Mountains In PakistanPakistan is blessed with a long range of mountains that are an attraction for geologists and mountain climbers from all over the world. Pakistan has more than a hundred peaks that are above 7,000 meters. Out of the world's 14 highest peaks, four are in Pakistan. These highest peaks are situated mainly in the Karakoram Range. Some of the famous mountains found in Pakistan are been discussed below:-

Karakoram Himalaya Hindu Kush Hindu Raj K2 Safed Koh Kirthar Salt Range Suleiman

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Karakoram Range in Pakistan

Karakoram means black stone, it is believed to be the north western extension of greater Himalayan mountain system, covering the borders between Pakistan, India and China, in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan), Ladakh (India), and Xinjiang region, (China).

The range is about 500 km (311 mile) in length, and is bounded on the northeast by the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and on the Karakoram Rangenorth by the Pamir Mountains. The southern boundary of the Karakoram is formed, west to

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east, by the Gilgit, Indus, and Shyok Rivers, which separate the range from the north-western end of the Himalaya range.

Karakoram is also home to the most dense collection of highest peaks to be found anywhere on earth, including the K2, the second highest peak of the world (8,611 m/28,251 ft). At one point, within a short radius of 15 Kilometres, stand 41 peaks over 6500 meters, including 04 peaks above 8000 M. The 360view offers a panorama of peaks nowhere to be found on this Earth.

It is also the most heavily glaciated part of the world outside the polar regions. The Siachen Glacier at 70 km and the Biafo Glacier at 63 km rank as the world's second and third longest glaciers outside the polar regions. Other glaciers include Baltoro, 62 kms, Batura, 58 kms, Hisper, 53 kms, Rimo, 45 kms, Chogo Lungma 47 kms, Panmah, 44 kms, Khurdopin, 41 kms and Saropo Laggo, 33kms in length.

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Himalaya Range in Pakistan

The greater Himalaya range runs west to east, from the Indus river valley in northern Pakistan to the Brahmaputra river valley in northern India and Tibet, forming an arc 2,400 km long, which varies in width from 400 km in Northern Pakistan to 150 km in the eastern Tibet.

The name comes from the Sanskrit word, meaning "snow land". The Western Himalayas are situated in Kashmir valley and Northern Pakistan, to the south and east of Indus River, and is dominated by Nanga Parbat massif with highest peak rising Map

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Himalaya Range 8125 meters above the sea level, Pakistan’s 2nd and world’s 9th highest peak.

Nanga Parbat peak is also famous for its unique Rupal Face which rises 4,600 meters straight above its base and the mountain is considered as one of the most difficult and dangerous to climb, nick named as Killer Mountain.

The Himalaya range occupies in Pakistan the regions of Kashmir, Kaghan, Kohistan, Deosai and Chilas. Nanga Parbat The western Himalya is also dominated by Deosai plains situated at the average height of about 4114 m and covering an area more than 3000 square kilometres. The place can be accessed from Skardu and is so well known for its rich flora and fauna including summer flowers and endangered wild life species like brown bears.

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The Himalayas are among the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consist mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Deosai Plains Pakistan According to the modern theory of plate tectonics their formation is a result of a continental collision along the boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.

The higher regions of the Himalayas are snowbound throughout the year and are the most heavily glaciated part of the world outside the Polar Regions. These glaciers form the sources for several large perennial rivers, most of which combine into two large river

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systems. The western rivers combine into the Indus Basin, of which the Indus River is the largest.

The Indus river runs south west from Tibet through India and then through full length of Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Indus River also marks the boundary line between Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindukush and at one point, at the confluence of Indus and Gilgit rivers all three great ranges come face to face, creating a unique geographical feature on earth.

On its way the Indus River is fed by the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej rivers, which also trace their sources in the western Himalyan regions

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of Kashmir. On the other hand most of the eastern Himalayan Rivers drain the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin. The Ganges and the Brahmaputra meet in Bangladesh, and drain into the Bay of Bengal.

Hindu Kush Range In Pakistan

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In the north-west there is a mountain range called Hindu Kush. Most parts of the high Hindu Kush range (Eastern Hindu Kush range), are located in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. This range is also present in Ghizar, Yasin Valley, and Ishkoman in Pakistan’s Northern Areas. Tirich Mir, located in Chitral (25,289 ft) is the highest point in the Hindu Kush range.

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Hindu Raj Mountain

The Hindu Raj is located in the northern region of Pakistan, between the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram

ranges. Koyo Zom (22,546 ft) is its highest peak.

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Safed Koh

The Safed Koh or White Mountain range lies at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. It ranges up to 4,761

meters (15,620 ft) above sea-level.

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K2This is the second highest mountain in the world, and a part of the Karakoram Range extending from the Himalayan range. It is located on the bordering parts of Northern areas of Pakistan and China. Due to the difficult ascend of this mountain; K2 is also called Savage Mountain.

A European team first attempted to climb K2 in 1856. A member of this team, Thomas Montgomerie, named this peak “K2” as it was the second highest in the Karakoram Range. The other five peaks are named as K1 (Masherbrum), K3 (Broad Peak), K4 (Gasherbrum II) and K5 (Gasherbrum I).

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KirtharKirthar Mountains are located in Sindh and Balochistan. The range extends southward for nearly 300km from the Mula River (Balochistan) to Cape Muari (west of Karachi) on the Arabian Sea.

The maximum altitude of the Kirthar range that is present in Sindh is almost 7,056 feet above sea-level, which makes it Sindh's highest peak. This range is present a few miles north-west of the Gorakh Hill Station (5,688 feet.)

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Salt Range

In Punjab there is a hill system called 'The Salt Range'. It gets its name from the extensive rock salt deposits that

are present in the area. This range lies across the northern province of Punjab, from the Jhelum River to the

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Indus. The famous salt mines of Khewra, Mayo, Warcha and Kalabagh are present in 'The Salt Range'.

Suleiman

The Suleiman Mountains are located in northern Balochistan and Zabul province of Afghanistan. It is present at the border of the Indian Subcontinent and the Iranian Plateau and west of the Indus River. Takht-e-

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Suleiman, meaning Solomon's Throne with a height of 3,487 m (11,437 feet) in Balochistan is the highest peak of Suleiman Mountains.

Deserts In PakistanThere are five major deserts in Pakistan which are as

follows:-

Indus Valley Desert

Cholistan Desert

Kharan Desert

Thar Desert

Thal Desert

Indus Valley Desert (Punjab)The Indus Valley Desert is a desert ecoregion of northern Pakistan. The Indus Valley desert covers an area of 19,500 square kilometers (7,500 square miles) in northwestern Punjab Province, lying between the Chenab and Indus rivers. The Indus Valley Desert is drier and less hospitable than the Northwestern thorn scrub forests that surround it.

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Cholistan Desert (Punjab)

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The word Cholistan is derived from the Turkish word Chol, which means Desert. Cholistan thus means Land of the Desert. The people of Cholistan lead a semi-nomadic life, moving from one place to another in search of water and fodder for their animals. The dry bed of the Hakra

River runs through the area, along which many settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization have been

found.

Kharan Desert (Balochistan)

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Kharan Desert) is a desert located in Kharan District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Pakistan's second nuclear test

were performed in the Kharan desert in 1998 May 30 of a miniaturised device yielding 60 percent of the Ras Koh

Hills tests.

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Thar (Sindh) The Thar Desert (Hindi: also known as the Great Indian Desert is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. With an area of more than 200,000 sq. km (140,000 sq. mi.)It is world's seventeenth largest desert. It lies mostly in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and extends into the southern portion of Haryana and Punjab states and into northern Gujarat state. In Pakistan, the desert covers eastern Sind province and the southeastern portion of Pakistan's Punjab province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar Desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.

The Thar Desert is bounded on the northwest by the Sutlej River, on the east by the Aravalli Range, on the south by the salt marsh known as the Rann of Kutch (parts of which are sometimes included in the Thar), and on the west by the Indus River. Its boundary to the large thorny steppe to the north is ill-defined. Depending on what areas are included or excluded, the nominal size of the Thar can vary significantly.

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Thal (Punjab)The Thal desert is situated in Punjab, Pakistan. It is vast area mainly between the Jhelum and Sindh rivers near the Potohar Plateau. Its total length from north to south is 190 miles, and its maximum breadth is 70 miles while minimum breadth is 20 miles. This region is divided into the districts of Bhakkar, Khushab, Mianwali, Jhang, Layyah, and Muzaffargarh. Its part in Jhang is on the left bank bank of the river Jehlum. Geographically, it resembles the deserts of Cholistan and Thar. Main town of Thal are Mankera, Hayderabad Thal, Dullewala, Piplan, Kundiyan, Koat Aazam, Sarauy Muhajir, Mehmood Shaheed Thal, Rang Pur, Jandan Wala, Mari Shah Sakhira, Noor Pur Thal, and Muzafar Garh. Very deprived area from all prospectives. Educational facilities are as low as one can expect. Villages having population of 10 thousand people are more are striving for high schools. Situation becomes more worse in case of female education.

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Rivers in Pakistan

The river system of Pakistan originates from the snow-covered Himalayan and the

Karakoram Range. The system comprises mainly five rivers that pass mostly through the Punjab province; therefore the name 'Punjab'

— 'panj' meaning five and 'aab' meaning water.

There are Five rivers of Pakistan which are as follows:-

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JhelumChenab

RaviSutlejIndus

JhelumRiver Jhelum is nearly 774 kilometres long and is the tributary of River Chenab. Jhelum originates

from the south-eastern part of Kashmir valley and flows through Srinagar before entering

Pakistan.

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Along its journey, it is joined by the largest tributary of the Neelam River near

Muzaffarabad. River Jhelum also has many dams and barrages constructed on it, with one of the dams being Mangla which is the world's largest earth-fill dam and was constructed in 1967. It

has a storage capacity of nearly 5.9 million acre-feet. Rasul Barrage is also built on Jhelum River

as well as Trimmu Barrage.

Chenab

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The Chandra and Bhaga rivers in the upper Himalayas join to form the Chenab River. Chenab flows through

Jammu and Kashmir. It is then joined by the Jhelum River at Trimmu, a flood control mechanism near Jhang and on moving further it merges with the Sutlej near Uch Sharif in Pakistan. Chenab River is nearly 960 kilometres long.

Ravi

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River Ravi, like many other rivers of the region, originates in the Himalayas. After it flows through south-west region of Indian Punjab, it moves along the Indo-Pak

border and enters Pakistan and merges with Chenab. River Ravi is nearly 720 kilometres long. It's also called

'The river of Lahore' since the city of Lahore is located at Ravi's eastern bank.

Sutlej

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Sutlej flows through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. It is

located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and east of

the Central Suleiman Range in Pakistan. Some 550 kilometres long, Sutlej is also called as the

Red River.

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IndusThe Indus River is the longest river in Pakistan, originating from the Himalayan region. It is also the world's 21st largest river in terms of annual

water flow. With a total length of 3,180 kilometres, it is also Pakistan's lifeline.

Indus River originates from the Tibetan plateau near Lake Mansarovar in China. It then runs

through Jammu and Kashmir, enters the Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas of Pakistan)

region and flows through the entire length of the country and merges with the Arabian Sea. The Indus River fulfils the water requirements of

Pakistan and is the main support for agriculture. The main tributaries of Indus are Astor River,

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Balram River, Gilgit River, Kabul River, Tanubal River and the Zanskar River.

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