natural factors

The specific patterns of life formed on Earth are due to interactions that exist between man and the environment. In this regard, the present study is based on field and documentary data and using MABAC model and GIS, seeks to evaluate and rank the effective natural variables in the location and spatial distribution of castle settlements of west Azerbaijan province in Iran. In order to data analysis, after forming a database, the spatial distribution of identified castle settlements evaluated and analyzed in relation to variables of distance from the river, elevation levels, slope, aspect, landform, climatic classes, land use/vegetation and soil type. Findings obtained from the data analysis in the form of MABAC model show that distance from the river, elevation levels and landform (plain and mountainous) have the most effect on location and spatial distribution of castle settlements in studied region and other natural variables such as climatic classes, land use/ vegetation, soil type, slope and aspect have been effective in spatial distribution of these settlements in terms of importance and effective, respectively.