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The Geography of Pakistan encompasses a wide variety of landscapes varying from plains to deserts, forests, and plateaus ranging from the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean in the south to the mountains of the Karakoram, Hindukush, Himalayas ranges in the north. Pakistan geologically overlaps both with the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates where its Sindh and Punjab provinces lie on the north-western corner of the Indian plate while Balochistan and most of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lie within the Eurasian plate which mainly comprises the Iranian Plateau.
Sindh is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province by population after Punjab. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan to the west and north-west and Punjab to the north. It shares an International border with the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east; it is also bounded by the Arabian Sea to the south. Sindh's landscape consists mostly of alluvial plains flanking the Indus River, the Thar Desert of Sindh in the eastern portion of the province along the international border with India, and the Kirthar Mountains in the western portion of the province.
The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi) in India and Pakistan. It is the world's 18th-largest desert, and the world's 9th-largest hot subtropical desert.
The desert climate or arid climate is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert climates are dry and hold little moisture, quickly evaporating the already little rainfall they receive. Covering 14.2% of Earth's land area, hot deserts are the second most common type of climate on Earth after the polar climate.
The Great Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is about 7500 km2 in area and is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. This area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people.
The Aravalli West Thorn Scrub Forests, formerly known as Northwestern thorn scrub forests, is a xeric shrubland ecoregion of Pakistan and Northern India, stretching along the border lowlands and hills between the two countries. Once covered in deciduous forest, this ecoregion has been degraded through agriculture and the extraction of timber so that it currently has a scanty covering of thorny scrub dominated by such trees as Acacia senegal, Acacia leucophloea and Prosopis cineraria. Where the soils are particularly saline, there are patches of semi-desert. A number of mammals are found in this habitat, including about four hundred species of bird. Some small areas are protected but the collection of firewood and the conversion of the land to subsistence farming continues.
Barmer District is a district in Rajasthan state of India. It is located in the western part of Rajasthan state forming a part of the Thar Desert. Barmer is the third largest district by area in Rajasthan and fifth largest district in India. Occupying an area of 28,387 km2. Being in the western part of the state, it includes a part of the Thar Desert. Jaisalmer is to the north of this district while Jalore is in its south. Pali and Jodhpur form its eastern border and it shares a border with Pakistan in the west. Partially being a desert, this district has a large variation in temperature. The temperature in summer can rise up to 51 °C and falls near to 0 °C in winter. Luni is the longest river in Barmer district. After travelling a length of almost 500 km, it passes through Jalore and merges in the marshy land of Runn of Kutch. District headquarters is in the town of Barmer. The other major towns in the district are: Balotra, Guda Malani, Baytoo, Siwana, and Chohatan. Recently, a large onshore oil field has been discovered and made functional in Barmer district. Barmer is also famous for pomegrante.
The chestnut-bellied sandgrouse or common sandgrouse is a species of sandgrouse. It is a sedentary and nomadic species that ranges from northern and central Africa and further east towards western and southern Asia. There are six recognised subspecies.
Karoonjhar Mountains are located in south-eastern edge of the Tharparkar district in Sindh, Pakistan. The range is approximately 19 kilometers long and reaches a height of 305 meters, and contains vaste deposits of granite and Chinese clay.
The Thal desert is situated at 31°10’ N and 71°30’ E in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located near the Pothohar Plateau, the area falls under the Indomalayan biogeographic realm and stretches for a length of approximately 190 miles with a maximum breadth of 70 miles. It is bound by the piedmont of the northern Salt Range, the Indus River flood plains in the west and the Jhelum and Chenab River floodplains in the east. It is a subtropical sandy desert that resembles the deserts of Cholistan and Thar geographically.
Vachellia jacquemontii is a species of plant native to the Thar Desert of India and Pakistan. The species name refers to French botanist Victor Jacquemont. It grows as an erect shrub or small tree, usually 6 feet (1.8 m) to 10 feet (3.0 m) high, with multiple shoots coming from below ground.
Pakistan's native flora reflects its varied climatic zones, which range from arid and semi-arid to temperate and tropical.
The fauna of Sindh live in an area with a semi arid climate. With its coastal and riverine forests, its huge fresh water lakes, mountains and deserts, Sindh supports a large and varied wildlife population.
The Rann of Kutch is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located mostly in the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is divided into the Great Rann and Little Rann.
Tharparkar, also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan, headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar (1901–1947) or Eastern Sindh Frontier District (1882–1901).
The Thar coalfield is located in Thar Desert, Tharparkar District of Sindh province in Pakistan. The deposits—16th-largest coal reserves in the world, were discovered in 1991 by Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) and the United States Agency for International Development.
The Engro Thar Coal Power Project (Thar-ll) is a coal-fired power plant developed as part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company and China Machinery Engineering Corporation in the Thar Block-II of the Thar Coalfield, Tharparkar District, Sindh, Pakistan 25 kilometers from the town of Islamkot near the village of Singharo-Bitra.
The Thari also known as the Dhatti are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who reside in the Thar Desert, which is divided between Pakistan and India. They speak Thari, also known as Dhatki language. The Thari live primarily in Tharparkar district of Sindh in Pakistan. In India, Thari speakers are found in western parts of Rajasthan.
The Nara desert is a division of the Thar Desert of Sindh situated in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Nara is the northeastern part of the Thar Desert in Sindh. It primarily occupies the Khairpur district and a few parts of Sanghar District. It covers an area of approximately 23,000 km2 and is composed of sandy hills, steep slopes, and extensive low-lying regions, referred to locally as "Patt (پَٽ)".
References
- ↑ "The bleak scenario of Thar Desert". Daily Times. 16 June 2019.
- ↑ "Pakistan: life in the grip of drought in the Thar Desert - Pakistan | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 5 April 2018.
- ↑ Ozturk & Hakeem 2018, p. 767.
- 1 2 Yaseen, Ghulam; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Potter, Daniel; Zafar, Muhammad; Sultana, Shazia; Mir, Sehrosh (2018). "Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants for Livelihood and Community Health in Deserts of Sindh-Pakistan". Plant and Human Health, Volume 1: Ethnobotany and Physiology. Springer International Publishing: 767–792. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-93997-1_24.
- ↑ Ozturk & Hakeem 2018, pp. 773–774.