Payame Noor University Journal of Urban Ecology Researches 2538-3930 13 3 2022 11 22 Determining of the Potential Areas of Winter Sports Using AHP Method in Sepidan Township Determining of the Potential Areas of Winter Sports Using AHP Method in Sepidan Township 25 44 9283 10.30473/grup.2022.54994.2548 FA Abbasali Arvin (spanani) Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran. Hooshmand Ataei Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran. Poria Karimi Msc. Department of Climatology, Payame Noor University, Isfahan, Iran. Journal Article 2020 09 21 The purpose of this study is to investigate the ability to develop suitable winter sports areas in Sepidan city. The research method is analytical-descriptive and applied. In this research, using the AHP method, the most susceptible Areas for the development of winter sports in Sepidan township have been identified. For this purpose, important factors affecting this phenomenon include; rainfall, air temperature, altitude, slope and direction of slope, communication routes, density of communication routes, distance from residential areas and land use which were used. The use of satellite images of the snow cover in combination with the hierarchical method to determine the favorable areas for the development of winter sports is the innovation of the present research.The results of weighting the criteria affecting the development of winter sports in this province showed that rainfall is of primary importance. Spatial analysis of the weight of variables affecting the development of winter sports has shown that almost all the weights obtained from the 9 variables affecting the development of tourism in the northern and northwestern regions of the township have more weight. Combining 9 layers of information with hierarchical analysis in the ArcGIS software environment and calculating the final weight leading to the extraction of 5 different classes in terms of areas prone to the development of winter ecotourism. The results showed 3.46 percent of the township's area is very suitable for tourism development. The purpose of this study is to investigate the ability to develop suitable winter sports areas in Sepidan city. The research method is analytical-descriptive and applied. In this research, using the AHP method, the most susceptible Areas for the development of winter sports in Sepidan township have been identified. For this purpose, important factors affecting this phenomenon include; rainfall, air temperature, altitude, slope and direction of slope, communication routes, density of communication routes, distance from residential areas and land use which were used. The use of satellite images of the snow cover in combination with the hierarchical method to determine the favorable areas for the development of winter sports is the innovation of the present research.The results of weighting the criteria affecting the development of winter sports in this province showed that rainfall is of primary importance. Spatial analysis of the weight of variables affecting the development of winter sports has shown that almost all the weights obtained from the 9 variables affecting the development of tourism in the northern and northwestern regions of the township have more weight. Combining 9 layers of information with hierarchical analysis in the ArcGIS software environment and calculating the final weight leading to the extraction of 5 different classes in terms of areas prone to the development of winter ecotourism. The results showed 3.46 percent of the township's area is very suitable for tourism development. https://grup.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_9283_a6e3957a07df0ad51461fae1a7cad6ea.pdf