The Topography Of Afghanistan: Unveiling A Land Of Contrasts And Surprises

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Southern Asia, bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China. It is predominantly mountainous, with plains in the north and southwest, separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. The country's highest point is Mount Noshaq, which peaks at 24,446 feet (7,485 metres).

Afghanistan's landscape is rugged and inhospitable, with more than 50% of the total land area lying above 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). The Hindu Kush mountain range, which includes the Foladi peak (Shah Foladi) of the Baba mountain range, reaches heights of over 16,000 feet (5,000 metres). The country also contains several important rivers, including the Amu Darya, Arghandab, Farah, Hari, Helmand, Kabul, Kokcha, and Kunar.

The country's geography has made it a strategic location throughout history, situated along important trade routes connecting southern and eastern Asia to Europe and the Middle East. As a result, Afghanistan has been sought after by empire builders and has been invaded numerous times, leaving traces of their efforts in great monuments now fallen to ruin.

The Hindu Kush mountain range

The Hindu Kush is one of the great watersheds of Central Asia, forming part of the vast Alpine zone that stretches across Eurasia from east to west. It runs northeast to southwest and divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus River) to the north from the Indus River valley to the south. The range forms the western section of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region (HKH) and is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas.

The Hindu Kush range is geologically active and is still rising; it is prone to earthquakes. The range has numerous high snow-capped peaks, with the highest point being Tirich Mir or Terichmir at 7,708m in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Chitral District of Pakistan is also home to Noshaq and Istoro Nal – the second and third highest peaks in the Hindu Kush.

The Hindu Kush's high mountain passes, called "kotals," have allowed the flow of military might, goods, and culture between central and south Asia for more than 1,000 years. Invaders from Central Asia brought their Indo-European language—a forerunner of the Indo-Iranian languages spoken throughout the region today—through the Hindu Kush's high passes in about 1500 BCE. Invaders from Central Asia, including Alexander the Great, used the Hindu Kush's high passes to conquer the Indian subcontinent.

The Hindu Kush is bounded to the south by a right lateral strike-slip fault, the Heart Fault, but the northern margin is less well-defined. The range is divided into three main sections: the eastern Hindu Kush, the central Hindu Kush, and the western Hindu Kush, also known as the Bābā Mountains.

The Hindu Kush is the headwaters of several rivers, including the Amu Darya (Oxus), Panj, Kabul, and Swat Rivers. The Hindu Kush's glaciers and heavy snowfall are ever-present features of these mountains.

The Wakhan Corridor

The corridor is home to various ethnic groups, including the Wakhi, Pamiri, and Kyrgyz people. The Kyrgyz are nomadic herders who move their herds across the Wakhan's alpine valleys and high mountains. They have a unique culture and traditions, including their own language, music, and colourful clothing. The Kyrgyz people have historically been isolated from the outside world, with no roads connecting their communities to the rest of Afghanistan. This isolation has led to a high death rate, especially among children, due to the lack of access to medical care and resources.

The Turkestan Plains

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, with plains in the north and southwest, separated by the formidable Hindu Kush mountain range. The Turkestan Plains are located in the north of the country, where the foothills decrease in altitude and become stony plains of 300-400m. Sand drifts and dunes are common, and loess deposits (wind-blown dust) and salt pans occur. This dry desertic area is usually separated from the level floodplain of the Amu Darya River, which forms the northern border, by marshy, alluvial terraces.

The Helmand Valley-Sistan Basin

The Helmand River rises in the Hindu Kush mountains, flowing southwestward for approximately 1150 kilometres. It traverses through several provinces in Afghanistan, including Maidan Wardak, Daykundi, Uruzgan, and Helmand, before reaching the Afghan-Iranian border. The river is the primary source of irrigation in the region, supporting agriculture, which is the economic backbone of the area.

The basin is known for its aridity and is subject to prolonged droughts. The availability of water in the basin is highly variable, which has historically created survival problems for human settlements. The ecological health of the basin's wetlands and the economic well-being of the local population are intricately linked to the snowmelt and rainfall in the high mountains.

The region has a rich cultural history, with evidence of advanced civilisations dating back thousands of years. The Helmand Sistan Project (HSP), a joint endeavour between the Smithsonian Institution and the Afghan Institute of Archaeology in the 1970s, identified nearly 200 sites in the lower Helmand Valley and the adjoining Sar-o-Tar Basin. These sites provided insights into the region's multicultural and multi-religious past, including the presence of Greek shrines, Buddhist stupas, and Zoroastrian temples.

One of the key discoveries of the HSP was the existence of an Early Iron Age culture that possessed the engineering expertise to construct and maintain an extensive network of irrigation canals. This ancient civilisation flourished in the region, contributing to the development of a sophisticated copper industry and shaping the rural settlement system that once thrived in what is now a desert landscape.

The Kabul River System

The Kabul River is a tributary of the Indus River, flowing into it near Attock, Pakistan. The river is approximately 700 kilometres (430 miles) long, with 560 kilometres (350 miles) of it flowing through Afghanistan.

The river rises in the Hindu Kush mountains in the northeastern part of Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan, and passes through the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad in Afghanistan, before flowing into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The river passes through the cities of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Nowshera in Pakistan.

The Kabul River has several major tributaries, including the Logar, Panjshir, Konar (Kunar), Alīngār, Bara, and Swat rivers. The Kunar River is the largest tributary, which starts as the Mastuj River in Pakistan and flows into Afghanistan, meeting the Kabul River near Jalalabad.

The river is an important source of irrigation for the region, and its water is also used for drinking and sanitation in the cities it flows through. The river is tapped for irrigation, and as a result, segments of the river often dry up during the summer.

The Kabul River is also important for hydropower generation, with several dams constructed along its course, including the Surobi, Naghlu, and Darunta dams in Afghanistan, and the Warsak Dam in Pakistan.

The river has played a significant role in the history of the region, with Alexander the Great using the river valley to invade India in the 4th century BCE. Additionally, the river was mentioned in Arrian's "The Campaigns of Alexander," where it was referred to as "Cophen."

The Kabul River is an essential source of freshwater for Afghanistan, contributing about a quarter of the country's freshwater. It is also a crucial source of water for the residents of Kabul and Jalalabad, who depend on it for all their water needs.

The river system is exorheic, flowing into the Indus River and eventually into the Indian Ocean. However, during drought years, the Indus River dries up before reaching the sea.

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