Chapter 1: Natural Topography Flashcards
(33 cards)
Northern And North Western Mountains
-Karakoram
-Hindu kush
-Himalayas
Natural Topography [Northern Mountains]
Stretch across the north of Pakistan from East to West. Parallel ranges, average height 4000-7000m with decreasing height north to south. Steep slopes, snow-capped peaks, high narrow passes and deep valleys. Deo Sai Plateau {World’s highest Plateau} is located here.
Glaciation Features [Northern Mountains]
Snowfields are covered permanently with snow above the snow line. Serrated landscape. Bare rocks. Deep V-shaped valleys or gorges. Deeply dissected terrain. Steep-walled basins.
-Lake Saif-ul-Muluk
Glacial Action [Northern Mountains]
While moving glaciers cause erosion, transportation and deposition. Abrasion is the scrapping of the surface by rocks frozen into moving ice.
Glaciers: -Siachin -Baltoro -Batusa
Valleys: -Kaghan -Hunza -Murr
Drainage of Northern Mountains [Northern Mountains]
Forming deep valleys and gorges in its course takes a southern turn at Kalabagh to enter Indus Plain. Indus and some other rivers as well as some lakes are the dominant drainage features.
Karakoram Range
-Average Height: 6000-7000m
-Run from Hunza to Shyok, E to W
-Deep, narrow valleys, sharp peaks
-K-2 highest peak
-Khunjerab and Karakoram pass
Himalayas
South of Karakoram range
Life and Economy [Northern Mountains]
Factors restricting human activity:
-The highly rugged landscape
-usually cold winters
-heavy snowfall
-difficult to grow crops on the rugged landscape
-Shortage of safe drinking water
Human Activity [Northern Mountains]
-Fruit Farming
-Crop Farming, mainly “terrace farming”
-Cottage industry
-Few major industries
-Limited amount of seasonal earnings from tourism
-Livestock farming
-Trade activity between some major towns through such trade routes as Murree and Rawalpindi
-Construction of Motorways.
Economic Potential and Importance [Northern Mountains]
-Huge water reserves for HEP
-natural passes linking Pakistan with China, Afghanistan and Central Asia via Afghanistan.
-Natural protection by mountains
-Scenic beauty of Valleys
-Potential of huge income from high adventure tourism
-untapped mountains
Effect of Human Activity on Natural Environment [Northern Mountains]
-Threats to the physical environment because of the growing population and economic activity.
-Construction of roads and rapidly growing population
-Water pollution due to negligence by tourists and the government
Western Mountains
-Khyber Pass
-Kurram Pass
-Tochi Pass
-Gomal Pass
Natural Topography and Drainage [Western Mountains]
-South of North Mountains
-A series of parallel ranges
-Rugged landscape but not as much as in northern mountains
-No glaciers
-Some intermountain valleys
-Some famous historic passes
Safed Koh
-River Kurrum south of the range
-Peshawar Valley
-Drained by river Kabul
-Kohat valley, 460m high
Waziristan Hills
-Between Gomal and Kurrum rivers
-Bannu Valley, east of Waziristan Hill, 150m high
-Drained by rivers and streams
Sulaiman and Kirthar Range
-Between the Balochistan Plateau on the west and the Indus plains
-Sulaiman range, 1500km high
-Kirthar range, 1500m high
-Bolan Pass
-Drained by Gomal
Life and Economy
-Factors limiting Human activity [Western Mountains]
-Rugged terrain
-Cool to cold winters
-Lack of vegetation
-High cost of developing infrastructure
-Difficult to develop mining
-In 2020, FATA’s merger with KPK increased the load on KPK and FATA would better have been made another province.
Human Activity [Western Mountains]
-Nomadic livestock farming
-Mining of limestone
-Large-scale crop farming
-Sugar, tobacco and cement industries in Peshawar
-Metalled roads
-Historic remains; attraction for tourists.
Potwar Plateau and Salt Range
-Topography [Western Mountains]
- South of Northern Mountains
-In the north, Margalla Hills
-Landmarked by elevations and depressions
-Drainage River Soan, sil and haro
Life and Economy [Western Mountains]
-Farming: Mainly barani/rain-fed farming
-Mining: Rich mineral deposits
-Attock Oil Refinery at Morgah near Rawalpindi
-Agricultural Institutes: University of Arid Agriculture
-HMC
-Some public and private sector medical colleges
-M-1 Motorway
The Balochistan Plateau
-Located in SW Pakistan
-Height 300-3010m
-Eastern part; ranges, plateau, lasbela plain
-Western part; ranges and basins
Northern Balochistan
Narrow streams flow downhill in the rainy season, depositing alluvial soil, gravel, sand and boulders at the foothills and alluvial fans are formed on the “Piedmont Plains”
Western Balochistan
No outlet of basins to the Arabian Sea; when it rains after a long interval of the dry period, rainwater drains into temporary rivers and streams that flow into the basins and either soak into the ground or gather in temporary lakes—–inland drainage pattern of Balochistan.
The Coastal Areas [Western Mountains]
-Easter part is the Lasbela Plain, marked by gravel and sand dunes, drained by River Porali.
-Western part is the Makran Coast – a narrow coastal plain with coastal Makran Hills; extends from Karachi to Jiwani.
