Geography

Pakistan has a total area of 803,940 square kilometers, slightly greater than France and the United Kingdom put together. Pakistan is located in South Asia. To the south is the Arabian Sea, with 1,046 km of Pakistani coastline. To Pakistan's east is India, which has a 2,912 km border with Pakistan. To its west is Iran, which has a 909 km border with Pakistan. To Pakistan's northwest lies Afghanistan, with a shared border of 2,430 km. China is towards the northeast and has a 523 km border with Pakistan. The main waterway of Pakistan is the Indus River that begins in China, and runs nearly the entire length of Pakistan, flowing through all of Pakistan's provinces except Balochistan. is fed by the combined waters of three of the five rivers of Punjab the Chenab, Jhelum, and Ravi. The waters of the other two rivers, the Beas and the Sutlej, are largely withdrawn for irrigation in India. Along the Indus and its tributaries are found most of Pakistan's population, its chief agricultural areas, and its major hydroelectric power stations, interconnected by the world's largest system of agricultural canals, join the Indus before it discharges into the Arabian Sea. The northern and western areas of Pakistan are mountainous. Pakistani administered areas of Kashmir contain some of the highest mountains in the world, including the second tallest, K-2. Northern Pakistan tends to receive more rainfall than the southern parts of the country, and has some areas of preserved moist temperate forest. In the southeast, Pakistan's border with India passes through a flat desert, called the Cholistan or Thal Desert. West-central Balochistan has a high desert plateau, bordered by low mountain ranges. Most of the Punjab, and parts of Sindh, are fertile plains where agriculture is of great importance. Major Vegetative Zone : • Permanent snow fields & glaciers • Dry alpine & cold desert zone • Alpine scrub & moist alpine • Himalayan dry coniferous with ilex oak • Himalayan moist temperate forest • Sub-tropical pine forest • Sub-tropical dry mixed deciduous scrub forest • Balochistan Juniper & pistachio scrub forest • Dry sub-tropical and temperate semi-evergreen scrub forest • Tropical thorn forest & sand dune desert • Mangrove and littoral • Sand dune desert Agro Ecological zones include: • Indus Delta • Southern irrigated plain • Sandy deserts • Northern irrigated plains • Rain-fed lands • Wet mountains • Northern dry mountains • Western dry mountains • Dry western plateau • Sulaiman piedmont