| Geography and Climate |
Tajikistan is located in Central Asia, west of China. Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Wisconsin. Total land boundary is 3,651 km, border countries are Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km.
Climate in midlatitude continental is hot summer, mild winter; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains. Terrain consists of Pamirs and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest. Elevation extreme has the
lowest point in Syrdariya 300 m and highest point in Qullai Kommunizm 7,495 m. Natural resources are significant hydropower potential, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten. Land use: arable land: 6%, permanent crops: 0%, permanent pastures: 25%, forests and woodland: 4%, other: 65% (1993 est.). Irrigated land: 6,390 sq km (1993 est.).
Environment—current issues: inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides; part of the basin of the shrinking Aral Sea suffers from severe overutilization of available water for irrigation and associated pollution.
Ref. Anonymous, 1999 |
