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
INTRODUCTION Climate Afghanistan’s location far from the moderating influence of the sea means that it has a continental climate with some of the greatest extremes of temperatures in the world In the mountainous regions temperatures can drop as low as 13 F 25 C in the winter while on the northern plains summer temperatures in the daytime can rise as high as 115 F 46 C In addition to seasonal extremes temperatures often rise and fall rapidly between day and night The Asian monsoon brings rain during the summer months to western Afghanistan but the deserts of the southern lowlands remain hot and dry all year round UZBEKISTAN TAJIKISTAN CHINA TURKMENISTAN Amu Darya River Mazar-e-Sharif SAMANGAN PROVINCE h s u u K Mount Noshaq Panjshir River Hind Baghlan Salang Pass K o h-i-B a b a M o u ntains Shomali Plain Kabul Bamian Hazarajat Pamir Mountains Panjshir Valley Jalalabad INDIA Ghazni PAKTIA PROVINCE Paropamisus Mountains Peshawar Khost PAKISTAN Herat AFGHANISTAN Plateau of Iran Sistan IRAN elm and Ri v er H HELMAND PROVINCE Qandahar 0 0 miles 200 kilometres 200 Key Capital city Other cities Mountain Durand Line This map shows the major towns and cities of Afghanistan and other places mentioned in this book It also shows the mountain ranges that dominate a large part of this rugged country The inset map indicates Afghanistan’s location in the world 7
