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Tajikistan
Topography and Drainage
The lower elevations of Tajikistan are divided into northern
and southern regions by a complex of three mountain chains that
constitute the westernmost extension of the massive Tian Shan
system. Running essentially parallel from east to west, the chains
are the Turkestan, Zarafshon, and Hisor (Gisar) mountains (see
fig. 11). The last of these lies just north of the capital, Dushanbe,
which is situated in west-central Tajikistan.
More than half of Tajikistan lies above an elevation of 3,000
meters. Even the lowlands, which are located in the Fergana Valley
in the far north and in the southwest, are well above sea level.
In the Turkestan range, highest of the western chains, the maximum
elevation is 5,510 meters. The highest elevations of this range
are in the southeast, near the border with Kyrgyzstan. That region
is dominated by the peaks of the Pamir-Alay mountain system, including
two of the three highest elevations in the former Soviet Union:
Mount Lenin (7,134 meters) and Mount Communism (7,495 meters).
Several other peaks in the region also exceed 7,000 meters. The
mountains contain numerous glaciers, the largest of which, the
Fedchenko, covers more than 700 square kilometers and is the largest
glacier in the world outside the polar regions. Because Tajikistan
lies in an active seismic belt, severe earthquakes are common.
The Fergana Valley, the most densely populated region in Central
Asia, spreads across northern Tajikistan from Uzbekistan on the
west to Kyrgyzstan on the east (see fig. 1). This long valley,
which lies between two mountain ranges, reaches its lowest elevation
of 320 meters at Khujand on the Syrdariya. Rivers bring rich soil
deposits into the Fergana Valley from the surrounding mountains,
creating a series of fertile oases that have long been prized
for agriculture (see Agriculture, this ch.).
In Tajikistan's dense river network, the largest rivers are
the Syrdariya and the Amu Darya; the largest tributaries are the
Vakhsh and the Kofarnihon, which form valleys from northeast to
southwest across western Tajikistan. The Amu Darya carries more
water than any other river in Central Asia. The upper course of
the Amu Darya, called the Panj River, is 921 kilometers long.
The river's name changes at the confluence of the Panj, the Vakhsh,
and the Kofarnihon rivers in far southwestern Tajikistan. The
Vakhsh, called the Kyzyl-Suu upstream in Kyrgyzstan and the Surkhob
in its middle course in north-central Tajikistan, is the second
largest river in southern Tajikistan after the Amu-Panj system.
In the Soviet era, the Vakhsh was dammed at several points for
irrigation and electric power generation, most notably at Norak
(Nurek), east of Dushanbe, where one of the world's highest dams
forms the Norak Reservoir. Numerous factories also were built
along the Vakhsh to draw upon its waters and potential for electric
power generation.
The two most important rivers in northern Tajikistan are the
Syrdariya and the Zarafshon. The former, the second longest river
in Central Asia, stretches 195 kilometers (of its total length
of 2,400 kilometers) across the Fergana Valley in far-northern
Tajikistan. The Zarafshon River runs 316 kilometers (of a total
length of 781 kilometers) through the center of Tajikistan. Tajikistan's
rivers reach high-water levels twice a year: in the spring, fed
by the rainy season and melting mountain snow, and in the summer,
fed by melting glaciers. The summer freshets are the more useful
for irrigation, especially in the Fergana Valley and the valleys
of southeastern Tajikistan. Most of Tajikistan's lakes are of
glacial origin and are located in the Pamir region. The largest,
the Qarokul (Kara-Kul), is a salt lake devoid of life, lying at
an elevation of 4,200 meters.
Data as of March 1996
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