Bannu District - Physical Features

Physical Features

The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram and the Gambila or Tochi, which run down from the hills of Waziristan. The valley of Bannu proper stretches to the foot of the frontier hills, forming an irregular oval, measuring 60 miles (100 km) from north to south and about 40 miles (60 km) from east to west.

Of the rivers the larger is the Kurram, which upon entering the district at its north-western corner close to Bannu town, runs first south-east, then south into Lakki Marwat. The Tochi river enters the district about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the Kurram and flows in the same direction into Lakki Marwat, where the rivers eventually unite. Between these rivers and on the left bank of the Kurram in the upper portion of its course, lie the only tracts which are perennially irrigated. For the first 10 miles (16 km) of its passage through the district the Kurram runs between banks of stiff clay which rise abruptly to a height of 10 to 30 feet (9.1 m), and its bed is full of stones and boulders; but lower down it spreads over long stretches of marshland. Its flow is rapid, but it is highly charged with a rich silt which renders it most valuable for irrigation