Pamir - download georeferenced map set

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The Pamirs is a mountain system in the southern part of Central Asia, on the territory of Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshansk Autonomous Region), Kyrgyzstan, China and Afganistan. Pamir lies at the junction of the spurs of other powerful mountain systems, such as Hindu Kush, Kun Lun and Tien Shan. Pamirs is translated from the Farsi "the roof of the world" (pa-mi-ihr).

Traditionally, the Pamir region is divided into five regions: North-Western, North-Eastern, South-Western, Central and Eastern. The North-Western region of Pamir includes the Peter the Great, Darvaz, Vanch and Yazgulem ranges up to the intersecting Akademiya Nauk Ranges. The North-Eastern Pamirs include both the eastern part of the Zaalai range and the Zulumart Range up to the Zulumart Pass. The Central Pamirs include the Akademiya Nauk  Range, the Tanymas Range and the mountains of the southern group of the Fedchenko glacier, the eastern part of the Yazgulem Range. The Eastern Pamirs include the Muzkol, Pshart and North-Alichur Ranges. The South-Western Pamirs include the Rushan, Shugnan, Ishkashim, Shakhdarin and Southern Alichur Ranges.

Rivers. Almost all the Pamir rivers are part of the Amudarya basin. Pyandj is the largest river of the Pamir region. Its right tributaries are the Gunt and the Shakhdara, the Bartang (the Oksu, the Murghab), the Yazgul and the Vanj. The rivers of North-Western Pamir include the upper reaches of the Obikhingou and the Muksu rivers, which form part of the Vakhsha basin. A small number of rivers belong to the internal Pamir basin, which includes such rivers as the Karajilga and the Muzkol, and the Tarim (Markansu) basin.

Lakes. Karakul, the largest lake of Pamir, lies in a tectonic depression and it has no drain, which accounts for its high salinity. Other important lakes include Rangkul, Shorkul (they are connected by a lateral channel) and Zorkul (of a moraine and pondage origin). Lakes Yashikul and Sarezskoye, small drainage lakes, appeared as a result of river barrage caused by rockslides.

Glaciers. Today the glaciation area at Pamir is about 8,400 sq km. The largest glaciation hubs lie on the Akademiya Nauk, the Zaalai, the Rushan, the Northern Alichur, Yazgulem, Peter the Great, Darvaz and Zulumart Rages. There are predominantly valley glaciers in the Western Pamirs, of which the largest is   the Fedchenko (77 km long), situated on the Akademiya Nauk Range. The glaciers of the North-Western Pamirs include: Grumm-Grzhimailo (36.7 km), Garmo (27.5 km), Surgan (24 km), Geograficheskoye Obshchestvo (Geographical Society) (21.5 km), Fortambek (20 km) and others. The most important glacier of the Zaalai Range is Bolshaya Saukdara (25 km).

Tourism. The Pamirs is traditionally popular for tourists and high-altitude rock climbers. There are two peaks higher than 7,000 m here: the peak Ismael Samani (peak Communism), 7,495 m, and the peak Evgeniya Korzhenevskaya, 7,105 m.

There are over 20 ascent routes, from the easiest to the most complex, to Ishmael Samani. The route from the Moskvin woods clearing along the Borodkin ridge is considered the classical ascent route. Downhhill skiing is also very popular here.

Another well-known tourist base is Altyn Mazar (Golden Sanctuary), situated at an altitude of 2,800 m on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. North of this area lies the well-known Pamir-Alai valley. To the south, the highest mountain peaks of the Pamirs are situated, such as Peak Ismael Samani, Peak Korzhenevskaya, the picturesque spots in the Djirgital and the Fedchenko glaciers. To the east, there is Peak Lenin (7,134 m).

The Pamir region also offers popular jeep tours along the famous Pamir Road.  The Pamir Road starts from the town of Osh in the Fergana valley, it crosses the Alai valley, runs through the Pamir Range to the south up to the Pyandj River and it extends to the north and then to the west towards the city of Dushanbe. The Pamir Road branches into a number of local highways which run through the valleys of such rivers as the Shakhdara, the Bartang, the Yazgul, the Vanch and the Obikhingou. There is a branch road near Lake Karakul, which leads to the valleys of the Kokuibel and Tanymas Rivers.

Sightseeing. There are a lot of ancient monuments and protected historic areas in the Pamir Mountains. Here there are places which have famous rock drawings of the cave period, called petroglyphs.
The remains of the ancient Kaakha and Yachmun fortresses, the ruins of ancient cities and natural reserves are still found on the majestic slopes of the Pamir Mountains. The Kaakha Fortress is the second fortress used to defend the Western Pamirs, named after Kaakha, the legendary hero and the king of the Siahpushs, fire worshippers.

The Yachmun Fortress is a defense fortress near the town of Khoroga, in the village of Ishkashim.

Bazar-Dara is a town on the bank of the Ak-Djilga River, in the Murghab valley, which was a center of silver production in the 10th century.

Nature Preserves. There are a number of nature preserves in the Pamir area, such as Zeravshan, Iskandarkul, Kushavlisoi, the Archimaidan Stow, Rosrovut and Kamenniye Stolby.

Climate. The Pamirs have a dry moderate and sharply continental climate. The winter temperatures in the river valleys vary from 0 С to +2 С, while in the highlands they reach about -27 C. The summer temperature ranges from +23 С to +30 to 35 C, and they can vary from +4 С up to +15 С in the mountains. The largest rainfall is seen in winter and spring, while it seldom rains in summer and autumn.