Pakistan:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of Pakistan:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. The dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002.

Location	Definition Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
Geographic coordinates	Definition 30 00 N, 70 00 E
Map references	Definition Asia
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 803,940 sq km land: 778,720 sq km water: 25,220 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly less than twice the size of California
Land boundaries	Definition total: 6,774 km border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
Coastline	Definition 1,046 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate	Definition mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
Terrain	Definition flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m
Natural resources	Definition land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
Land use	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 24.44% permanent crops: 0.84% other: 74.72% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 182,300 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 233.8 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 169.39 cu km/yr (2%/2%/96%) per capita: 1,072 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)
Environment - current issues	Definition water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; most of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements	Definition party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note	Definition controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent

Pakistan: Geography

Pakistan:
Geography