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Pakistan is situated at the western end of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, which is bounded to the north by the mountain wall of the Great Himalayan mountain ranges and their offshoots. It is situated in the northwestern part of the southern Asian subcontinent and may be divided into six natural regions—the northern mountains, the submontane plateau, the Indus Plain, the Balochistan Plateau, the western bordering mountains, and the desert areas.
The western ranges of the Himalayan mountains occupy the entire northern end of Pakistan, extending about 200 miles (320 kilometres) into the country; they are among the youngest mountains on Earth, having attained their present elevation only within the past one million years. Four of the peaks exceed an elevation of 26,000 feet (8,000 metres), and most rise to heights of more than 15,000 feet. These include such towering peaks as Nanga Parbat (26,660 feet [8,126 metres]; located in Jammu and Kashmir) and K2, also called Godwin Austen (28,251 feet [8,611 metres]). Beyond the Karakoram Range in the extreme north lies the Chinese Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang; to the northwest, beyond the Hindu Kush, are the Pamirs—the “Roof of the World”—where only a narrow strip of Afghan territory separates Pakistan from Tajikistan. The Himalayan massif (mountainous mass) that isolates the South Asian subcontinent from Central Asia was pierced in 1970 when a road was completed across the Karakoram Range, linking the town of Gilgit in Pakistan with Kashgar in Sinkiang, China. This road carries considerable commerce between Pakistan and China.
The northern mountain barrier influences the rainfall pattern in Pakistan by intercepting monsoon (rain-bearing) winds from the south. Melting snow from the mountains also feeds rivers, including the Indus, which emerge from the east-west aligned ranges to flow southward.
The population in this inhospitable region is generally sparse, although in a few favoured places it is dense. In most of the tiny settlements of this region, the usual crop is barley; fruit culture, especially of apricots, is of special importance. Timber, mainly pine, is found in some parts, but its occurrence varies with rainfall and altitude. Many slopes have been denuded of cover by excessive timber felling and overgrazing.
