Afghanistan: Geography#
| Location | Southern Asia, north and west of Pakistan, east of Iran |
|---|---|
| Geographic Coordinates | 33 00 N, 65 00 E 33.0,65.0 |
| Area | total: 652,230 sq km land: 652,230 sq km water: 0 sq km We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 652230 DBpedia: 647500 Geoname: 647500 Infoplease: 647500 Britannica: 652864 Wolfram: 652230 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Land boundaries | total: 5,987 km border countries: China 91 km, Iran 921 km, Pakistan 2,670 km, Tajikistan 1,357 km, Turkmenistan 804 km, Uzbekistan 144 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Amu Darya 258 m highest point: Noshak 7,485 m |
| Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Noshaq 7492 m; Shachaur 7084 m; Mount Sikaram 4761 m; Kaisargarh 3444 m According to Geonames: Noshaq 7482 m; Kuh-e Bandaka 6812 m; Koh-e Bandaka 6812 m; Koh-e Tuloksa 6435 m; Sakar Sar 6271 m Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Mountains |
| Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest |
| Natural Hazards | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
| Natural Resource | natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones |
| Land Use | arable land: 11.95% permanent crops: 0.18% other: 87.87% (2011) |
| Climate | arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers |
| Irrigated Land | 32,080 sq km (2003) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 65.33 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | limited natural freshwater resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation; overgrazing; deforestation (much of the remaining forests are being cut down for fuel and building materials); desertification; air and water pollution |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
| Large Cities | Kabul; Qandahar; Mazar-e Sarif; Herat; Jalalabad [Verified] Important Cities |
| Geography-note | 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) |