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The Pamir
The name Pamir, or the Bam-i-dunya
(Roof of the World) of Persian writers, is actually
derived from the broad valleys in south-east Tadzhikstan,
but since has come to include all the mountains between
the Amu Darya (Oxus) River and Alay Range. The Pamir
knot is the convergence area of several high ranges.
These include the Hindu Kush from the south-west, the
Karakoram from the south-east,the Kun Lun from the east,
and the Tien Shan from the north-east. Geologically
rich and complex (Plate 12), the area's strike lines
make a sharp arcuate facing north towards Ferghana.
This high mountain complex between the Tarim and Karakum
basins is inclined to the west and drained by the Amu
Darya. Most of the area lies in Tadzhikstan but the
highest summit, Muztag Ata (7,719m), is in a north-south
range in China.
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© Pitamber
Sharma |
| 12. A view of the mountains from Ala Archa
National Park, west of Bishkek, Kyrghyzstan
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Tadzhikstan is dominated by mountainous
relief, as 61.5 per cent of its land surface exceeds
2,000m in elevation. These uplands support only 5.7
per cent of the country's total population due to the
severity of the climate (Belkin 1992). The central part
is in the form of an enclosed plateau where the Karakul
Lake is situated. Westwards, parallel ranges trend towards
the south-west. These also have numerous high peaks,
of which Pik Communizma (7,495m) is prominent. Among
these ranges, the Alayskiy Khrebet marks the northern
limit of the Pamir. The area has extensive snowfields
and many glaciers. The climate is cold and arid and
vegetation sparse. The land is deeply dissected and
also affected by intensive seismic processes. It is
equally diverse in ethnic composition. The Tadzhik are
early migrants from Persia, and they are mostly agriculturists.
The Kazakh, Kyrghyz, Turkman, and Uzbek belong to later
waves of Mongoloid herders of horses and sheep with
their traditional central Asian yurts. The Tadzhik in
the north-west are more sedentary and depend on irrigation
for crops and fruit cultivation. The Kyrghyz are mostly
nomadic and keep flocks of sheep, cattle, and yaks.
Under the Soviet regime, the Central
Asian republics were much affected by centralized planning.
This not only involved a colonial type of exploitation
of minerals and forest resources but also the organized
migration of people (Badenkov 1990). This is evident
from the composition of the populations of the Republics.
Uzbekistan has a population that is 75 per cent Uzbek
and ten per cent Tadzhik and Kazakh. In Kyrghyzstan,
58 per cent of the population is Kyrgyhz followed by
14 per cent Uzbek, while Kazakhstan has 46 per cent
Kazakh and the majority are from other groups. Since
the transition from central planning to a market economy,
there has been both increase in product diversity and
revival of old traditions.
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