Geography of Pakistan

Pakistan borders on India (in the east), China (in the northeast), Afghanistan (in the northwest) and Iran (in the southwest). The state border has a total length of 6,774 km, of which: 2,912 km with India, 2,430 km with Afghanistan, 909 km with Iran and 523 km with China. In the south it is washed by the waters of the Arabian Sea, the coastline is 1,046 km ^[1] .

The highest point of the country is the peak of Chogori (K2), which is 8 611 m above sea level. Excluding the territory of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan, the highest point of the country can be considered Mount Tirichmir (7690 m).

Extreme points:

• north: 37.0837 ° s. w. 74.6906 ° in d.
• south: 23.6948 ° s. w. 68.1331 ° in. d.
• western: 29.8585 ° s. w. 60.8746 ° in. d.
• eastern: 35.4472 ° c. w. 77.8931 ° in. d ^[2] .

Pakistan is located on the western edge of the Indo-Gangetic Plain . About three fifths of the country is occupied by mountains and plateaus, and the remaining two fifths are plains. The country can be divided into 5 main physical and geographical regions: 1. Himalayas and Karakorum with foothills; 2. Hindu Kush and the western mountains; 3. The Balochistan Plateau; 4. foothills (Potvar plateau, Salt Range, adjacent territories) and 5. Indus Valley. Each of these regions can be divided into several subregions ^[3] .

Himalayas and Karakoram

The Himalayas , which are the physical border between South and Central Asia, occupy the entire extreme north of Pakistan and extend almost 320 km inland. This western part of the Himalayan system consists of three main ranges: Pir, Zaskar and Ladakh (from south to north); to the north of them is the mountain system of Karakorum . This area has a height of 4,000 to more than 6,000 m above sea level. Four peaks located in the region exceed 8,000 m; Among them are Nanga Parbat (8126 m) and Chogori (8611 m).

The main rivers flowing through this territory are Dzhelam (halving the Kashmir valley), Indus (flowing between the Zaskar and Ladakh ranges) and Shayok . To the south of the Pir ridge is the northwestern tip of the Sivalik ridge, the height of which is only 200-300 m above sea level. To the north of Karakorum, in the territory of China and Tajikistan, the Pamir mountain system extends ^[3] .

Hindu Kush and the Western Mountains

In Pakistan, there is the northeastern tip of the Hindu Kush mountain system. The Hindu Kush ridges run in the direction from the northeast to the southwest, while the Karakorum ridges run from the southeast to northwest. The intersection of these systems is called the Pamir site. The Hindu Kush is 2 main ranges, the main ridge of the system serves as a watershed between the Indus and Amu Darya basins. Several branches of the system are separated by deep and narrow mountain valleys along the Kunar, Panjkor and Swat rivers. The extreme north of this region lies in the zone of eternal snow, here is the highest point of the Hindu Kush - Mount Tirichmir (7 690 m). The Safedhokh ridge forms the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and extends approximately in the direction from west to east, reaching a height of 4,300 m. To the south of the ridge extend the hills and foothills of Waziristan, crossed by the Kurram and Tochi rivers, and somewhat south by the Gumal river. South of the Kabul River there are fairly wide mountain passes. The most famous of them is the Khyber Pass, which from ancient times was used as an important trade route.

To the south of the Gumal River extends the mountain system of the Suleiman Mountains , stretching in the meridional direction. The highest point of the system - Mount Takht-i-Suleiman, has a height of 5,633 m above sea level. To the south, the ridge passes into the hilly areas of Murray and Bugti. The Sulejman mountains and the Kirthar Range separate the Balochistan Plateau from the Indo-Gangetic Plain ^[3] .

Balochistan Plateau

The Balochistan Plateau is characterized by a wide variety of physical and geographical regions. This territory is surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. So, to the east and southeast of it are the Suleiman Mountains, which, not far from Quetta, are connected to the Central Braguy ridge. To the north of Quetta, this ridge, in turn, adjoins the Toba-Kakar ridge, which extends along the border with Afghanistan to the north and north-west. To the southwest, the area becomes lower and less severe, forming hilly areas and the Ras Kokh ridge. To the southwest of Ras Koch, the area is a series of low plateaus separated by hills. The border of this region in the north is the Chagai Mountains, which also serve as the state border with Afghanistan and represent an extremely arid region.

Southern Balochistan is a fairly vast territory, intersected by many ridges. Among them, it is worth noting the Central Makran Range and the Makran Coast Range, which separate the coastal plain from the rest of the plateau. In the east, the border of these lands is the ridge Pub, which separates this region from the Indo-Gangetic plain and connects in the northeast with the Kirtkhar ridge ^[3] .

Foothills

The region located in the north-east of the country, between the mountain systems of the north and the Indo-Gangetic plain in the south, consists of four separate regions: the Transindian plains, the Potvar plateau, the Salt Range and the Sialkot region. The Transindian plains lie west of the Indus River, representing the hills of the Peshawar valleys, as well as Kohat and Bannu, which are oases in the arid region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province . The most fertile Peshawar Valley, represented almost entirely by alluvial deposits. Nevertheless, the amount of precipitation here is limited to 250-380 mm per year and most of the cultivated land is irrigated from canals. The soils of Kohat and Bannu are less fertile, the irrigation system here is also less developed than in the Peshawar valley.

The Potvar Plateau covers an area of ​​about 13 thousand km², lies at an altitude of 350 to 575 m and is limited to the rivers Jhelam (in the east) and Indus (in the west). In the north, its border is represented by the Cala Chitta ridge and the Margala hills, 900-1500 m high. In the south, the plateau gradually passes into the Salt Range, which serves as the border between the foothills and the Indus Valley. This is an extremely arid territory, the highest point of which is Mount Sakesar (1522 m). The ridge is of interest from a geological point of view, as it is one of the most complete and continuous sequences of strata in the world.

The Sialkot region, unlike the board of Potvar, is a rich agricultural region. The soils here are fertile, the annual rainfall reaches 650–900 mm, and the groundwater level is high ^[3] .

Indo-Gangetic Plain

The Indo-Gangetic Plain occupies the entire east of Pakistan. These are vast fertile lands, stretching from the foothills of the Himalayas in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. The plain territory slowly decreases to the south with an average gradient of a slope of only 1 m per 5 km. Depending on the physical and geographical conditions, the upper and lower Indus valleys are distinguished. The upper valley is irrigated by the Indus and its numerous tributaries, forming many interfluves. In the lower valley, the Indus, on the contrary, forms one large river without significant tributaries. The valley narrows at a place where the Suleiman Mountains come close to the Indus, here the river receives the last significant tributary - the Punjab, which in turn is formed from 5 main rivers. Floods are quite common for these lands.

In the south, in the province of Sindh , the plain becomes almost completely flat, with an average slope of 1 m per 10 km. South of the city of Tatta Indus forms a delta. Extensive salt marshes extend south-east of this place. Both the upper and lower parts of the plain are severely affected by waterlogging and salinization. When high tides coincide with floods in the Indus Delta, a vast area is flooded 30 km from the sea ^[3] .

The southeast of the Indus Valley is the Thar Desert, which extends further into the Indian state of Rajasthan. The desert is known as Cholistan or Rohi in the Bahawalpur region, as well as Pat or Thar in Sindh. Between the Indus and Jelam rivers is the Thal desert, stretching over 300 km from north to south, and from 32 to 112 km from west to east. In the north of the central part of Balochistan province is the Haran desert.

Pakistan occupies the northwestern edge of the Hindustan platform (low east of the country) and part of the Mediterranean fold belt (mountains in the north and west of the country). Thus, the provinces of Punjab and Sind are within the borders of the Hindustan Plate , while Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are on the Eurasian Plate . Due to the location at the junction of two plates, most of Pakistan is prone to strong earthquakes.

The east of the country is covered with anthropogenic deposits, sedimentary cover rocks are exposed only in the Salt Range. The south-west of the country (Balochistan) is a part of the Alpine geosynclinal area. The folded regions of northern Pakistan are composed of gneisses, crystalline schists and Precambrian granites. A zone of flyschoid and volcanogenic sediments of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic with granite intrusions stretches along their northwestern margin. The most important mineral deposits are associated with sedimentary complexes of the margins of the platform and the folded area.

Pakistan is rich in minerals. The most significant of them include coal, oil, gas, copper, gold, chromites, rock salt, bauxite, iron, manganese, zinc, antimony, etc. There are also deposits of various precious and semiprecious stones, including peridots , topazes , rubies , emeralds , tourmaline , various varieties of quartz ^[4] .

Oil fields are known mainly in the north-east of the country. Most of the oil is extracted from oil-bearing sandstones, from a depth of about 1000–1100 m. Wells are usually characterized by low flow rates and are short-lived. The country is heavily dependent on gas supplies from neighboring states (mainly Iran), and in the last 2 years it has been faced with an acute crisis of energy shortages (as of January 2012) ^[5] . Coal deposits are quite numerous (in the Quetta region, in the Thar desert and other areas), but their reserves are small. At the same time, the country is very rich in reserves of rock salt (Salt Range).

In the lowlands of Pakistan, gray soils and gray-brown soils prevail; in the foothills - brown soils and burozems. In the mountains, brown, mountain brown forest, mountain meadow and mountain meadow-steppe soils replace each other with a height. In the southeast of the camps, in the Thar desert, mainly sandy soils, which alternate with salt marshes in the intermontane depressions of Balochistan. In the mountains and foothills in the northwest, soil erosion by mountain streams is widely developed.

The alluvial soils of the Indus basin are quite fertile, they are rich in calcium, potassium and phosphorus, but are characterized by a low content of organic matter. Under irrigation and fertilizer conditions, these soils are characterized by high productivity, however, in many areas they are subjected to salinization ^[6] . The soils of the Indus delta are also highly saline and infertile. Some piedmont regions are characterized by a slightly higher organic matter content and lower carbonate content.

Most of the country is represented by the Indus River Basin. Some western areas have either runoff to the Arabian Sea, or belong to areas with inland runoff (inland areas of Balochistan). With the exception of the mountainous regions of northern Pakistan, the river network is quite rare. In the Thar desert and in the west of Balochistan, rivers are almost completely absent. The annual runoff of the Indus basin is 208 km², of which about half comes from the Indus proper. A significant part of the flow is spent on irrigation, in many areas there are numerous irrigation canals ^[7] .

Pakistan is located in the tropical, subtropical and temperate climatic zones. The climate of the country varies greatly from region to region and is generally characterized by hot summers and cool or cold winters. From June to September, most of the country is located in the area of ​​the southwest monsoon. Precipitation varies greatly depending on the region and ranges from 330 mm in Peshawar to 950 mm in Rawalpindi in the north of the country. On the plains, precipitation generally decreases from northeast to southwest, amounting to 500 mm in Lahore and only 90 mm in Sukkur . In the extreme south, under the influence of the ocean, the amount of precipitation increases again, amounting to 155 mm in Hyderabad and 200 mm in Karachi . Most of Balochistan, especially its west and south, is characterized by an extremely arid climate.

Pakistan is located north of the tropic of Cancer . The continental type of climate in most of the country causes significant temperature fluctuations, both seasonal and daytime. The plains of the country are characterized by hot summers, with average June temperatures of about 38 ° C; it is not uncommon for temperatures to reach 47 °. Evenings are usually cool, daily temperature changes can range from 11 to 17 ° C. Winters are quite cold, with an average minimum January temperature of about 4 ° C in Punjab and with sub-zero temperatures in the far north and in Balochistan.

The highest ever recorded temperature in Pakistan was recorded on May 26, 2006 in Mohenjo-Daro (Sindh province) and amounted to 53.5 ° C. Apparently, it was also the highest temperature ever recorded in continental Asia ^{[8] [9]} . The largest rainfall in 24 hours was observed in Islamabad on July 23, 2001 and amounted to 620 mm ^{[10] [11]} .

Islamabad

Islamabad is characterized by a humid subtropical climate with hot summers accompanied by monsoons and rather cold winters. The hottest months are May and June, with average highs exceeding 38 ° C. The rainy season lasts from June to September. Winter lasts from November to March, with an average January minimum of only 3.9 ° C. The highest recorded temperature was 48 ° C and was recorded in June; the lowest temperature: only −4 ° C was observed in January.

Karachi

Karachi has an arid climate, which is largely mitigated by the action of the ocean. It is characterized by mild winters and warm summers. The rainy season lasts from July to September. Average summer temperatures (from late April to late August) usually vary from 30 to 36 ° C. The highest temperature was recorded on June 18, 1979 and amounted to 47 °; the lowest temperature was recorded on January 21, 1934 and amounted to 0.0 ° C.

Lahore

The climate of Lahore is characterized as semi-arid, with hot summers and dry and warm winters. From May to June, temperatures vary from 40 to 48 ° C. Monsoons last from late June to August. The highest temperature in the city was noted on May 30, 1944 and amounted to 48.3 ° С; the lowest temperature recorded on January 13, 1967: −1.1 ° C

Floods

Наводнения довольно обычны для Пакистана. Одними из наиболее разрушительных и масштабных по территории из недавних наводнений можно считать события 2010 года, когда под водой оказались почти 20 % территории страны, на которых проживает более 20 млн человек; жертвами наводнений стали, по меньшей мере, 1540 человек ^[12] . Из более ранних событий можно отметить наводнения 1950 года, послужившие причиной гибели 2910 человек; наводнения во время сезона муссонов 1992 года (погибло 1834 человека) и наводнение 1993 года — стало причиной гибели 3084 человек.

Сильные наводнения обрушились также в августе 2011 года на провинцию Синд. Они стали причиной особенно сильных муссонных дождей, обрушившихся как на Синд, так и на соседние южный Пенджаб и восточный Белуджистан. Наводнения повлекли гибель более 270 человек, пострадали более 5,3 млн человек и боле 1,2 млн домов ^[13] .

Засухи

Последнее время довольно частым явлением стали засухи. Засуха 1998—2002 годов считается наиболее сильной за последние 50 лет.

Основные проблемы окружающей среды современного Пакистана включают: загрязнение вод промышленными, бытовыми и сельскохозяйственными стоками; обезлесение; опустынивание; эрозия почв и др. Загрязнение вод происходит за счёт как твёрдых, так и жидких отходов. Лишь около половины всего городского населения страны имеют доступ к чистой питьевой воде. Загрязнённые воды обычно попадают в оросительные системы, после прохождения через которые повторно используются. Загрязнение бытовыми отходами вод служит важным фактором эпидемиологической обстановки в стране и причиной распространения ряда заболеваний. Имеет место также загрязнение верхних грунтовых вод.

Важной проблемой в крупных городах является также загрязнение воздуха. Почти 90 % всех выбросов приходится на транспортные средства, уровень выхлопных газов которых здесь никак не контролируются.