Pakistan has a land area of 770,880 sq. km, which has remained relatively stable for decades. This number does not include the area under inland water bodies, national claims to the continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. The land area of Pakistan does not include the areas of major rivers and lakes.
Balochistan
The total area of Pakistan is about 796096 square kilometers. The country is divided into three regions: Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan. The land area in Pakistan is also made up of the territories of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the smallest.
The country is located between the Arabian Sea and the Himalayas. It has a land area of 796,095 square kilometers (340 square miles). It has a long coastline of 1,046 km (650 miles) on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. Pakistan borders India and Afghanistan on the east, south, and west, and shares maritime borders with China and Oman.
The total area of Pakistan is divided into provinces, each representing a major geographic, ethnic, and linguistic region. The southernmost province, Sindh, consists of the Thar Desert and the Lower Indus Valley. This region is unsuitable for farming, except in irrigated areas near the Indus River. The Balochistan Plateau, which rises between 1,000 and 3,000 feet above sea level, covers nearly half of the country.
Pakistan’s landscapes are varied, ranging from mangroves in the south to the Himalayan mountains in the north-east. It is home to numerous ancient civilizations and cities, including the Indus Valley civilisation, which is the largest Bronze Age civilisation in Afro-Eurasia. The area is also home to several mountain peaks over 7,000 meters. The country’s cultural heritage dates back as far as 3,000 B.C. The country also has several historical sites, including the ancient Mohenjo-daro community.
Karakoram range
The Karakoram range is one of the world’s most challenging mountain ranges, covering a total area of 1.4 million square kilometers. The highest peak in the range, Chongtar Kangri, is 7180 metres high, and is located only eight kilometres north of the Chinese border. It has been climbed four times, the first in 1973 by an Indo-Tibetan border police expedition. A subsequent attempt was made in 2005 by an Indian-Nepal army expedition.
The Karakoram Mountain Range is a geologically active region, located at the boundary of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian continental plates. It is estimated to have originated 65 million years ago in the Cenozoic era. It is made up of different types of rock, including granites and gneisses.
The geology of the Karakoram Mountains is highly varied. The mountains are dominated by granites, gneisses, and crystallized schists, with limestone and micaceous slates lining the interior of the mountains. In places, granite and gneiss intrusions cut the sedimentary rock on the lower slopes.
The Saser Muztagh sub-range consists of high peaks. They include the Mamostong Kangri (7516m), Rimo I and Rimo II. The Rimo Glacier, the largest glacier in the world, flows out of the mountains in this area.
Shiwalik range
The Siwaliks are a range of mountains in Pakistan, India, and Nepal. They are roughly six to ninety kilometers wide and have varying degrees of elevation. From north to south, the mountains increase in steepness and decrease in width. The range is divided into three subgroups.
The frontal slopes of the Shiwaliks were uplifted in the Late Pleistocene and Upper Pleistocene. This is in contradiction of the Soanian sites and the claim made by Mohapatra. Furthermore, the frontal slopes of the Shiwalic range were not tectonically stable before the Upper Pleistocene.
The Shiwalik range stretches from North-East India to Nepal. The eastern part of the range is covered with dense forests, but as one moves west, the forest cover decreases. In the south, the area is almost devoid of forest and is heavily dissected by seasonal streams (Chos). The range also contains hills and valleys that were formed due to the deposition of consolidated sand and conglomerate deposits.
The Siwalik is considered the southern foothills of the Himalayas. It extends more than 1,600 kilometers and reaches from the Tista River in northeastern India and Nepal into northern Pakistan. It has an average elevation of three to four thousand feet.
Himalayan ranges
The Himalayan ranges are an extremely complex set of mountains that cover the entire country of Pakistan. They have been uplifted by tectonic activity deep below the surface, resulting in a pronounced geologic instability that can cause devastating earthquakes in rural areas. The ranges are separated into several zones, each with distinct material structures and makeups.
The Himalayan ranges are 100 to 150 miles wide and provide a border between India and Tibet. Some of the largest peaks are in this mountain range, including Mount Everest, Makalu, and Kanchenjunga. Other peaks in this mountain range are less high in elevation, such as the Siwalik Hills. The range also contains the Hindu Kush and Karakoram ranges.
The Himalayan region spans across 10 states and the hill regions of two states. It starts in the south and extends all the way to the Tibetan plateau. It also includes 95 districts. The Himalayan region touches all of India’s international borders. In fact, the Himalayan ranges cover about two thirds of the country.
There are ten peaks in the Himalayas that are over eight thousand meters tall. The highest one is Mount Everest, at 29,029 ft. (8,848 m). There are other famous peaks in the region, including Mount Kailash, Karakora (K2), and Nanga Parbat. The Himalayas are also the source of several major rivers in Asia, including the Yangtze, Indus, and Ganga-Brahmaputra.
Rivers in Punjab and Sindh
Pakistan has a vast land area, roughly equivalent to the US states Texas and Louisiana combined. Its land mass is made up of mountain ranges and deserts. Western Pakistan, for example, has little rainfall, limiting agriculture production. In the eastern part of Pakistan, the Indus River flows northeast/southwest into the Arabian Sea. This river deposits sediment in large areas between its channels. This result in oxbow lakes, which are some of the most fertile in the Indian subcontinent.
The province of Punjab covers over 60 percent of Pakistan’s area and is the core of the country. Five rivers flow through the province, providing water for irrigation. Its terrain is rugged and diverse, with desert-like terrain in the south and cool mountain air in the north. Lahore, the capital of Punjab, is the cultural center of the country and home to the University of Punjab. It is also the site of many mosques from the country’s early history.
Despite its rugged landscape, the area of Pakistan is a hotspot for tourists. Winters in Punjab are foggy and rainy, while summers are hot and humid. The southwest monsoon typically reaches the region by May, but has been erratic since the 1970s and has caused flooding in areas of the country. It is also oppressively hot during the summer months of June and July. Newspaper sources claim that temperatures can reach up to 51 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hotter than in many parts of the United States.
Climate in Pakistan
The climate in Pakistan is a very varied one, with many variations between the summer and winter months. Temperatures can be very cold or very hot. Temperatures in Karachi range from 19 degC in January to 32 degC in June. However, it is colder in Islamabad than in other areas of the country. The most extreme weather can be experienced in the months leading up to the monsoon, when the weather can reach as high as 95 degrees F.
Precipitation trends in Pakistan show a gradual decrease over the past few decades. However, the trend for maximum temperature remains stable. In contrast, the minimum temperature trend is increasing. There is no significant change in precipitation from January to April, though maximum temperatures tend to be higher in October and March than in other months.
The weather is milder in southern Pakistan, which enjoys a more temperate climate. The temperature range is reduced between summer and winter months and rainfall is minimal. In the western region of Pakistan, which is largely desert, rainfall is low, only 100 millimeters (4 in) per year. In the winter months, rains fall in the valleys of the Indus River, but they are rarely experienced during the summer months.
In the province of Punjab, there are 15 weather stations that record daily rainfall. These records are used to compute trends and climate indicators. These data are also used to calibrate statistical models to predict local climate change.
