Pakistan Geography - Research Paper Example

Any Country – Pakistan Asia inhabits a majority of the world’s population and is one of the most diverse continents on the face of the world. Forty-six countries are part of the Asian continent and each country has its own unique culture and geography (Kureshy, pp. 98-122). One such diverse country is Pakistan that is located in the southeastern part of Asia. Pakistan is a very interesting country from geographical perspective, as it is small but it still includes a large number of different terrains. Pakistan emerged on the map after its independence on 14 August 1947. Before its independence, the country was a British colony and was a part of the British India. The country has four neighboring countries; on its north is China, in the east is India and on the West are Iran and Afghanistan. On the southern borders of the country is the Arabian Sea. The country has had peaceful relations with all its neighbors except India. The two countries have a geographical dispute and the both claim the northern state of Kashmir. Pakistan has an area of a little more than eight hundred thousand square meters. The country has four provinces namely “Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and North West Frontier Province” (Din, pp. 15-22). It also has a tribal territory in the northwest that will form a new province. On the extreme north is the disputed territory of Kashmir, the part of Kashmir that is under the control of Pakistan is the Azad Kashmir. The federal territory excludes the provincial territory and forms the city of Islamabad, which is the capital of the country. The country’s largest province Baluchistan is mostly barren and the least populated; the area remains neglected and majorities of the inhabitants are the rural population. To the south of Baluchistan is the coastline that remains unexploited and clean from human wastes. Recently, development on the coast has resulted in the construction of a full service port next to the city of Gawadar. The port is expected to bring immense business to the country as it is the cheapest route for transportation of goods to the northern countries including Afghanistan and the Russian break away countries. On the east of the province are the rugged mountains and on the north is the province’s capital, the city of Quetta. Central part of the country is the most happening and the most populated. This is the province of Punjab, which is popular for its hospitality and cultural diversity. The capital of Punjab is Lahore, which is famous as the cultural capital of the country. The city has various historical monuments and buildings constructed by the Mughal Emperors hundreds of years before the British rule began. These building are of extreme artistic values and include the Shalimar Gardens, the Badshahi Mosque, the Chuburgi Fort, and the Lahore Fort. The city is itself a major business hub and a cluster of a large number of smaller industrial cities has developed all around it. The southern part of Punjab forms the Thar Desert that is one of the largest deserts in the world. Many believe the coal reserves of this desert are large enough to provide the country with a fortune. In the south is the province of Sindh, which is the second most, populated province of the country. The southern part of the province constitutes the coastline and includes two ports. The largest business port city of the country Karachi and a smaller port just adjacent to it called Port Qasim. Karachi is the largest city of the country both in terms of its size and in terms of population. It is the one of the world’s largest city and is the financial capital of Pakistan. The province of Sindh has the Sui gas fields that provides for most of the country’s gas requirements. In the Northern provinces and territories, the country has various mountain ranges including the Himalaya’s in Kashmir and northern Punjab, the Hindu Kush Ranges in the northwest and the Karakoram ranges in the extreme north. “The second highest mountain in the world called Godwin Austin the K-2 is located in the Karakoram ranges” (Din, pp. 15-22). K-2 is the steepest mountain in the world and is much harder to climb compared to the Mount Everest. Kashmir is the State that is the mouth of the country as it feeds all major rivers of the country. Five rivers flow down from Kashmir into the province of Punjab and provide for the agriculture-based economy of the country. The rivers are the Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab, Jhelum, and the Indus. All the rivers combine into the Indus River as they move south towards the province of Sindh (Johnson, pp. 121-127). The great Indus River then flows down into the Arabian Sea through the middle of the province. As India controls a part of Kashmir, the country has constructed dams and diverts the water of two of the rivers most of the times to meet its own needs. Therefore, Punjab now relies of the water from the three rivers for all its vegetation and the countries need for fresh water. To support the growing needs of the population water is stored in a vast network of dams during the rainy seasons in the summers when the glaciers in the north tend to melt (Rehman, pp. 42-48). The country has one of the best networks of dams; however, it is still difficult to meet the needs of a population of around hundred and eighty million people. The country derives most of its electricity through the hydroelectric sources and infrequent rains often cause shortages of electricity. To conclude, Pakistan is a beautiful country and includes the widest variety of geographical terrains in a small area. The north has a lot of adventurous mountain ranges and various plateaus, the central part is composed of plains and fertile land, the southern part has many desert trails and the west is formed by rugged and rocky mountains. Works Cited Din, Israr. Studies in Pakistan Geography. University of Peshawar, 1998. Johnson, Clyde. South Asia: Selective study if the essential geography of India and Pakistan. Heinemann Educational, 1969. Kureshy, K.U. A geography of Pakistan. Oxford University Press, 1997. Rehman, Mukhtar. Bibliography of Pakistan geography. University of Karachi, 1974. Read More