Hindu Kush summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Hindu Kush.

Pakistan: Hindu Kush
Wildflowers blooming in the Hindu Kush, in the Chitral district of northern Pakistan.

Hindu Kush , Latin Caucasus Indicus, Mountain system, south-central Asia. Some 500 mi (800 km) long, it runs from the Pamirs in the east near the Pakistan-China border through Pakistan to western Afghanistan. The system forms a drainage divide between the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) valley to the northwest and the Indus River valley to the southeast. Its passes have historically been of great military significance, providing access to the northern plains of the Indian subcontinent. It includes about two dozen summits above 23,000 ft (7,000 m), including the highest, Tirich Mir, at 25,230 ft (7,690 m).

Afghanistan Summary

Afghanistan, multiethnic landlocked country located in the heart of south-central Asia. Lying along important trade routes connecting southern and eastern Asia to Europe and the Middle East, Afghanistan has long been a prize sought by empire builders, and for millennia great armies have attempted

Asia Summary

Asia, the world’s largest and most diverse continent. It occupies the eastern four-fifths of the giant Eurasian landmass. Asia is more a geographic term than a homogeneous continent, and the use of the term to describe such a vast area always carries the potential of obscuring the enormous