Marine Trader 34

I INTRODUCTION

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of South Asia, marking the area where South Asia converges with the south-west and Central Asia. The capital of Pakistan Isl.

The region is now Pakistan was the cradle of the first known civilization of South Asia, the Indus civilization (2500? -1700 Before Christ). The territory was part of the Mughal Empire from 1526 until 1700, when it came under British rule. Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. It initially consisted of two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were separated by about 1600 km (1000 miles) of territory in India. In December 1971 East Pakistan seceded and became the independent Republic of Bangladesh.

LAND AND RESOURCES II

Pakistan is bordered on the west by Iran, north and northwest by Afghanistan, the north-east China, east and south by India, and south by the Arabian Sea. An enclave of territory of Afghanistan in the north-west, the Wakhan corridor, separates Pakistan and Tajikistan. The area of Pakistan is 796,095 km ² (307,374 square miles), excluding the section of Jammu and Kashmir? R under its control. Jammu and Kashmir? R is a disputed territory located between Pakistan and India. Pakistan controls a portion of the territory as Azad (Free) Kashmir? R and federally administered areas of the North (FANA), while India controls part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir-? R.

A natural regions

Pakistan has extreme altitude, to reach the peak of the Himalayas to the summit of K2 (also called Mount Godwin Austen), in the north and the lowest point on the Arabian Sea coast in the south. The Indus River flows along the Pakistan from north to south. The Indus and its tributaries form a wide valley with fertile plains of Punjab and Sind (Sindh) provinces. Pakistan is mountainous in the north and west. Earthquakes are frequent and sometimes severe, in areas north and west.

Much of Pakistan is a dry, an area burnt by the sun. To the west of the Indus are the rugged mountains of the dry Sulaim? N Range, which merge with the bare K? Rthar Range in the south. Farther west are the arid plateau of Baluchistan and Kh? R? N pool. A series of mostly barren low mountains and hills dominate the western border areas. The Thar Desert straddles the border with India in the south-east.

The country also has a variety of wetlands, glacial lakes of the Himalayas, the mudflats of the plain of Indus Valley, and extensive coastal mangroves of Indus Delta. Wetlands cover an estimated area of 7,800,000 hectares (19,300,000 acres).

B Rivers

The Indus is a vital part of Pakistan. Without the Indus and its tributaries, the earth would have turned into an arid desert long ago. The Indus originates in Tibet from the glacial rivers of the Himalayas and Pakistan entered the north-east. It generally runs southwest along the entire length of Pakistan, nearly 2,900 km (1800 miles), and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries provide water to two thirds of Pakistan. The main tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Be? S, Chen? B, R? VI, and Jhelum rivers. In the southwestern province of Punjab these rivers merge to form the Panjnad ("Five Rivers"), which then merges with the Indus to form a mighty river. As the Indus approximates the Arabian Sea, it spreads out to form a delta. Much of the delta is marshy and swampy. It includes 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) of mangrove forests and swamps. To the west of the delta port Kar? Chi, east of the delta fans in the salt marsh known as the Rann of Kutch.

C Coast

The coastline of Pakistan extends 1.046 km (650 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The Makran Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains Alon.