The Natural Environment

Historically and contemporarily, Afghanistan's rugged terrain and often harsh climate have impeded but not deterred foreign invaders. Afghanistan is an extremely mountainous country with dramatic and often spectacular scenery. Yet the land is not generally lush, and a dearth of water has been and continues to be one of Afghanistan's most pressing problems (see Agriculture, ch. 3). Afghans have adapted ingeniously to the land, only 22 percent of which is arable. For example, through the millennia they have developed elaborate underground irrigation systems in many areas. This technology has had the added benefit of being relatively inaccessible to hostile invaders until the recent invasion; intensive bombing reportedly has damaged many of the underground irrigation systems in some regions.

On the map, the country resembles an irregularly shaped leaf hanging from the Wakhan Corridor at its stem. It encompasses approximately 637,397 square kilometers and is completely landlocked, surrounded by the Soviet Union, Iran, and Pakistan (see fig. 1). China also shares a bit of border with Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor. The nearest seaport is Karachi, Pakistan, almost 1,170 kilometers away. The country's extreme length from west to east is about 1,240 kilometers, including Wakhan. Its greatest width from north to south is approximately 565 kilometers.

Mountains traverse the center of the country, running generally in a northeastsouthwest direction. Of the total land area, over 49 percent lies above 2,000 meters. Geographers disagree on the division of these mountains into systems. They are in accord, however, that the Hindu Kush, the most important of the mountain systems, is probably an extension of the Himalayas. Louis Dupree, an American anthropologist whose experience in Afghanistan spans decades, describes the Hindu Kush as "young rugged ranges . . . with sharp peaks, deep valleys, and many almost impenetrable barriers. The point of origin of the Hindu Kush is a matter of some dispute. Scholar Mohammad Ali and geographers Ramamoorthy Gopalakrishnan and W.B. Fisher describe the point of origin of the Hindu Kush as the Pamir Knot, which implies that the Hindu Kush runs from east to west. Conversely, in 1959 geographer Johannes Humlum fixed the point of origin in Iran.

The origin of the unusual term Hindu Kush (which translates as "Hindu Killer") is also a point of contention. Dupree  discusses three possibilities: that the mountains are a memorial to the Indian slaves who perished in the mountains while being transported to Central Asian slave markets; that the name is merely a corruption of Hindu Koh, the preIslamic name of the mountains that at the time divided Hindu southern Afghanistan from nonHindu northern Afghanistan; and finally, that the name is a posited Avestan appellation meaning "water mountains."

The highest peaks are over 7,000 meters above sea level and are found in the eastern part of the country. In comparison, Mount Everest, which has the highest elevation in the world, stands 8,853.5 meters above sea level. The mountains of the Hindu Kush diminish in height as they stretch westward. Toward the middle of the range, near Kabul, they extend from 4,500 to 6,000 meters above sea level. In the western portion of the range they attain heights of 3,500 to 4,500 meters and at the extreme western border are lower still. The average altitude of the Hindu Kush is 4,500 meters (see fig. 4). The Hindu Kush runs about 966 kilometers laterally, and its median north-south measurement is about 240 kilometers.

Other mountain ranges, usually considered to be offshoots of the Hindu Kush system, form part of the central highland's westward thrust but spread out from the central core. These mountain ranges include the Koh-i-Baba, Salang, Paghman, Safed Koh, Salt, Suleiman, Khwaja Amran, Siah Koh, Doshak, and Paropamisus (also referred to as Safid Koh). Also included are the Hindu Kush range proper; only a portion of the Hindu Kush system is included in the Hindu range, while the rest of the mountain system is classified as part of these other ranges.

Afghanistan's mountains are transected by a number of passes that have been, and continue to be, of great strategic importance. These include the Kowtal-e Shebar, where the Hindu Kush range proper merges with the Koh-i-Baba northwest of Kabul; eight to 10 passes in the eastern part of the Hindu Kush, such as the Killik (4,755 meters) and Wakhjir (4,923 meters); and the Baroghil (3,798 meters) and Kachin (5,639 meters) passes that join Chitral, Pakistan, to the Wakhan Corridor. Other passes leading from Afghanistan to Chitral are the Dorah (4,511 meters), Sad Eshtragh (5,319 meters), Agram An (5,069 meters), and Afsik (3,749 meters). Several important passes are located farther west‑the Molla Khak (3,548 meters), Bazarak, the important Bamian pass (2,713 meters), and Hajji Gak. The passes of the Paropamisus in the west are relatively low-in general about 610 meters above sea level. Among the most famous passes in Western historical perceptions of Afghanistan are those leading to the Indian subcontinent. They include the Khyber Pass (1,027 me­ters) and Latch Band Pass (also found at a relatively low eleva­tion) leading to Kabul. The difficulties faced by any invader, as well as by Afghan refugees seeking asylum in Pakistan, become evident when the heights of the mountain passes are compared with the highest elevation in the continental United States, Mount Whitney, which at 4,420.7 meters is much lower than some important Afghan passes and not much higher than most.

In addition to its mountains, the country also possesses many rivers, river basins, lakes, and desert areas. Rivers take on a very special significance in an arid, landlocked country. The major rivers are the Amu Darya (or Oxus; length at least 800 kilometers), Helmand (length 1,000 kilometers), Harirud 850 kilometers), and Kabul (length 460 kilometers). In addi­tion, four important rivers flow northward: the Balkh, Morghab, Koshk, and Qonduz. The last two rivers flow into the Amu Darya. Many additional rivers and streams flow only sea­sonally, drying to a trickle or becoming totally dry during part of the year. Most rivers simply empty into arid portions of the country, spending themselves through evaporation without emptying into another watercourse. The most important river basins in the view of Gopalakrishnan are the Amu Darya, Kabul, Helmand, and Harirud.

Using geographical features, geographers divide Afghani­stan into several regions. As with other facets of the geogra­phy, scholars disagree over the definition of regions and what and how many regions there are. Dupree's paradigm is most revelant because he bases his divisions on human geography and ecology. Using Humlum's 1959 work as a basis, he divides the country into 11 geographic zones: the Wakhan Corridor­Pamir Knot, Badakhshan, Central Mountains, Eastern Moun­tains, Northern Mountains and Foothills, Southern Mountains and Foothills, Turkestan Plains, Herat‑Farah Lowlands, Sistan Basin‑Helmand Valley, Western Stony Deserts, and South­western Sandy Deserts. The first six zones are connected to the Hindu Kush system. The rest of the zones comprise deserts and plains "which surround the mountains in the north, west, and southwest."

Geologically, the country is notable for the richness of its mineral and oil resources and for its numerous earthquakes. American geographer John F. Shroder, Jr., stresses the munifi­cence of Afghanistan's mineral wealth and suggests that Russia has coveted the natural riches since tsarist times. The outstand­ing mineral resources include copper, iron, lead, zinc, mercu­ry, tin, chromium, lithium, tungsten, niobium, gold, and urani­um (among others), as well as a variety of precious stones. Afghanistan also boasts deposits of combustible hydrocarbons, including coal, lignite, peat, and oil (see Mining, ch. 3).

About 50 earthquakes are reported each year. As of mid­1985 the most recent was reported to have occurred on July 29, 1985, at 12:25 P.M. local time, lasting four minutes and 45 seconds. Its strength on the Richter scale was reported at 5.6 (possibly at the point that it was measured rather than at the epicenter) by the Afghan Seismological Institute of the Natural Science Center of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Academy of Sciences. French scientists recorded a measure­ment of 7.3 on the Richter scale at the epicenter, which was located in the Hindu Kush range. Such a strong earthquake is not unusual for Afghanistan, although most are relatively mild. The earthquake activity is a result of the considerable differen­tial earth movements occurring in the region. As might be expected, there are fault lines and overthrust zones.

The general climate of the country is typical of arid or semiarid steppe, with cold winters and dry summers. A subarc­tic climate with dry and cold winters dominates the mountain regions of the northeast. In the mountains bordering Pakistan a divergent fringe effect of the Indian monsoon, coming usually from the southeast, brings maritime tropical air masses that determine the climate in that area between July and Septem­ber. At times these air masses advance into central and south­ern Afghanistan, bringing increased humidity and some rain.

On the intermontane plateaus the winds do not blow very strongly, but in the Sistan depression there are severe bliz­zards during the winter. In the western and southern regions a northerly wind blows with much force and persistence during the summer months. Known as the "wind of 120 days," it is usually accompanied by intense heat, drought, and sandstorms and brings much hardship to the inhabitants of the desert and steppe lands. Dust whirlwinds frequently occur during the summer months on the flats in the southern part of the coun­try. Rising at midday or in the early afternoon, they advance at velocities ranging between 97 and 177 kilometers per hour, raising high clouds of dust.

Temperature and precipitation are controlled by the ex­change of air masses. The highest temperatures (over 35°C) and the lowest precipitation (less than 15 centimeters annual ly) prevail in the drought-ridden, poorly watered southern plateau region, which extends over the boundaries with Iran and Pakistan.

The Central Highlands, with its higher peaks ascending toward the Pamir Knot, represents another distinct climatic region. From the Koh-i-Baba Range to the Pamir Knot, January temperatures may drop to ‑15 °C or lower in the highest mountain area, whereas July temperatures vary between 0° and 26°C, depending on the altitude. In the mountains the annual mean precipitation, much of which is snowfall, increases eastward and is highest in the Koh-i-Baba Range, the western part of the Pamir Knot, and the Eastern Hindu Kush.

Precipitation in these regions and the eastern monsoon area is about 40 centimeters a year. The eastern monsoon area encompasses patches in the eastern border area with Pakistan and irregular areas from north of Asmar to just north of Darkhe Yahya and occasionally as far east as the Kabul Valley. The Wakhan Corridor, however, which has temperatures ranging between 9°C in the summer to below ‑21°C in the winter, receives less than 10 centimeters of rainfall annually. Permanent snow covers the highest mountain peaks. In the mountainous region adjacent to northernmost Pakistan, the snow is often more than two meters deep during the winter months. Valleys become snow traps as the high winds sweep much of the snow from mountain peaks and ridges. Precipitation generally fluctuates greatly during the course of the year in all parts of the country. Surprise rainstorms often transform the episodically flowing rivers and streams from puddles to torrents, and an unwary invading army has been trapped in such flooding more than once in Afghanistan's history. Nomadic and seminomadic Afghans have also succumbed to the sudden flooding of their camps.

The climate of the northern plains represents a transition between mountain and steppe climates. Aridity increases and temperatures rise with descending altitudes, becoming the highest along the lower Amu Darya and in the western parts of the plains (see table 2; table 3, Appendix).

The natural environment is, in fact, so forbidding that at first glance it seems an unlikely site for invasion by so many hostile armies. The reason lies in the country's location at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. In more recent times Afghanistan has been recognized as a land of unexploited mineral and hydrocarbon wealth as well as a geographical buffer between various political systems, rendering its desirability even greater

This page maintained by Luke Griffin and last updated on 01/14/2002 .