Gorno-Badakhshan

Gorno-Badakhshan, mountainous autonomous subdivision of the nation of Tajikistan, in central Asia. Gorno-Badakhshan occupies the entire eastern section of Tajikistan, with an area of 63,700 sq km (24,590 sq mi). It is bordered by the nation of Kyrgyzstan on the north, China on the east, Afghanistan on the south, and Afghanistan and the rest of Tajikistan on the west.

The Pamirs mountainous region dominates the province and include the highest mountain in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Ismail Samani Peak, with an elevation of 7,495 m (24,590 ft). The Pamirs are eroded by an extensive system of glaciers, including Fedchenko Glacier, about 70 km (about 40 mi) long. The runoff from this large glacial system irrigates the desert at the base of the Pamir Mountains.

The nomadic Kyrgyz people raise livestock in the broad, U-shaped valleys in the eastern part of Gorno-Badakhshan. Many of these valleys are more than 4,000 m (more than 13,000 ft) above sea level. In the rugged western part of the province are fast-moving rivers that cut deep, narrow gorges. The sides of these canyons have traditionally been populated by the Tajik people. Under the Soviet regime, both the Tajiks, who represent 87 percent of the region’s population, and the Kyrgyz, who make up 13 percent of the population, were forced to work on agricultural collectives. Khorugh, a city near the border of Afghanistan, is the administrative center of Gorno-Badakhshan. Population 167,100 (1991).