CHAPTER - Topography of Pakistan

The Northern Mountains.

The Northern Mountains are divided into three ranges: The Hmalayas,The Karakorum and The
Hindukush.

1. The Himalayas. [ Avg. height, About 4000 meters]

The Himalayas comprises of parallel ranges stretching like a bow for about 2500 kms. from west
to east to the northeast part of Pakistan. The Himalayas are bordered to the west by the
mountain ranges of Hindukush and on the north from Karakorum. They run from east to west.
River Indus is making boundaries between Himalayas and Karakorum and between Himalayas
and Hindukush. The Himalayas ranges are subdivided according to their altitudes.
I. Sub Himalayas or Siwaliks.
 These ranges are the southernmost ranges.
 Average height is 600 meters – 1200 meters.
 Their trend is from east to west
 Located near Attock and Rawalpindi district.
II. Lesser Himalayas or Pir Panjal range.
 These ranges are medium altitude.
 Average height [1800 – 4500 meters]
 Their trend is from east to west.
 Popular hill stations are Murree, Nathia Gali and Ghora gali.
 They are spread over Rawalpindi, Abbotabad and Mansehra districts.
 Naran and Kaghan are the important valleys.

iii. Greater and central Himalayas.

 This part of Himalayas mostly lies in Kashmir.

 Average height [ 4600 – 6000 meters].
 Their trend is from east to west.
 Snow capped ranges covered by Glaciers.
 Highest peak is Nanga Parbat, lies in Kashmir, height is 8126 meters.
 Famous lake are Saif Al Maluk.
 The Indus is originated from Mansarowar Lake. Rich natural vegetation in the
valleys.
2. The Karakoram Range. [ avg. height about 6000 meters].
 Located on the extreme North of Pakistan at the border of Pakistan and China.
 The range runs from east to west.
 Narrow valleys and sharp peaks thus forming a rugged landscape.
 K-2 the second highest peak in the world [8610 meters] is located here.
 Number of glaciers, Siachin, hispar, Baifo, Baltoro, Batura covers these ranges.

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  Valleys of Gilgit, Baltistan and Hunza lie in these ranges.
 These Mountains can be crossed with great difficulties. Even the passes are 5500 meters
high eg. Karakuram pass and Khunjrab pass.
3. The hindukush range. [average height about 5000 meters].
 They are located to the north west of Pakistan where the borders of Afghanistan and
China meet, these range runs in a north south direction.
 Sawat, Chitral, Dir and Kohistan are the most famous valleys.
 Tirich Mir is the highest peak [7690 meters].
 Rivers are Gilgit and Hunza.
 High steep valley sides and the fast flowing rivers are relief and drainage of Hindukush.
 Shandur Pass [ connects Gilgit and Chitral], Shangla pass links the Swat valley to the
upper Indus valley and the Lawarai pass connects Chitral to Swat valley and Peshawar.

DRAINAGE FEATURES OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS.

EASTERN. WESTERN.
 The river Indus and its tributaries,  River Kabul, Kurram, Gomal, Tochi and
originate from Northern mountains. Zhob are the minor rivers.
 It starts its journey from Mansrowar lake  Fed by melting of snow.
in the KK range.  Seasonal rivers.
 Passing though HK at Attock river Kabul  Flowing eastward.
joins Indus.  During winter the volume of water
 River Indus takes a southern turn at decreases.
Kalabagh and enters into a plain area.  Smaller in length and width than the
 Glaciers of KK and HK feed the river. eastern tributaries.
 Ravi, Jhelum, Chenab, Sutlej, Bias starts
from Himalaya, passing through Kashmir,
enter into the plain area where they join
river Indus.

ECONIMIC ACTIVITIES AND LIFESTYLE IN THE NM.

 Harsh living conditions restrict movement and communications due to variation and
topography.
 Low economic growth rate combined with a high rate of population which prevents growth in
the low level of per capita income.
 Lack of infrastructure facilities.
 Subsistence agriculture and cattle breeding.
 Farming is practiced in terraced fields. Wheat, rice, barley, maize and vegetables are grown.
 People work in cottage and small scale industries.
 Food processing is an important industry [apricot drying, figure 1.11]
 Mountains have major HEP potential.
 No safe drinking water and a poor health, low literacy rate.

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  Towns in Northern areas [ Mingora, Murree, Kaghan and Gilgit have regional trade by road with
cities like Pindi, Islamabad and Peshawar.
 Limited transport facilities and difficult terrain restrict regional trade on a large scale.
 Tourism is a practiced [fig. 1-13].

The Western Mountains.

The WM consist of many parallel ranges and are not as high as NM

i. Safed Koh ranges; located in south of river Kabul or HK mountains, average

height is 3600 meters, commonly covered with snow so called white
mountains, their trend is from East to West, Kohat valley is located here,
limestone ridges, Kurram pass links a route to Afghanistan, Whale of Peshawar
drained by river Kabul and Sawat.
ii. Waziristan; located between the Kurram and Gomal rivers, Average height
3513 meters, highly mineralized zone devoid of vegetation, Bannu valley is
located to the East of WH. Kurram dam on the Kurram river is the main source
of irrigation.
iii. Suleman and kirthar; located to the west of river Indus in
Punjab[ Suleman], located west of the river Indus in Sindh [Kirthar], average
height 1500meters, Takht-e-Suleman is the heighest Peak in the SR, limestone
and sand stone are the main minerals, liitle rainfall in kirthar range.
DRAINAGE PATTERN.
Important rivers are Kabul, Kurra, Gomal and Tochi, on the east they open up
in the Indus valley, Kurram Dam is the main source of irrigation, Bannu is a
low lying basin.
LIFESTYLE AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES.
Life is difficult because of the rugged landscape, developmental projects have
not been established, nomadic lifestyle is common sheep and goat rearing is
the main occupation, many mineral resources are not explored, canal
irrigation is not possible, transport facilities are limited, Peshawar Kohat are
the urban centers, accessible through roads.

THE BALUCHISTAN PLATEAU.

Located in the Southwest of Pakistan, covered with hills and mountains, the
western part is dominated with a number of parallel ranges having east –
west trend, important ranges are Makran Coast, central Makran, Siahan
Raskih and Chagi, Rasko is the highest peak [these hills are composed of
limestone], Kharan desert is located in northwest. Lasbela plain is also found

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in the south of the plateau, Khojak pass near Chaman and Gonshero Pass on
Chaghi hills help in the movement between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Low lying basin are surrounded by mountains.
DRAINAGE PATTERN.
The area consists of many non perennial rivers except of Porali in south, Toba
Kakar range has a number of basins dry lakes dominated by inland drainage,
remain dry throughout the year except in rainy season, locally it’s called
hamun, largest hamun is Mashkal while the others are hamun Lora and
Morgho, the basin lying between hills and mountains.
Makran coast; the length of Pakistani coast is about 700 km out of this
500 is under makran coast, starting from Karachi to East of Jiwani in the west,
important rivers are Hub, Porali, hingol and Dasht which flow in to the
Arabian Sea.
POTWAR PLATEAU.
Located to the south of northern mountains and lie between rivers Indus and
Jhelum, Average height is 300 – 600 meters, northern boundary is formed by
Kala Chitta range and Margalla hills, rich in minerals like rock salt Gypsum,
limestone,coal and Oil, due to less rainfall rocky and uneven surface, forms
badland topography and dissected land, it’s a landscape of ridges ravines
and troughs. It consists of districts of Jhelum, Pindi, Attock and Mianwali.
DRAINAGE PATTERN
Soan is the important river of PP, which produces large traces of Alluvial
plains where agriculture is practiced. Its tributaries has developed gullies and
ravines, they extend near the Jhelum river, the area is dominated by salt
lakes depressions and dissected lands.
SALT RANGE.
Located to the south of the NM, average height is 900 to 1200 meter, it
consist of parallel ranges in some areas badland topography, rich in minerals
like rock salt, gypsum, khewra salt mine is also located here.
DRAINAGE PATTERN
Some lakes like Kallar, Kahar and Khabeki add to the scenic beauty of the
area.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND LIFESTYLE.
Provide raw material to the Cement, ceramic and chemical industries, Oil and
as fields are located, Attock oil refinery has been setup, farming depends on
the rainfall, canal irrigation is not practiced wheat, Maize, barley and

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 Gram are cultivated, accessable road rail and air transport, Urban
settlements are Jhelum, Chakwal, Pindi and Islamabad, high Population
density.

THE DESERT AREAS

In Pakistan desert areas are located at three places.
 Thal desert [located between river Indus and river Jhelum].
 Thar desert [located towards southeastern Pakistan]. It can be further
divided into Cholistan, Nara and Tharparker.
 The Kharan desert.

Sand plains, undulating plain, Sand ridges and Dunes, Barren rock due to lack of
water, cracks and rocks due to effect of weathering, rolling sand hills.

THE INDUS PLAIN.

Relief features are; active flood plain, old flood plain, alluvial terraces, piedmont
plains, tidal delta, rolling sand plains.

i. Active flood plain. Local name is BET or KHADDAR LAND, it’s the
narrow strip of flat land on both sides of the river Indus, Jhelum, Chanab,
Ravi and Sutlej. It is flooded almost every year. It is covered by rich and
new alluvium deposited every year and are important farming grounds of
Pakistan.
ii. Old flood plain. Also known as COVER FLOOD PLAINS. They are
flooded when there is heavy rain fall, normally every seven to eight years
severe flood occurs. They are safe from flooding and covered with old
alluvium. It constitutes the main agricultural area of Pakistan. Meander,
Oxbow Lakes, Old Levees are important features.
iii. Scarp/ bluff or cliff; it’s the slope between old flood plain and bar
upland. Its height is about 5 – 11 meter and with is about 6 meters. It’s
also having old alluvium but cannot be used for farming due to slope.
iv. Bar uplands/ alluvial terraces/ scalloped interfluves [fig, 1.54] ; local
name is bar. The sediment of the terraces are called the old alluvium.
Some parts of the Doab in upper Indus plain are occupied by alluvial
terraces. They are the areas of highest grounds between rivers formed by
deposits of old flood plains. Safest places from floods and can be used for
houses and other purposes. The alluvial terraces Kirana Bar in Chaj Doab,
Sandal Bar in Rachna Doab, Ganji Bar and Nilli Bar in Bari Doab. A large

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 part of Sindh Sagar Doab between the Indus and Jhelum is Covered with
the desert caleed Thal.
v. Piedmont Plain; It covers and extensive area between Suleman and
Kirthar and Indus River. They have been building by the alluvial fans
developing along the rivers flowing eastward down the mountains. The
river flow down the mountain swiftly on reaching the foot hills they lose
their speed and drop part of their load within the stream, which split into
number of narrow channels forming alluvial fans. It has good soil and
suitable topography for agricultural purposes but lack of rainfall in the
main problem.
vi. Cuesta [lower indusplain]; these are limestone ridges. Rohri Cuesta in
Sindh, Ganjo Takkar in Hyderabad and Murli Hills in Karachi are main
examples. Provide foundation for the construction of Barrages for
irrigation and add to the scenic beauty of the area by varying the flat
landscape.
vii. Rolling Sand plains and sand dunes [ see the topic desert area]
viii. Tidal Delta [figure 1.57] ; To the south of Thatta where the river Indus
falls into the Arabian sea a tidal delta is formed. It is often triangular or
fan shaped structure with many branches. Deposition of alluvium on the
banks of the distributaries makes the level of the levees higher than the
adjacent areas. The Indus Delta has Tidal flats with Mangrove Swamps.
It’s located to the east of Karachi and includes Thatta, KT Bandar, Jati,
Ladian and other small settlements. It’s a seventh largest delta in the
world famous for fish and shrimps. It’s also having mud flats inhabited
with crabs. Low population density due less facilities and effects of sea
water. Agriculture is limited due to marshy land and saline soil.
Infrastructure is not developed. Occasional tropical cyclone causing
damage to farming areas, fishing and the shanty homes of the people.
[Comparison between the upper Indus plain and lower Indus plain. fig,
1.61.]

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