Geographic Afghanistan: February 2013

The Central Highlands:

When most people think of the physical geography of Afghanistan the first thing that usually comes to mind is the mountain region. This is largely due to the fact that 160,000 of the 250,000 square miles are covered by the highlands.[1] The main mountain range in Afghanistan is the Khyber Pass which is also part of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. This mountain region expands across eight other countries and contains some of the largest mountains in the world.[2] The mountains in Afghanistan are relatively small where the largest peak reaches 7,492 meters with Mount Noshaq.[3]

How were they formed:

Afghanistan is located between the Eurasian Plate and the Indian Plate. Earthquakes and active faults by the colliding of these plates form the mountains in this region. [4] Afghanistan has been on the Eurasian Plate for around 250-350 million years.[5] At a speed of 3.9 cementers a year the Indian Plate is being pushed underneath the Eurasian Plate causes land to rise forming the mountains in this region.[6] This plate tectonic interaction is known as a convergence style between the two plates.

What this means for Afghanistan:

Afghanistan is a land locked country in a harsh barren environment. Almost all sources of water available for this country comes from the rivers formed that come off the mountains.[7] Without this source of water living in Afghanistan would be nearly impossible. When I was staying in Afghanistan I was surprised how green areas were and how dead and barren others even though they were only a short distance between each other. The stretch of rivers allows life to be possible in Afghanistan. The mountains also provide defense for the people of Afghanistan where its history shows that because of these mountains no country has ever successfully occupied it.