II.

Land and Resources

Afghanistan is bounded on the north by the Central Asian countries of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan; on the east by China and the part of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmīr controlled by Pakistan; on the south by Pakistan; and on the west by Iran.

Afghanistan is slightly smaller than the state of Texas in the United States, and it occupies a landlocked highland at about the same latitude as Texas. The country covers an area of 652,225 sq km (251,825 sq mi). Its maximum length from east to west is about 1,240 km (about 770 mi); from north to south it is about 1,015 km (about 630 mi). The northwestern, western, and southern border areas are primarily desert plains and rocky ranges, whereas in the northeast the land rises progressively higher into the glacier-covered peaks of the Hindu Kush, an extension of the western Himalayas. The northern border is formed by the Amu Darya river and its tributary, the Panj.

A.

Natural Regions

High mountains cover much of Afghanistan. About half the land area is more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in elevation. Small glaciers and year-round snowfields are common. The highest peak, Nowshāk (Noshaq), rises 7,485 m (24,557 ft) on the northeastern border and is a lower spur of the Tirich Mīr peak in Pakistan. It is part of the Hindu Kush mountain system, which is located primarily in northeastern Afghanistan just south of another major system, the Pamirs. From the Hindu Kush, other lower ranges radiate outward, with the main spurs extending in a southwesterly direction almost to the western border with Iran. These lower ranges include the Paropamisus Range, which crosses northern Afghanistan, and the Safed Koh range, which forms part of the eastern border with Pakistan and contains the Khyber Pass, an important route linking the two countries. Lowland areas are concentrated in the south and west. They include the Herāt-Ferah Lowlands in the extreme northwest, the Sīstān Basin and Helmand River valley in the southwest, and the Rīgestān Desert in the south.

Except for the river valleys and a few places in the lowlands where underground fresh water makes irrigation possible, agriculture is difficult. Only 12 percent of the land is suitable for farming. Forests, located primarily in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan, cover about 1 percent of the country’s land area (2005). The ravages of war, the scarcity of fuel, and the need for firewood for cooking and heating have caused rapid deforestation.

Because Afghanistan has so many high mountains, the passes through them have been of profound importance in both the history of invasion of the country and in commerce. In 330 bc Alexander the Great invaded the country through the Kushan Pass (about 4,370 m/about 14,340 ft) in the west and left it to the east through the low Khyber Pass (1,072 m/3,517 ft) to invade India. These same passes were used by the Mughal emperor Babur to conquer both Afghanistan and India in the 1500s. The famous Sālang Pass (3,880 m/12,720 ft) and its Soviet-built tunnel in the central Hindu Kush was one of the main routes the Soviets used to invade Afghanistan in 1979.

B.

Rivers and Lakes

Many of Afghanistan’s major rivers are fed by mountain streams. Most rivers in the country become only trickles during the long dry season and have large flows of water only in the spring, when the winter snow in the mountains melts rapidly. Most of the rivers end in lakes, swamps, or salt flats. The Kābul River is an exception, flowing east into Pakistan to join the Indus River, which empties into the Indian Ocean. The country’s only navigable river is the Amu Darya, on the northern border, although ferry boats can cross the deeper areas of other rivers. The Amu Darya receives water from two main tributaries, the Panj and the Vakhsh, which rise in the Pamirs. The Harīrūd River rises in central Afghanistan and flows to the west and northwest to form part of the border with Iran. Water from the Harîrûd is used to irrigate the Herāt region of Afghanistan. The long Helmand River rises in the central Hindu Kush, crosses the southwest of the country, and ends in Iran. This river is used extensively for irrigation, although a buildup of mineral salts has decreased its usefulness in watering crops.

Afghanistan’s lakes are small in size and number, but include Lake Zarkol in the Wakhan Corridor along the Tajikistan border, Shīveh in Badakhshān, and the saline Lake Istādeh-ye Moqor, located south of Ghaznī. The Hamun-i-Helmand (Sīstān Lake), which straddles the border between Afghanistan and Iran, is located in a region of wetlands and salt marshes at the end of the Helmand River. A number of hydroelectric dams have created artificial reservoirs on some of the country’s rivers. These include the Sarowbī (Sarobi) and Naghlū dams on the Kābul River east of the capital city, the Kajakī Reservoir on the Helmand River, and the Arghandāb Dam on a tributary of the Helmand near the city of Kandahār.

C.

Plant and Animal Life

Plant life in Afghanistan is sparse but diverse. Common trees in the mountains are evergreens, oaks, poplars, wild hazelnuts, almonds, and pistachios. The plains of the north are largely dry, treeless steppes, and those of the southwestern corner are nearly uninhabitable deserts. Common plants in the arid regions include camel thorn, locoweed, spiny restharrow, mimosa, and wormwood, a variety of sagebrush. Animals found in the wild in Afghanistan include the Pamirs argali (also known as Marco Polo sheep), urials (a medium-sized wild sheep), ibex, bears, wolves, foxes, hyenas, jackals, and mongooses. Wild boars, hedgehogs, shrews, hares, mouse hares, bats, and various rodents are also found. Some mammals are nearing extinction. The most seriously endangered are the goitered gazelle, leopard, snow leopard, markor goat, and Bactrian deer. More than 200 kinds of birds make their breeding grounds in Afghanistan. Flamingos and other aquatic fowl breed in the lake areas south and east of Ghaznī. Ducks and partridges are also common, but all birds are hunted widely and many are becoming uncommon, including the endangered Siberian crane.

D.

Climate

Most of Afghanistan has a subarctic mountain climate with dry and cold winters, except for the lowlands, which have arid and semiarid climates. In the mountains and a few of the valleys bordering Pakistan, a fringe effect of the Indian monsoon, coming usually from the southeast, brings moist maritime tropical air in summer. Afghanistan has clearly defined seasons: Summers are hot and winters can be bitterly cold. Summer temperatures as high as 49°C (120°F) have been recorded in the northern valleys. Midwinter temperatures as low as -9°C (15°F) are common around the 2,000-m (6,600-ft) level in the Hindu Kush. The climate in the highlands varies with elevation. The coolest temperatures usually occur on the heights of the mountains.

Temperatures often range greatly within a single day. Variations in temperature during the day may range from freezing conditions at dawn to the upper 30°s C (upper 90°s F) at noon. Most of the precipitation falls between the months of October and April. The deserts receive less than 100 mm (4 in) of rain a year, whereas the mountains receive more than 1,000 mm (40 in) of precipitation, mostly as snow. Frontal winds sweeping in from the west may bring large sandstorms or dust storms, while the strong solar heating of the ground raises large local whirlwinds.

E.

Natural Resources

Despite a lengthy history of small-scale mining of gems, gold, copper, and coal, systematic exploration of Afghanistan’s mineral resources did not begin until the 1960s. In the 1970s significant reserves of natural gas were discovered in the northern part of the country. Fossil fuel resources also include petroleum and coal. The country has significant deposits of copper and iron ores, barite, chromite, lead, zinc, sulfur, salt, and talc. For many centuries Afghanistan has been an important source of precious and semiprecious stones such as lapis lazuli, ruby, aquamarine, and emerald.

F.

Environmental Issues

Afghanistan has long been a land of marginal environment—too dry and too cold for extensive agriculture. Thousands of years of environmental stress by the country’s people have dramatically altered the landscape and caused extensive environmental destruction. Because the Afghan people lack the financial means to purchase fuel, they must cut trees, uproot shrubs, and collect dung for burning. Domestic animals overgraze the range. The result is extensive soil erosion by water and wind. Long-term irrigation without flushing has added salt to much of the arable land and destroyed its fertility. Polluted water supplies are common, except in the high mountain regions where few people live permanently. Ancient writings and archaeological evidence show that previously rich areas of forest and grassland have been reduced to stretches of barren rock and sand. The government of Afghanistan began to recognize environmental problems in the 1970s with the help of the United Nations and other international agencies. The pressures of war, however, diverted attention from these issues and further aggravated the country’s environmental degradation.