ghadimi ghadimi@ut.ac.ir 1 Physical Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran 2 Faculty of Geomatics, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran 3 Faculty of Natural Resources , University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran 4 Physical Geography, University of Kharazmi, Tehran, Iran Arab J Geosci DOI 10.1007/s12517-015-1922-4