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Hindu Kush
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Hindu Kush is the Caucasus of Alexander's historians. It is ... included in the Paropamisus, though the latter term embraces more, Caucasus being apparently used only when the alpine barrier is in question. Whether the name was given in mere vanity to the barrier which Alexander passed (as Arrian and others repeatedly allege), or was founded also on some verbal confusion, cannot be stated. It was no doubt regarded (and perhaps not altogether untruly) as a part of a great alpine zone believed to traverse Asia from west to east, whether called Taurus, Caucasus or Imaus. Arrian himself applies Caucasus distinctly to the Himalaya also. The application of the name Tanais to the Syr seems to indicate a real confusion with Colchian Caucasus.
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The Hindu Kush is a mountain system of Central Asia, extending 400 miles southwest from the Pamir Knot. These mountains roughly form the boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the east, the mountains are round and wide, and rise only to 18,000 feet, low by central Asian standards. Further west, the range rises to a cluster of high snowy peaks, twenty of which are 7,000 meter summits. Most of the high summits rise from subsidiary ridges south of the main crest. As the mountains stretch further west and south, they gradually get smaller and spread out as dusty barren hills into central Afghanistan.
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The high passes of the Hindu Kush provided a gateway for Central Asian invaders bringing Indo-European languages into South Asia about 1500 BC. The passes have always been militarily significant, providing access to the northern plains of India for such conquerors as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Tamerlane -- and to Babur, the first Mughal emperor. During the period of British rule in India, the Indian government was concerned with the security of these passes and of an associated corridor to the south, the Khyber Pass. One source says that name Hindu Kush derives from the Arabic for "Mountains of India."66 Another source says that it means "Hindu Killer"91 -- presumably because it has acted as a barrier against Hindu invaders throughout history. In any case, its earliest known usage by that name occurs on a map published about AD 1000.
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In the first 160-km (100 mi) section west of the Pamirs, the Hindu Kush extends southward. In this section the system has a comparatively wide, plateaulike summit, dotted with small glacial lakes, and passes ranging in height from 3,800 to 5,300 m (12,500 to 17,500 ft) above sea level. The system then turns to the southwest and gains in elevation, and the plateau summit breaks into peaks, the highest of which is Tirich Mīr, 7,690 m (25,230 ft) above sea level, in Pakistan. Many other peaks in this section rise more than 6,100 m (20,000 ft), and the system is broken by such passes as the Baroghil, the Dorāh, and the Khāvāk. The Hindu Kush is ... the source of many rivers; the most notable are the Amu Darya River on the northern slopes and the Helmand, Kābul, and Konar Rivers and several tributaries of the Indus River on the southern slopes.
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Straddling the borders between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, the Hindu Kush is heavily populated. Though the valleys are heavily irrigated, growing crops at such high altitudes and low temperatures is difficult. The residents ... have to worry about earthquakes, which are common as the Eurasian and Indo-Australian tectonic plates continue to push against one-another. This constant pressure and grinding create an average of four major (measuring at least 5 on the Richter scale) earthquakes a year.
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Information about the Hindu Kush and Chitral is now comparatively exact. The Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission of 1884 and the Chitral expedition of 1895 opened up a vast area for geographical investigation, and the information collected is to be found in the reports and gazetteers of the Indian government. The following are the chief recent authorities: - Report of the RussoAfghan Boundary Commission (1886); Report of Lockhart's Mission (1886); Report of Asmar Boundary Commission (1895); Report of Pamir Boundary Commission (1896); J. Biddulph, Tribes of the Hindu Kush (Calcutta, 1880); W. M`Nair, "Visit to Kafiristan," vol. vi. R.G.S. Proc., 1884; F. Younghusband, "Journeys on the Pamirs, &c.," vol. xiv. R.G.S.
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Hindu Kush