Geography
Main article: Geography of TajikistanTajikistan 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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