Afghanistan's rugged terrain and seasonally harsh climate have
not deterred foreign invaders who coveted this land or sought
to cross it on the road to further conquests. The history of Afghanistan
is replete with tales of invasion. Yet the rugged landscape combined
with the fiercely independent spirit of the Afghan people have
seriously impeded and often repulsed would-be conquerors.
Afghanistan resembles an irregularly shaped hanging leaf with
the Wakhan Corridor and the Pamir Knot as its stem in the northeast.
Situated between 29 35' and 38 40' north latitude and 60 31' and
75 00' east latitude, it encompasses approximately 652,290 square
kilometers, roughly the size of Texas, stretching 1,240 kilometers
from east to west and 565 kilometers from north to south. Afghanistan
is completely landlocked, bordered by Iran to the west (925 kilometers),
by the Central Asian States of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan
to the north and northeast (2,380 kilometers), by China at the
easternmost top of the Wakhan Corridor (96 kilometers), and by
Pakistan to the east and south (2,432 kilometers).
Country
name Afghanistan conventional long form Islamic State of
Afghanistan conventional short form Afghanistan local long
form Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan local short form Afghanestan former Republic of Afghanistan
Area
- total: 647,500 sq km land: 647,500 sq km water: 0 sq km
Terrain
- mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest
Climate
- arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers
Geography
- landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide
the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in
the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)
Waterways
- 1,200 km note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2001)
Natural hazards - damaging earthquakes
occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts
Information
Courtesy: The Library of Congress - Country Studies
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