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.
Image sources:
Image 1: Photo Taken by Craig Brice in 2006.
Image 2: http://civil.neduet.edu.pk/tp.html
Image 3: http://www.icimod.org/?q=1137
Image 4: Photo Taken by Craig Brice in 2006.
Image 5: Photo Taken by Craig Brice in 2006.
Image 6: Photo Taken by Craig Brice in 2006
[1] http://www.afghan-web.com/geography/lr.html
[2] http://www.icimod.org/?q=1137
[3] http://www.icimod.org/?q=1139
[4] http://civil.neduet.edu.pk/tp.html
[5] Russel Wheeler and Kenneth Rukstales USGS 2007, http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1104/OF7-1104-textonly_508.pdf
[6] Russel Wheeler and Kenneth Rukstales USGS 2007, http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1104/OF7-1104-textonly_508.pdf
[7] http://geography.howstuffworks.com/middle-east/afghanistan-geography1.htm
