To the north, north-east and north-west of Pakistan there lie three ranges of mountains. The northern mountains comprise three main mountain ranges:
- The Karakoram
- The Himalayas
- The Hindu Kush
KARAKORAM RANGE:
- Karakoram is situated in the north of Himalaya in which Northern Kashmir and the regions of Gilgit are situated. Its highest top is K-2 which is 8.611 metres high.
Important Features
- Karakoram means black gravel (mass of rock and ice).
- The average altitude is about 6000 m along with K2 (8611m) the second highest in world.
- Snow-covered peaks, valleys, gorges, cliffs and gullies are important features found there.
- Steep-sided peaks and deep narrow valleys are located there.
- These ranges have deep narrow valleys, and vertically sharp cliffs form a rugged landscape.
- After the construction of KKH, a new era of progress has been opened in this region.
Location
- Located in the extreme north of Pakistan spreaded east-to-west direction.
- Siachen (78km), Biafo (62.5) Baltoro, Batura and Hispar are famous glaciers here.
- Khunjerab & Karakoram pass are located in the Karakoram Range.
- They are located to the North of River Indus Extending for more than 400 km and stretched from Hunza to Shyok.
- Karakoram pass is the highest and Khunjerab pass provides a link to China through the Karakoram Highway / Silk route.
- Important valleys of the area i.e., Karakoram and Hunza.
Climatic Characteristics
- Winters are long and cold while summers are mild and short.
- Severe climate / very cold for life and agriculture.
- Precipitation is mainly in the form of snow fall at higher altitude and rainfall at lower altitude during winter.
- Cold winds blow during winters and temperature falls below freezing point in winters.
- Large temperature difference between direct and indirect exposure to sun and day vs night.
- Forced to stay at home and adopt indoor activities e.g., carpet making.
- Need to stockpile food / fuel as snow halted road network.
- Limited water supplies due freeze in pipes.
- Danger of avalanches as well as land sliding.
- Drainage of Karakoram Range: (how water is carried from one place to another).
- River Hunza, River Gilgit and River Karakoram provide drainage to this area.
- As main glaciers are located in the region so the melting of snow gives rise to the water level in rivers.
- As the rivers are in the upper course so the flow of rivers is very fast.
- Whatever comes in the flow of the rivers like pebbles stones etc. are carried forward and is deposited in the reservoirs in the form of silt.
- Due to the deposition of silt the storage capacity of reservoirs is decreasing.
HIMALAYAN RANGE:
Important Feature
- Himalaya means “the house of ice”.
- The name of one of its top mountains is Nanga Parbat where the average height is about 4000m.
- Steep sided mountains & deep narrow valleys are located here.
- Alpine & coniferous forests exists here.
Location
- Himalaya is surrounded by most of the part of Pakistan towards North.
- These mountains are spread up to Gilgit and situated east to west of Pakistan.
- These ranges are located to the south of the Karakoram ranges.
Climate
- Snow covered mountains with intensive cold winds during winters.
- Winters are cold & long while summers are mild & short in duration.
- Snowfall at higher altitude & rainfall at lower altitude is experienced during summers.
Himalayan range comprises of
- Siwaliks
- Lower Himalayas
- Central Himalayas or great Himalayas
-
Siwaliks
- These hills are located near Attock with average height is about 600-1200 metres.
- These are the most southern ranges and covers the Rawalpindi hills as well.
- These ranges have been folded and faulted.
- Drainage:
- River Indus & River Chenab is the main sources of drainage of melted glaciers.
- As the rivers are in the upper course, so the flow of the river is very fast.
- Whatever comes in the flow of the river is carried forward & deposited in reservoirs in the form of silt.
- Due to the deposition of silt, the storage capacity of the reservoirs is decreasing.
-
Lower Himalayas
- They are Located to the north of Siwaliks with average altitude between 1800-4500 metres.
- These mountain ranges have also been folded as well as faulted.
- These ranges spread over Rawalpindi, Abbottabad and Mansehra district.
- There are many hill stations like Murree, Nathia and Ghora gallies lie in these ranges.
- In winter, precipitation in the form of snow which limits the human activities.
-
Central Himalayas
- Height ranges from (5000-8126 metres)
- located between Pir Panjal Range and Karakoram range.
- They are located in southeast of River Indus which separates it from Karakoram Ranges.
- They mostly lie in Kashmir with an average height of more than 4600 metres.
- Due to great altitude, some glaciers as Rupal (18 kms) are found here.
- Valley glaciations features are traced at Lake Saif ul Maluk in Kaghan.
- Nanga Parbat (8126 m) is the highest peak of the area.
- Rakhiot (7074 metres) are located there.
- Some deepest valleys and gorges are also located in these ranges as Dasu-Patan i.e., 6500 m deep.
- River Indus is the main source of drainage for this range.
- Kaghan as important valley while Saif ul Maluk and Satpara are the important lakes of the area.
HINDUKUSH RANGE
Features
- The highest top of this range is Tirich Mir (7690m) and average height is about 5000 metres.
- Barren mountains, steep slopes and fast flowing are typical features of the area.
- Trich Mir (7690 m) and Noshaq (7484 m) are the highest peaks of the area.
- Glaciation is another important feature forming glaciers such as Sakiz Jarab (30 kms) and Trich Mir (22 kms).
Location
- In this range Swat, Chitral and Dir are situated.
- They are located to the west of Karakoram and Himalayas mountains or North west of Pakistan.
- These ranges guard the north and north-western borders of Pakistan.
- Main body of the mountains lie in Afghanistan where it acts as a nest of earthquakes.
- These ranges occupy the Chitral district and northern areas of Pakistan.
- Important passes like Barogil Pass (provides link to Afghanistan through Wakhan strip), Shandur Pass connects (Chitral to Gilgit), Babusar Pass connects (Kaghan valley to Chilas), Lowari Pass connects (Peshawar valley to Chitral valley) lie in these ranges.
Drainage
- River Kabul, Ghizar and Mastuj provide the main drainage of the area.
The Kohistan, Swat and Dir Ranges
Features
- In north they rise to 5000 to 6000 metres and southward they descent as low as 200 metres in altitude.
- Tirich Mir (7690 metres) & Noshaq (7484 metres) is the highest peak.
- Steep sided mountain & deep narrow valleys with alpine and coniferous forests are located here.
- Average height of mountains is 5000 metres.
Location
- They are located south of the Hindu Kush Mountains.
- They are sub-parallel ranges run north to south, located to the SW of Karakoram range.
- These mountains are separated by rivers, the Kohistan mountains lie between the Indus and Swat rivers, the Swat Mountains between the Swat and Panjkora rivers, the Dir Mountains between the Panjkora and Kunar rivers.
- The Lowari and Shandur are the important passes of these ranges.
- Hindu Kush lies where the borders of Afghanistan & China meet on Pakistan’s North & North West border.
Climate
- Snow covered peaks with extreme cold winds during winters.
- Agriculture is practiced in river valleys with terraced farming.
- Winters are cold & long while summers are mild to hot & short.
- Temperature falls below freezing point and precipitation remains in the form of snow.
- Snowfall at higher altitude & rainfall at lower altitude is experienced during winters.
Drainage
- River Swat & river Kabul are the main sources of drainage.
- Warsak Dam on river Kabul is the main source of irrigation, drainage and power of generation.
- Melting of snow gives rise to the water level of the rivers.
- As the rivers are in the upper course, so the flow of the rivers is very fast.
- Whatever that comes in the flow of the river like stone pebbles etc. are carried forward &.
- Deposited in the reservoirs in the form of silt.
- Due to the deposition of silt, the storage capacity of the reservoir is decreasing.
Lifestyle & Economic Activities
- Nomadic or seminomadic lifestyle is prevalent with animals as basic source of living.
- Transhumance and agriculture are practiced at higher altitude areas while some people go to lowland areas during winter season.
- Mining is also one of the professions (on Hindu Kush).
- Primary, secondary & tertiary industries are found here.
- Tobacco, wheat, rice & sugarcane are grown here.
- Sever climate makes this region extremely inhospitable so population density is extremely low.
- Crops such as Wheat, maize, potato, peas, barley and millet are cultivated as terraced farming.
- Fruit farming such as apricot, peaches, plum, cherry, apple and dry fruit plants are also grown here.
- In winter people are bound to stay at homes and adopt indoor activities e.g., carpet making.
- Sheep and goat rearing is common to meet the family requirements.
- Lumbering is an important source of livelihood.
- Tourism industry is promoting due scenic beauty of the ranges.
GLACIERS
- Glaciers are a mass of snow on the mountains.
- Many of the world’s glaciers lie in the region of Pakistan.
Some of the important glaciers are
- Baltoro, 58 km long, the Karakoram Range.
- Batura, 58 km long in the Hunza valley in the Karakoram range.
- Siachen, 78 km long locate in the Karakoram Range.
IMPORTANCE OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS:
- Historical passes connect Pakistan to China and Afghanistan.
- A land route through Karakoram Highway has been opened to carry out trade.
- Snowcapped peaks melt during summer to drain water into river Indus and its tributaries which irrigate vast Indus plain.
- A source of valuable minerals, timber and fruits.
- Provides raw material to several industries e.g., Furniture, paper, chipboard industry, chemical industries.
- Mountain peaks provide protection to Pakistan against the cold winds from central Asia.
- The temperature does not go below freezing point over the upper Indus plain & climate remains tolerable throughout the year.
- Scenic beauty promotes tourist resorts which are source of Income to local people during summer.
- Snowcapped peaks melt during summer to drain water into river Indus and its tributaries which irrigate vast Indus plain.
- Provides raw material to several industries e.g., furniture, chipboard and chemical industries.
- Scenic beauty promotes tourist resorts which are a source of income to local people during summer.
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