Area: 250,001 sq mi (647,500 sq km) / World Rank: 42
Location:
Eastern and Northern Hemispheres, Southern Asia; bordering Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north; China to the east; Pakistan to the east and south; and Iran to the west Coordinates: 33°N, 65°E Borders: 3,428 mi (5,529 km) total boundary length / China, 47 mi (76 km); Iran, 582 mi (936 km) ; Pakistan, 1,511 mi (2,430 km); Tajikistan, 750 mi (1,206 km); Turkmenistan, 463 mi (744 km); Uzbekistan, 85 mi (137 km)
Coastline: None
Territorial Seas: None Highest Point: Mt. Nowshak, 24,558 ft (7,485 m)
Lowest Point: Amu Dar'ya River, 846 ft (258 m)
Longest Distances: 770 mi (1,240 km) NE-SW / 350 mi (560 km) SE-NW
Longest River: Amu Dar'ya, 1,654 mi (2,661 km) Natural Hazards: Flooding, droughts, earthquakes
Population: 26,813,057 (July 2001 est.) / World Rank: 39 Capital City: Kabul, east-central Afghanistan Largest City: Kabul, 1,780,000 (2000 est.)
OVERVIEW
Afghanistan is a landlocked nation in south-central Asia. Strategically located at the crossroads of major north-south and east-west trade routes, it has attracted a succession of invaders ranging from Alexander the Great, in the fourth century B.C., to the Soviet Union in the twentieth century A.D. Almost as large as the state of Texas, Afghanistan is bounded by six different countries. Afghanistan’s longest border—accounting for its entire southern boundary and most of its eastern one—is with Pakistan. The shortest one, bordering China’s Xinjiang province, is a mere 47 mi (76 km) at the end of the Vakhan corridor, a narrow sliver of land 150 mi (241 km) long that extends eastward between Tajikistan and Pakistan. At its narrowest point it is only 7 mi (11 km) wide. The Hindu Kush mountains, running northeast to southwest across the country, divide it into three major regions: 1) the Central Highlands, which form part of the Himalayan Mountains and account for roughly two thirds of the country’s area; 2) the Southwestern Plateau, which accounts for one-fourth of the land; and 3) the smaller Northern Plains area, which contains the country’s most fertile soil. Land elevations generally slope from northeast to southwest, following the general shape of the Hindu Kush massif, from its highest point in the Pamir Mountains near the Chinese border to the lower elevations near the border with Iran. To the north, west, and southwest there are no mountain barriers to neighboring countries. The northern plains pass almost imperceptibly into the p lains o f Turk istan. In the west and southwest, the plateaus and deserts merge into those of Iran. The greater part of the northern border and a small section of the border with Pakistan are marked by rivers; the remaining boundary lines are political rather than natural. The northern frontier extends approximately 1,050 mi (1,689 km) southwestward, from the Pamir Mountains in the northeast to a region of hills and deserts in the west, at the border with Iran. The border with Iran runs generally southward from the Harirud River across swamp and desert regions before reaching the northwestern tip of Pakistan. Its southern section crosses the Helmand River. The border with Pakistan runs eastward from Iran through the Chagai Hills and the southern end of the Rjgestan Desert, then northward through mountainous country. It then follows an irregular northeasterly course some 281 km (175 mi) before reaching the Durand Line, established in 1893 by agreement with British authorities. This line, which defines the border from this point on, continues on through mountainous regions to the Khyber Pass area. Beyond this point it rises to the crest of the Hindu Kush, which it follows eastward to the Pamir Mountains. The Durand Line divides the Pashtun tribes of the region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Its creation has caused much dissatisfaction among Afghans and has given rise to political tensions between the two countries.
