Sulaiman Mountains

Template:Short description Template:Infobox mountain The Sulaiman Mountains RangeTemplate:Efn are a north–south extension of the southern Hindu Kush mountain system in western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. They rise to form the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau. They extend from the Kandahar, Zabul and Paktia provinces of Afghanistan across the northern Balochistan, Waziristan and Kurram of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. In southwestern Punjab, the mountains extend into the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts, which are located west of the Indus River on the boundary with Balochistan. Bordering the mountains to the east are the plains of the Indus River valley, and to the north are the arid highlands of the Central Hindu Kush whose heights extend up to Template:Cvt. The total area on which this range spans around Template:Cvt. Together with the Kirthar Mountains on the border between Balochistan and Sindh Province, the Sulaiman Mountains form the Sulaiman-Kirthar geologic province.

The most well-known peak of the Sulaimans is the twin-peaked Takht-e-Sulaiman at Template:Cvt, located near Darazinda in Dera Ismail Khan Subdivision, close to the border with both South Waziristan and the Zhob District of neighboring Balochistan. The highest peak is Zarghun Ghar at Template:Cvt near Quetta. The next highest peak in Balochistan province is Khilafat Hill at Template:Cvt located in the Ziarat District of Pakistan and is famous for the Ziarat Juniper Forest, where Juniperus macropoda trees grow.

Geography

The eastern edge of the Sulaiman range runs from the Gomal Pass in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to near the city of Jacobabad in Sindh province, and further stretches into south-west Punjab.

In Afghanistan, the western edge of the range starts just beyond the northern Loya Paktia province where they meet the Koh-i-Baba range. South from there, they meet the Spin Ghar range northeast of Gardez in Paktia province, but towards west, the mountain range drops gradually in Kandahar southwest into Helmand and the Sistan Basin.

The Sulaiman Range, and the high plateaus to the west of it, helps form a natural barrier against the humid winds that blow from the Indian Ocean, creating arid conditions across southern and central Afghanistan to the west and north. In contrast, the relatively flat and low-lying Indus delta is situated due east and south of the Sulaimans.

Rivers that drain the Sulaimans include the Gomal River which flows eastward into the Indus River, and the Dori River and other small tributaries of the Arghandab River, which flow southwestward into the Helmand River.

Geology

The Sulaimans were formed as a fold and thrust belt as the Indian Plate collided into Eurasian Plate beginning about 30 million years ago. The Indian Plate's counter-clockwise rotation as it collided with the Eurasian Plate resulted in the Sulaiman's having some of the most complex tectonic structures in the world, including "stacking" of thrust faults. The complex fault-system is capable of producing doublet earthquakes that jump to other faults - such as the 1997 Harnai earthquake in which a magnitude 7.1 earthquake triggered a 6.8 earthquake 19 seconds later on a second fault 50 kilometres away.

Areas in the southern part of the range include an Imbricate fan of slices of rocks in close parallel, bounded by faults on either side of each slice. Along the Eastern edge of the Sulaimans is the Sulaiman Fold, an area within the Indian Plate consisting of sediment, alongside which runs the Ornach Nal-Ghazaband-Chaman Fault.

In mythology

File:Kohe Sulaiman.jpg

A view of Takht-e-Sulaiman from Kulachi tehsil

One of the highest peaks of the range, the Takht-i Sulaiman ("Throne of Solomon") at high, was recorded by Ibn Battuta as the Koh-i Sulaiman. It is associated with Prophet Solomon. According to the legend, Prophet Solomon climbed this mountain and looked out over the land of Hind, which was then covered with darkness, and so turned back without descending into this new frontier, and left only the mountain which is named after him (as told by Ibn Battuta).

Another legend says that Qais Abdur Rashid, said to be the legendary ancestor of the Pashtun nation, is buried atop Takht-e-Sulaiman, and so it is also locally known as Da Kasī Ghar (د کسي غر, "Mount of Qais").

Trips to the mountain is undertaken mostly in summer, since from late November until March the snowfall makes it difficult to climb.

See also

• Fort Munro
• Hindu Kush
• List of mountain ranges of the world
• Loe Nekan
• Pul Shekhani
• Sheikh Badin
• Spin Ghar
• Wadani

External links

• NASA Earth Observatory page
• Chiltan Adventures Association Balochistan