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GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
THE exact geographic description of
Afghanistan is between Longitude
E.60.30 and 75.50, and Latitude N.29.30
and 38.30. Bounded on all sides by land,
it covers an area of 250,000 sq. miles,
from the awesome peaks of the Hindu-
kush in the north-east, to the western
deserts of the Helmand.
Along the approximately 1,200-mile-
long northern border, mostly defined by
the rivers Amu (Oxus) and Murghab, lie
the Soviet Republics of Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
The western border, against Iran, is
also partially marked by rivers and lakes,
and runs from Zulfiqar down to the Malik
Siah mountain.
The southern boundary is flanked by
Baluchistan; whilst to the east the Wakhan
finger of Afghanistan touches on to the
Sinkiang Province of the Chinese People's
Republic, to Chitral, and Pakhtunistan.
Afghanistan has been called the
"Switzerland of Asia", mainly due to its
mountains and the absence of a seaboard.
From the north-east to the south-west
stretch the massive Hindukush ranges,
estimated at between 2½ and 3 million
years old. They are, in fact, a continuation
of the Himalayas, which, after subsiding
in the desert area between Afghanistan
and Iran, reappear in Southern Persia and
reach up to Turkey. Another extension of
this line goes through Herat and into Iran
to form the Khurasan range.
Around the north-eastern tip of
Afghanistan we get the immense, high
Pamir Plateau, commonly known as the
"Roof of the World", of which Wakhan
comprises the western section. This latter,
a narrow strip of land situated south of
the Victoria Lake, separates the U.S.S.R.
from Chitral, and creates the border
between Afghanistan and the Sinkiang
Province of China. Due to the changes
wrought during the Fourth Geological
Period the whole area has the appearance
of giant walls towering thousands of feet
above narrow valleys, where the thawing
of perpetual snows has produced power-
ful torrents.
Since Wakhan suffers severe winter for
seven months of the year only a few of
the southernmost valleys are inhabited,
generally by folk who draw their live-
lihood from sheep rearing.
MOUNTAIN RANGES
Hindukush
The Hindukush itself is the largest
range in Afghanistan, and has played a
significant role throughout her history: for
centuries its passes have been used as
communication routes between the Amu
and Sind (Indus) rivers.
Straddling the country from the north-
east to the south-west, the Hindukush
should be studied from two viewpoints—
the central core; and the peripheral ranges,
which we shall enumerate later on.
From the north to the central core the
shrinking of the earth's crust caused in-
numerable anticlines, later to take the
shape of mountains. The synclines, on
the other hand, have been completely or
partially filled with rivers, so creating
tectonic valleys, such as at Seighan and
Surkhab in the north, and Panjsher,
Ghorband, and Bamyan in the south.
In all the Hindukush comprises a
length of around 370 miles, which may be
divided topographically into two sections,
eastern and western. The former runs
from the Uli Valley in Little Pamir to the
Khawak Pass in Southern Badakhsan,
the western range from Khawak to Ak
Robat in the Valley of Bamyan.
The Eastern Hindukush is highest of
the Afghan mountain ranges. Approxi-
mately 16,400ft. above sea level none of
its passes is lower than 8,000ft., which
means they are deep in snow for most of
the year. The greatest peak is that of the
Ter Ajmir, 25,400.; and amongst the
most important passes come the Shetbal,
15,978ft., the Aulian, 16,634ft., and the
Khar Zar, 15,748ft.
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