TOPOGRAPHY OF PAKISTAN

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 TOPOGRAPHY OF PAKISTAN
Q1. Describe the importance of Northern Mountains in Pakistan. [5]
KEY POINTS:
Connect Pakistan and China via Kunjerab Pass and the Karakoram Highway.
They act as a barrier to the cold Siberian winds, which put a negative effect on the
climate of Pakistan.
They act as a barrier in defense from the foreign invasions.
Their scenic beauty attracts tourists which promotes tourism industry.
The glaciers present in these mountains provide water on melting.
These mountains have forests with the trees having strong barks to provide wood
for furniture making and construction.
Q2.Name the passes of the Northern Mountains. [5]
KEY POINTS:
Babusar Pass – Connecting Northern Mountains and China
Karakoram Pass – Connecting Kashmir and China
Khunjerab Pass – Connecting Northern Areas and China
Shandur Pass – Connecting Gilgit and Chitral
Lawarai Pass – Connecting Chitral and Dir
Q3. Describe the relief features of Northern Mountains. [5]
KEY POINTS:
Snow –covered Glaciers and Peaks
Conical shaped peaks
Bare rocks
Large Steep sides slopes
High Passes
Snow fields
Q4. Describe the main drainage features of the Northern Mountains. [5]
KEY POINTS:
River Indus and its tributaries; at some places the rivers have formed deep gorges.
Huge glaciers
Snow fields in the areas which are 4000 m above.
Streams and springs.

Q5. What is the difference between landslide and avalanche? [4]

KEY POINTS:
A sudden falling of big or small rocks, land, earth or debris moving down the
slope due to force of gravity is called LAND SLIDING.
An abrupt or rapid flow of snow, sometimes mixed with water down the slope due

to the force of gravity is called AVALANCHE.

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 TOPOGRAPHY OF PAKISTAN
Q6. Describe some environmental issues in the Northern areas [5]
KEY POINTS:
Deforestation
Water pollution
Not access to portable water
Water born diseases like cholera and typhoid etc.
Earth quakes
Land sliding

Q7. Give the importance of Glaciers to Pakistan. [3]

KEY POINTS:
Glaciers are large reservoirs of fresh water and their melted water is an important
resource which feed the rivers
Glaciers are prone to climatic changes and global warming and can affect
agriculture, supply of water, HEP and ecological habitat.
Glaciers have breathtaking scenic beauty and thus attract a large number of
tourists.

Q8. Name the passes present in the Western Mountains. [5]

KEY POINTS:
Khyber Pass – Connecting Pakistan and Afghanistan
Khurram Pass – Connecting Kohat and Afghanistan
Tochi Pass – Leads to Ghazni in Afghanistan
Gomal Pass – Widely used to trade between Pakistan &
Afghanistan
Bolan Pass – Connecting Jacobabad & Sibi with Quetta
Q9. Explain how topography and drainage affect the life style of the people in Mountain
areas. [5]
KEY POINTS:
Farming is difficult because of thin and infertile soil and frozen water.
Farming is only limited to some valleys where terraced field farming is practiced.
Restricted movement due to blockage of roads due to land slide and avalanche.
Lack of development because of inaccessibility. Skilled labours are unavailable
due to low literacy.
Transhumance herding is common throughout this region.
Potential of Tourism is high in the northern mountains with a unique cultural
heritage.
Small scale and cottage industries provide benefit the economy and help in
increasing Tourism also.

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 TOPOGRAPHY OF PAKISTAN
Q10. Describe the relief and drainage features of Western Mountains. [5]
KEY POINTS:
RELIEF FEATURES:
Except for Safed Koh Ranges, located at East to West direction, other mountain
ranges run in the North to South direction.
Only Safed Koh Mountains have snow capped peaks.
Mountains present as bare rocks and vegetation is in scarcity due to lack of
rainfall.
These mountains have steeped slope.
Deep narrow valleys and gorges have been formed in these mountains.
DRAINAGE FEATURES:
River Kabul runs in the West to East direction
River Kurram, Tochi and Gomal run from West to East direction and finally drain
into the River Indus.
The Sulaiman Range is drained by the seasonal rivers like Bolan River and Mulla
River which flow only when rain occurs.
River Hub runs in North –South direction and drains into the Arabian Sea.

Q11. Describe the importance of Western Mountains. [5]

KEY POINTS:
Due to these mountains cool winds and temperate cyclones from Iran cannot enter
the eastern part of Pakistan.
The climate of Sindh and Punjab remains moderate due to these mountains which
act as a barrier from cool eastern winds.
These mountains ranges have many passes that provides routes to Afghanistan for
trading.
The passes present in these mountains promote culture sharing between Pakistan
and Afghanistan.
These mountains are rich in minerals.

Q12. How topography and drainage affect the life of people living in the Western
Mountains. [5]
KEY POINTS:
Bare rocks are found every where due to low rainfall.
Use of machinery and irrigation is difficult due to rugged topography and terrain
Low agriculture yield due to shortage of water resources.
Lack of development due to inaccessibility. Moreover, the developmental cost is
higher as compared to other areas.
Nomadic life is common in these mountains.
These mountains are very rich in Minerals but unfortunately these minerals are
still unexplored.

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Q13. Describe the relief and drainage features of the Potwar plateau. [5]
KEY POINTS:
DRAINAGE FEATURES:
River Soan is an important drainage feature of the Potwar Plateau.
Small rivers that flow only during the rainy seasons.
River has meanders because they have to flow around small hills.
Alluvial plains formed by the decomposition of large amount of silt by river.
Gullies by the action of rain water.
RELIEF FEATURES:
Bad land topography
Height of 300 –600 m
Steep slopes
Barren rocks
Gullies and gorges
Extensive flat areas
Dry valleys
Q14. How Potwar Plateau is different from Balochistan Plateau? [5]
KEY POINTS:
Potwar Plateau is located between River Indus and Jhelum near Islamabad while
Balochistan Plateau is located in Balochistan near Quetta.
Potwar Plateau ranges from 300 –3010 m while Balochistan Plateau ranges from
300 –600 m.
Potwar Plateau can be stated as a Doab while Balochistan Plateau does not posses
two rivers.
Potwar Plateau has bad land topography but Balochistan Plateau has no bad land
topography.
Potwar Plateau has more economical potential than Balochistan Plateau.
Potwar Plateau has better water resources than Balochistan Plateau.
Balochistan Plateau consists of coastal areas while Potwar Plateau doesn’t have
any coasts.
Balochistan Plateau is rich in metallic minerals like copper and gold etc. while
Potwar Plateau is rich in non metallic minerals like lime stone etc.
Potwar Plateau is more populated than Balochistan Plateau.

Q15. Name the Doabs in the Punjab Plain [4]

KEY POINTS:
Bari Doab – Between River Sutlej and River Ravi
Rechna Doab – Between River Ravi and River Chenab
Chaj Doab – Between River Chenab and River Jhelum
Sindh Sagar Doab – Between Kirana Bar in the middle of Chaj Doab

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Q16. Explain why there is a high density of rural population in doabs? [3]
KEY POINTS:
Presence of fertile Alluvial which promotes agriculture.
Suitable climatic conditions for growing crops.
Extensive network of canal irrigation.
Bar Up Land are higher places and thus are safe so there is concentration of urban
and industrial population.
Road and Railways provide connectivity to different areas.

Q17. Describe the natural drainage at Indus Delta. [5]

KEY POINTS:
Indus Delta is a typical fan shaped delta built from the discharge of silt which is
washed down from upland and mountainous areas.
Before entering Arabian Sea, the River Indus gets divided into a number of
distributaries or channels.
Due to continuous distribution of these channels and silt deposits these beds gets
higher.
Water overflows in between these channels and creates mud areas or swamps.
Q18. Describe the features of Cuestas in Sindh Plain. [4]
KEY POINTS:
Steep cliff on one side and a gentle slope on the other side.
The steep side exposes the edge of erosion resistant rock layers forming Cuestas.
They are usually formed by erosion in plain areas.
They tend to be cut off into rough, hilly country with numerous ravines and steep
valleys; because the short streams flowing down the steep scarp face erode with
greater speed.
Q19. Compare the natural topographical features of Upper Indus Plain with those of
Lower Indus Plain [6]
KEY POINTS:
Both are flat regions.
Upper Indus Plain are in the north (mainly Punjab) while Lower Indus Plains are
in the south (mainly Sindh).
Fertile alluvial soil is present in both areas and thus both these plains have active
flood plains and old flood plains.
Upper Indus Plain has Doab but Lower Indus Plain doesn’tpossess any Doab.
Low hills are present in both areas.
Alluvial fans and Piedmont Plains are present in both areas.
Cuestas are only found in the Lower Indus Plain.
Rolling Sand dunes are present in both Upper and Lower Indus Plain.

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Q20. Compare the drainage feature of Upper Indus Plain with that of Lower Indus
Plains. [5] KEY POINTS:

Upper Indus Plain has river Indus along with the tributaries whereas Lower Indus
Plain mainly consist of Indus River only.
Indus tributaries drain a large amount of water to Indus River in the Upper Indus
Plains
Meanders, Braided Channels and Ox Bow Lakes are found in the both Upper and
Lower Indus Plains.
River Indus is wider in the Lower Indus Plain and narrower in the Upper Indus
Plains.
River Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej meet at Panjnad (Mithan Kot) in the
Upper Indus Plain to finally form one River
Indus Delta is at the southern end of Lower Indus Plain.

Q21. How topography and drainage affect the life of people in a desert. [5]
KEY POINTS:
Farming is difficult because there is no source of permanent water supply.
Rainfall is scanty. Though some areas have been converted to farmlands by canal
irrigation system.
Lack of water has not allowed permanent settlements of the local people and
hence they move from one place to another in search of food and water.
Farms, road and railway lines are fewer due to sand.
Lack of skilled labour for the development in the desert areas.
These areas are considered uneconomical developed due to unfavourable
topography and climatic conditions.

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TOPOGRAPHY OF PAKISTAN
GLOSSARY
Define the terms:
(a) Gully (b) Ravine (c) Gorge (d) Glacier
(e) Meander (f) Ox bow lake (g) Levees (h) Doab
(i) Bar Upland (j) Alluvial Fan

(a) A valley worn out by the river serving as a drainage way after a prolonged rain is
called GULLY.
(b) A narrow steep valley that is larger than gully and smaller than gorge usually
worn out by the river is called RAVINE.
(c) It is a deep ravine between mountains often carved from the landscape by the
river is called GORGE.
(d) A large persistent body of ice formed by excess snow ablation (melting and
sublimation) after many years or even centuries is called GLACIER.
(e) When the moving water erodes the outer banks of river or stream; a bend is
occurred which widens the valleys and is called MEANDER.
(f) OX BOW LAKE is a U –Shaped body of water which is formed when a wide
meander from the main river is cut off to create a lake.
(g) Natural embankments of silt along the river banks which are often several meters
high than the foot plain is called LEVEES.
(h) The land between two rivers is called a DOAB.
(i) The land in the centre of doab rises to an elevated land which is known as BAR
UP LAND
(j) A fan shaped alluvial deposit formed by a stream where its velocity is decreased
mainly at the foot of a hill is called ALLUVIAL FAN.

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