Geography and Environment of Tajikistan

The Republic of Tajikistan gained its independence during the breakup of the USSR and is part of former Soviet Central Asia nestled between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to the north and west, Afghanistan to the south, and China to the east. Tajikistan is home to some of the highest mountains in the world, including parts of the Kunlun, Himalayan, Tienshan, and Pamir Ranges. Ninety-three percent of the country is mountainous with altitudes ranging from 1,000 feet to 25,000 feet, with fully 50% of Tajikistan's territory at elevations above 10,000 feet. Earthquakes of varying degrees are frequent. The massive mountain ranges are cut by hundreds of scenic canyons and gorges through which streams finger their way into the larger river valleys where the majority of the country's population lives and works. The principal rivers of central Asia, the Amu-Darya and the Syr-Darya, both flow through Tajikistan, fed by melting snow in the mountains of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

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