Geography of Afghanistan
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| Continent | Asia | |
| Subregion | Central Asia | |
| Geographic coordinates | 33°00′N 65°00′E | |
| Area - Total - Water |
Ranked 41st 647,500 km² 0 km² (landlocked) |
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| Coastline | 0 km (0 mi) | |
| Land boundaries | 5,529 km (3436 mi) | |
| Countries bordered | Pakistan 2,430 km, Tajikistan 1,206 km, Iran 936 km, Turkmenistan 744 km, Uzbekistan 137 km, China 76 km |
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| Highest point | Nowshak, 7,486 m / 24,560 ft | |
| Lowest point | Amu Darya, 258 m / 846 ft | |
Afghanistan is in the middle of Asia. The country is landlocked and mountainous, and has most of the Hindu Kush mountains. There are four major rivers in the country: the Amu Darya, the Hari River, the Kabul River and the Helmand River. The country also contains a number of smaller rivers, lakes, and streams.
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Borders [change]
Afghanistan has a total of 5529 km of borders - the longest part of the border (2,430 km) is known as the Durand Line and forms Afghanistan international border with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is in the south and southeast of Afghanistan. The border with Iran, which is to the west of Afghanistan, is 936 km. To the north are the Central Asian countries - Tajikistan has a border of 1,206 km with Afghanistan, Turkmenistan has 744 km, and Uzbekistan has 137 km.
Afghanistan also has border with China, it is 76 km in length and is in the far northeast of the country, although this is disputed by both Pakistan and Tajikistan which lay irredentist claims on Wakhan area.
Land [change]
Afghanistan has a lot of rugged mountains known as the Hindu Kush as well areas of desert.
- Natural hazards
- Damaging earthquakes occur in the Hindu Kush mountains; flooding and droughts in the south and south-west of the country.
Natural resources [change]
Afghanistan's natural resources include: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, uranium, gold, silver, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Mountain systems [change]
The Hindu Kush reaches a height of 7485 m. / 24,557 ft. at Nowshak, Afghanistan's highest peak. Of the ranges extending southwestward from the Hindu Kush, the Koh-i-Baba reaches the greatest height (Shah Fuladi, 5,142 m /16,870 ft). The Safed Koh range, which includes the Tora Bora area, dominates the border area southeast of Kabul.
The area towards the Khyber Pass across the Safed Koh are in eastern Afghanistan; at the top the height is 1070 m. / 3,509 ft. at Landi Kotal. This area is near to Pakistan, the town of Torkham is five kilometres from Pakistan.
References [change]
- ↑ Afghanistan, CIA World Factbook. Archived 22 October 2011 at WebCite
- ↑ Gold and copper discovered in Afghanistan
- ↑ Uranium Mining Issues: 2005 Review
- ↑ 16 detained for smuggling chromites, Pajhwok Afghan News.
- ↑ Afghanistan’s Energy Future and its Potential Implications, Eurasianet.org.
- ↑ Govt plans to lease out Ainak copper mine, Pajhwok Afghan News.[dead link]
Other websites [change]
- Persia (Iran), Afghanistan and Baluchistan is an old map, featuring Afghanistan, from 1897. It's written in English.
- Afghanistan, Beloochistan, etc. is another old map, from 1893. It was published by the Methodist church.
