afghanistan

Topographic map of Afghanistan

Continent Asia

RegionCentral Asia and South

Asia[1][2]

Geographic

coordinates33°00′N 65°00′E

Area

- Total

- Water

Ranked 41st

647,500 km2

(250,000 sq mi)

0 km2 (landlocked)

Coastline landlocked

Countries

bordered

Pakistan 2,430 km

(1,510 mi),

Tajikistan 1,206 km

(749 mi),

Iran 936 km (582 mi),

Turkmenistan 744 km

(462 mi),

Uzbekistan 137 km (85 mi),

China 76 km (47 mi)

Highest point Noshaq, 7,492 m (24,580 ft)

Lowest point Amu Darya, 258 m (846 ft)

Longest river Helmand River

Largest inland

body of water

Kajaki Dam

Dahla Dam

Naghlu Dam

Band-e Amir

Qargha

Afghanistan

Geography of AfghanistanFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Afghanistan is a landlocked and mountainous country that is

usually designated as being located in Central Asia, but also

part of South Asia. It connects South and East Asia with

Central and Western Asia. The country is the 41st largest in the

world in size. Kabul is the capital and largest city of

Afghanistan, located in the Kabul Province. Strategically

located at the crossroads of major trade routes, Afghanistan

has attracted a succession of invaders since the sixth century

BCE.[8][9]

The Hindu Kush mountains, running northeast to southwest

across the country, divide it into three major regions: 1) the

Central Highlands, which form part of the Himalayas and

account for roughly two thirds of the country's area; 2) the

Southwestern Plateau, which accounts for one-fourth of the

land; and 3) the smaller Northern Plains area, which contains

the country's most fertile soil.

Land elevations generally slope from northeast to southwest,

following the general shape of the Hindu Kush massif, from its

highest point in the Pamir Mountains near the Chinese border

to the lower elevations near the border with Iran. To the north,

west, and southwest there are no mountain barriers to

neighboring countries. The northern plains pass almost

imperceptibly into the plains of Turkmenistan. In the west and

southwest, the plateaus and deserts merge into those of Iran.

Afghanistan is located on the Eurasian Tectonic Plate. The

Wakhan Corridor and the rest of northeastern Afghanistan,

including Kabul, are situated in a geologically active area.

Over a dozen earthquakes occurred there during the twentieth

century.

The greater part of the northern border and a small section of

the border with Pakistan are marked by rivers; the remaining

boundary lines are political rather than natural. The northern

frontier extends approximately 1,689 km (1,049 mi)

southwestward, from the Pamir Mountains in the northeast to a

region of hills and deserts in the west, at the border with Iran.

The border with Iran runs generally southward from the Hari

River across swamp and desert regions before reaching the

northwestern tip of Pakistan. Its southern section crosses the

Helmand River.

Afghanistan is bounded by six different countries. Its longest

border is the poorly marked Durand Line, accounting for its

entire southern and eastern boundary with Pakistan. The

Geography of Afghanistan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Afghanistan

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Land Use

- Arable land

- Permanent

crops

- Other

(2005 estimates)

12.13%

0.21%

87.66%

Irrigated Land 27,200 km2 (10,500 sq mi)

Climate: Arid to semiarid

Natural

resources

natural gas, petroleum, coal,

copper, uranium, gold,

silver, chromite, talc,

barites, sulfur, lead, zinc,

iron ore, salt, precious and

semiprecious stone[3][4][5]

[6][7]

Natural

hazards

earthquakes, flooding,

avalanches

Environmental

issues

limited fresh water,

overgrazing, deforestation,

desertification, air pollution,

water pollution

shortest one, bordering China's Xinjiang province, is a mere

76 km (47 mi) at the end of the Wakhan Corridor (the Afghan

Panhandle), a narrow sliver of land 241 km (150 mi) long that

extends eastward between Tajikistan and Pakistan. At its

narrowest point it is only 11 km (7 mi) wide.

The border with Pakistan runs eastward from Iran through the

Chagai Hills and the southern end of the Registan Desert, then

northward through mountainous country. It then follows an

irregular northeasterly course before reaching the Durand

Line, established in 1893. This line continues on through

mountainous regions to the Khyber Pass area. Beyond this

point it rises to the crest of the Hindu Kush, which it follows

eastward to the Pamir Mountains. The Durand Line divides the

Pashtun tribes of the region between Afghanistan and

Pakistan. Its creation has caused much dissatisfaction among

Afghans and has given rise to political tensions between the

two countries.

Contents

1 Mountain systems

2 Rivers and lakes

3 Vegetation

4 Gallery

5 See also

6 Notes

7 Further reading

8 External links

Mountain systems

The Hindu Kush mountain range reaches a height of 7,492 m (24,580 ft) at Noshaq, Afghanistan's highest peak.

Of the ranges extending southwestward from the Hindu Kush, the Foladi peak (Shah Foladi) of the Baba

mountain range (Koh-i-Baba) reaches the greatest height: 5,142 m (16,870 ft). The Safed Koh range, which

includes the Tora Bora area, dominates the border area southeast of Kabul.

Important passes include the Unai Pass across the Safed Koh, the Kushan and Salang Passes through the Hindu

Kush, and the Khyber Pass that connects Afghanistan with Pakistan. The summit of the Khyber Pass at 1,070 m

(3,510 ft) at Landi Kotal, Pakistan is 5 km (3 mi) east of the border town of Torkham. Other key passages

through the mountainous Pakistan border include two from Paktika Province into Pakistan's Waziristan region:

one at Angoor Ada, a village that straddles both sides of the border east of Shkin, and, further south, the Gumal

River crossing, plus the Charkai River passage south of Khost, Afghanistan, at Pakistan's Ghulam Khan village

into North Waziristan. The busy Pak-Afghan border crossing at Wesh, Afghanistan is in a flat and dry area,


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Snow-covered Koh-i-Baba mountains

in Bamyan Province of Afghanistan

Snow-covered Hindu Kush

mountains in Afghanistan

Snow-covered mountains in the

Paktia Province.

Branches of the Kunar River meet

with the Kabul River in Nangarhar

Province

Arghandab district, between

Kandahar and Lashkar Gah

though this route involves Pakistan's Khojak Pass at 2,707 m (8,881 ft)

just 14 km (9 mi) from the border. The border connects Kandahar and

Spin Boldak in Afghanistan with Quetta in Pakistan,

The Wakhan Corridor in the northeast lies between the Hindu Kush and

the Pamir Mountains, which leads to the Wakhjir Pass into Xinjiang in

China. Taking the highlands of the country as a whole, there is no great

difference between the mean temperature of Afghanistan and that of the

lower Himalaya. Each may be placed at a point between . However, the

remarkable feature of Afghan climate is its extreme range of temperature

within limited periods. The smallest daily range in the north is when the

weather is cold; the greatest is when it is hot. For seven months of the

year (from May to November) this range exceeds 17 °C (63 °F) daily.

Waves of intense cold occur, lasting for several days, and one may have

to endure a cold of −24 °C (−11 °F), rising to a maximum of −8 °C

(18 °F). On the other hand, the summer temperature is exceedingly high,

especially in the Oxus regions, where a shade maximum of 45–50 °C

(113–122 °F) is not uncommon. At Kabul, and over all the northern part

of the country to the descent at Gandamak, winter is rigorous, but

especially so on the high Arachosian plateau. In Kabul the snow lies for

two or three months; the people seldom leave their houses, and sleep

close to stoves. At Ghazni the snow has been known to lie long beyond

the vernal equinox; the thermometer sinks as low as −25 °C (−13 °F),

and tradition relates the destruction of the entire population of Ghazni by

snowstorms more than once.

The summer heat is great in the

Sistan Basin, Jalalabad and

Turkestan, especially Sistan. All

over Kandahar province the

summer heat is intense, and the

simoom is not unknown. The hot

season throughout this part of the

country is rendered more trying

by frequent dust storms and fiery

winds; whilst the bare rocky ridges that traverse the country, absorbing

heat by day and radiating it by night, render the summer nights most

oppressive. At Kabul the summer sun has great power, though the heat is

tempered occasionally by cool breezes from the Hindu Kush, and the

nights are usually cool. At Kandahar snow seldom falls on the plains or

lower hills; when it does, it melts at once.

Although Herat is approximately 240 m (787 ft) lower than Kandahar,

the summer climate there is more temperate, and the climate throughout

the year is far from disagreeable. From May to September, the wind

blows from the northwest with great force, and this extends across the

country to Kandahar. The winter is tolerably mild; snow melts as it falls,

and even on the mountains does not lie long. Three years out of four at

Herat it does not freeze hard enough for the people to store ice; yet it

was not very far from Herat, and could not have been at a greatly higher


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afghanistan

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