The Sulaiman Mountains Range[a] are a north–south extension of the southern Hindu Kush mountain system in western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. They rise to form the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau.[1] They extend from the Kandahar, Zabul and Paktia provinces of Afghanistan across the northern Balochistan, Waziristan and Kurram of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. In southwestern Punjab, the mountains extend into the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts, which are located west of the Indus River on the boundary with Balochistan. Bordering the mountains to the east are the plains of the Indus River valley, and to the north are the arid highlands of the Central Hindu Kush whose heights extend up to 3,383 m (11,099 ft).[2] The total area on which this range spans around 6,475 km2 (2,500 sq mi).[3] Together with the Kirthar Mountains on the border between Balochistan and Sindh Province, the Sulaiman Mountains form the Sulaiman-Kirthar geologic province.[4]
| Sulaiman Mountains | |
|---|---|
| د كسې غرونه / کوه سليمان | |
 Satellite image of a part of the Sulaiman Range | |
| Highest point | |
| Coordinates | 30°30′N 70°10′E / 30.500°N 70.167°E |
| Dimensions | |
| Area | 6,475 km2 (2,500 sq mi) |
| Geography | |
  Sulaiman Mountains Location  Sulaiman Mountains Sulaiman Mountains (Pakistan) | |
| Location | Zabul, Kandahar and Loya Paktia, Afghanistan, northern Balochistan, and FATA, Pakistan |
| Parent range | Hindu Kush |
The most well-known peak of the Sulaimans is the twin-peaked Takht-e-Sulaiman at 3,487 m (11,440 ft),[5] located near Darazinda in Dera Ismail Khan Subdivision, close to the border with both South Waziristan and the Zhob District of neighboring Balochistan. The highest peak is Zarghun Ghar at 3,578 m (11,739 ft) near Quetta. The next highest peak in Balochistan province is Khilafat Hill at 3,475 m (11,401 ft) located in the Ziarat District of Pakistan and is famous for the Ziarat Juniper Forest, where Juniperus macropoda trees grow.[6]
Geography
editThe eastern edge of the Sulaiman range runs 280 miles (450 km) from the Gomal Pass in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to near the city of Jacobabad in Sindh province,[7] and further stretches into south-west Punjab.
In Afghanistan, the western edge of the range starts just beyond the northern Loya Paktia province where they meet the Koh-i-Baba range. South from there, they meet the Spin Ghar range northeast of Gardez in Paktia province, but towards west, the mountain range drops gradually in Kandahar southwest into Helmand and the Sistan Basin.[citation needed]
The Sulaiman Range, and the high plateaus to the west of it, helps form a natural barrier against the humid winds that blow from the Indian Ocean, creating arid conditions across southern and central Afghanistan to the west and north. In contrast, the relatively flat and low-lying Indus delta is situated due east and south of the Sulaimans.
Rivers that drain the Sulaimans include the Gomal River which flows eastward into the Indus River, and the Dori River and other small tributaries of the Arghandab River, which flow southwestward into the Helmand River.[citation needed]
Geology
editThe Sulaimans were formed as a fold and thrust belt as the Indian Plate collided into Eurasian Plate beginning about 30 million years ago.[8] The Indian Plate's counter-clockwise rotation as it collided with the Eurasian Plate resulted in the Sulaiman's having some of the most complex tectonic structures in the world,[8] including "stacking" of thrust faults.[9] The complex fault-system is capable of producing doublet earthquakes that jump to other faults - such as the 1997 Harnai earthquake in which a magnitude 7.1 earthquake triggered a 6.8 earthquake 19 seconds later on a second fault 50 kilometres away.[10]
Areas in the southern part of the range include an Imbricate fan of slices of rocks in close parallel,[8] bounded by faults on either side of each slice.[11] Along the Eastern edge of the Sulaimans is the Sulaiman Fold, an area within the Indian Plate consisting of sediment, alongside which runs the Ornach Nal-Ghazaband-Chaman Fault.[12]
In mythology
edit
One of the highest peaks of the range, the Takht-i Sulaiman ("Throne of Solomon") at 3,382 metres (11,096 ft) high, was recorded by Ibn Battuta as the Koh-i Sulaiman.[13] It is associated with Prophet Solomon. According to the legend, Prophet Solomon climbed this mountain and looked out over the land of Hind, which was then covered with darkness, and so turned back without descending into this new frontier, and left only the mountain which is named after him (as told by Ibn Battuta).[14]
Another legend says that Qais Abdur Rashid, said to be the legendary ancestor of the Pashtun nation, is buried atop Takht-e-Sulaiman, and so it is also locally known as Da Kasī Ghar (د کسي غر, "Mount of Qais").
Trips to the mountain is undertaken mostly in summer, since from late November until March the snowfall makes it difficult to climb.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Akroyd, C. (2014). Pakistan. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63355-947-9.
- ^ Khan, F. K. (1991). A Geography of Pakistan: Environment, People and Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-577411-5.
- ^ "Koh-e-Suleman | District Dera Ghazi Khan". Punjab Government. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
- ^ "USGS Bulletin 2208-C: Sembar Goru/Ghazij Composite Total Petroleum System, Indus and Sulaiman-Kirthar Geologic Provinces, Pakistan and India". pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- ^ Park, G. (2017). Mountains: The origins of the Earth's mountain systems. Dunedin Academic Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78046-579-1.
- ^ Shah, S. A. (2013). "In Balochistan, an ancient forest battles for survival". Dawn. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "Sulaiman Range | mountains, Pakistan". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ a b c "Forging Sulaiman Range". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 2014-07-23. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ Maldonado, Florian (2011). "Summary of the Stratigraphy and Structural Elements Related to Plate Convergence of the Quetta-Muslim Bagh-Sibi Region, Balochistan, West-Central Pakistan" (PDF). USGS. Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey.
- ^ "Earthquakes can jump long distances". EARTH Magazine. 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ "Science Source - Imbricate Fan, Sulaiman Range, Pakistan". www.sciencesource.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ Park, Graham (2017-11-09). Mountains: The origins of the Earth's mountain systems. Dunedin Academic Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78046-579-1.
- ^ "NASA Earth Observatory - Newsroom". Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
- ^ Battutah, Ibn (2002). The Travels of Ibn Battutah. London: Picador. p. 147. ISBN 9780330418799.
- ^ "Shariat and Tasawwuf". Books.themajlis.net. Retrieved 6 February 2019.