ABSTRACT
Pakistan is located between latitudes 24oN and 37oN and longitudes 61oE to 76oE. It is bordered by India in the East, China in the Northeast, Afghanistan in the North, Iran in the Southwest and the Arabian Sea to the South (Fig. 8.1). Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the Northern Highlands, the Indus River Plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The Northern highlands include parts of the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram Range, and the Himalayas. This area includes famous mountainous peaks such as K2 and Nanga Parbat. The Indus Plain, stretches from the Salt range to the Arabian Sea. This flat plain is largely made up of 300 m deep alluvium, deposited by the Indus River and its tributaries. The Balochistan Plateau is in the Southwest of the country; with an average altitude of about 600 m. Dry hills run across the plateau from Northeast to Southwest. A large part of the Northwest is desert.
