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Parts of the Pamir and Trans-Alai mt. systems are in the east, and the highest peaks in the country are Communism Peak, formerly Garmo Peak (24,590 ft/7,495 m), and Lenin Peak, formerly Kaufmann Peak (23,405 ft/7,134 m). The southeast is occupied by an arid plateau c.12,000 to 15,000 ft (3,660–4,570 m) high. The only extensive low districts are the Tajik section of the Fergana Valley in the north and the hot, dry Gissar and Vakhsh valleys in the southwest. The Amu Darya, Syr Darya, and Zeravshan are the chief rivers and are used for irrigation. Additional dams and irrigation projects, notably the Great Gissar Canal, have opened almost 1 million acres (400,000 hectares) of land to cultivation.
Most of Tajikistan's people are concentrated in its narrow, deep intermontane valleys. About 65% of the population is composed of Tajiks (also spelled Tadjiks or Tadzhiks), a Sunni Muslim people who speak a language virtually indistinguishable from Persian. The rest of the people are mainly Uzbeks (25%), Russians (3.5%), Tatars, Kyrgyz, and Ukrainians. In addition to the capital of Dushanbe, other important cities are Khudjand, Uroteppa, and Qurghonteppa.
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