Tajikistan - Geography

Geography

Main article: Geography of Tajikistan

Tajikistan is landlocked, and is the smallest nation in Central Asia by area. It lies mostly between latitudes 36° and 41° N (a small area is north of 41°), and longitudes 67° and 75° E (a small area is east of 75°). It is covered by mountains of the Pamir range, and more than fifty percent of the country is over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) above sea level. The only major areas of lower land are in the north (part of the Fergana Valley), and in the southern Kofarnihon and Vakhsh river valleys, which form the Amu Darya. Dushanbe is located on the southern slopes above the Kofarnihon valley.

Mountain Height Location
Ismoil Somoni Peak (highest) 7,495 m 24,590 ft North-western edge of Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO), south of the Kyrgyz border
Ibn Sina Peak (Lenin Peak) 7,134 m 23,537 ft Northern border in the Trans-Alay Range, north-east of Ismoil Somoni Peak
Peak Korzhenevskaya 7,105 m 23,310 ft North of Ismoil Somoni Peak, on the south bank of Muksu River
Independence Peak (Revolution Peak) 6,974 m 22,881 ft Central Gorno-Badakhshan, south-east of Ismoil Somoni Peak
Akademiya Nauk Range 6,785 m 22,260 ft North-western Gorno-Badakhshan, stretches in the north-south direction
Karl Marx Peak 6,726 m 22,067 ft GBAO, near the border to Afghanistan in the northern ridge of the Karakoram Range
Garmo Peak 6,595 m 21,637 ft Northwestern Gorno-Badakhstan.
Mayakovskiy Peak 6,096 m 20,000 ft Extreme south-west of GBAO, near the border to Afghanistan.
Concord Peak 5,469 m 17,943 ft Southern border in the northern ridge of the Karakoram Range
Kyzylart Pass 4,280 m 14,042 ft Northern border in the Trans-Alay Range

The Amu Darya and Panj rivers mark the border with Afghanistan, and the glaciers in Tajikistan's mountains are the major source of runoff for the Aral Sea. There are over 900 rivers in Tajikistan longer than 10 kilometers.

About 2% of the country's area is covered by lakes, the best known of which are the following:

  • Kayrakum (Qairoqqum) Reservoir (Sughd)
  • Iskanderkul (Fann Mountains)
  • Kulikalon (Kul-i Kalon) (Fann Mountains)
  • Nurek Reservoir (Khatlon)
  • Karakul (Tajik: Qarokul; eastern Pamir)
  • Sarez (Pamir)
  • Shadau Lake (Pamir)
  • Zorkul (Pamir)

Read more about this topic:  Tajikistan

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