Afghanistan

Afghanistan book cover — CHANGING WORLD AFGHANISTAN Nicola Barber

Afghanistan — page 1 — CHAPTER 1 Introduction In size the country of Afghanistan is slightly smaller than Texas It lies in the heart of Asia and is completely landlocked enclosed by land Its longest border is with Pakistan to the east and south Afghanistan also has borders with Iran to the west and three Central Asian states to the north It has a very short border with China in the mountainous northeast Landlocked and rugged Roughly three-quarters of Afghanistan’s landscape is mountainous and rugged The ranges that dominate the center of the country include the Paropamisus and the Koh-i-Baba mountain ranges Extending northeast from the Koh-i-Baba are the ranges of the Hindu Kush the backbone of the country The airy peaks of the Hindu Kush include Mount Noshaq Afghanistan’s highest mountain see box Several high passes routes that allow people and vehicles to travel through the mountains cross this inhospitable land The most important of these is the Salang Pass which connects northern Afghanistan with Kabul to the south A tunnel constructed in the 1960s cut down the time taken by vehicles to travel across this pass from 72 hours to 10 hours At an altitude height of 11,152 ft 3,400 m the tunnel is one of the highest in the world 6 GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES Area 252,330 sq mi 647,500 sq km Border countries China Iran Pakistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Coastline none Highest mountain Noshaq Hindu Kush 24,551 ft 7,485 m Major rivers Amu Darya Hari Kabul Helmand Major cities Kabul capital Qandahar Mazar-e-Sharif Herat Source CIA World Factbook 2008 Plains and plateaus North of the central mountain ranges lie the northern plains which border Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan The Amu Darya and numerous other smaller rivers bring snowmelt from the Hindu Kush and the central mountain ranges to water fertile foothills and plains Historically this region has been a productive agricultural area but recent conflicts have forced many farmers to flee their farms and pastures The southern lowlands have an average altitude of about 2,950 ft 900 m This area covering about 50,700 sq mi 130,000 sq km forms part of the much larger Plateau of Iran which also extends into Iran and Pakistan Most of the land in this region is desert or semi-desert although the Helmand River which bisects the region provides some water for irrigation watering crops

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan's economy is based on agriculture, but much of the land suitable for farming has been damaged by drought, deforestation, and war.

About This Book

By: Nicola Barber

Illustrated by:

Published by: Arcturus Publishing provided by Britannica

9-12Age Range

-AR

42Pages

Middle EastSubject

-Lexile

30-45 minsReading Time

-Guided Reading

-Fountas & Pinnell

-DRA

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