TABLE OF CONTENTS
PUBLISHER’S FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
MAP LEGEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1. LENINGRADSKIY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
2. VANCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
3. KERKI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
4. GOWURDAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
5. JARQORGON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
6. QURGHONTEPPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
7. KULYAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
8. DARAIOB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
9. KHORUGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
10. LAKE ZORKUL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
11. TUKHTAMISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
12. SHIRAM-KUYU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
13. ANDKHVOY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
14. BALKH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
15. MAZAR-E SHARIF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
16. KONDUZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
17. PANJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
18. FEYZABAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
19. ISHKASHIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
20. SHITKHARV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
21. SARKHAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
22. MISGAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
23. LEKKER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
24. CHARSHANGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
25. SHEBERGHAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
26. DOABA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
27. PIRNAKHCHIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
28. BAGHLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
29. NAHRIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
30. HAZART-E SAID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
31. ZEBAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
32. MASTUJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
33. JANNATABAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
34. KALA-I-MOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
35. BALA MORGHAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
36. MEYMANEH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
37. BELCHIRAGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
38. TOKZAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
39. DARRA-I-SUF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
40. POL-E KHORMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
41. PASI-SHAKHI-MARDAN . . . . . . . . . . . .125
42. SEKOPACA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
43. CHITRAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
44. PISHBAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
45. GUSHGU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
46. QAL EH-YE NOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
47. CHAHARTAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
48. WAJAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
49. YAKAULANG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
50. BAMIAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152
51. SIAKHGIRD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
52. CHARIKAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
53. MEHTAR LAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
54. ASADABAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
55. KESEBERUD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
56. GHURIAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
57. HERAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
58. DARYABAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
59. SARCHASHMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
60. CHAGHCHARAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
61. SHEYKHMIRAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
62. PANJAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
63. MAIDANSHAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
64. KABUL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
65. JALALABAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
66. PESHAWAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
67. BEMRUD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
68. DEVLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206
69. ADRASKAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209
70. DEKHI-AKHIRI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
71. TEYVAREH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
72. SADMURDAGAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218
73. KHUKUMATI-GIZAV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
74. ULUSVALI-AJRESTAN . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
75. GHAZNI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
76. GARDEZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230
77. PARACHINAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
78. ASADABAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236
79. ANARDARRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
80. DOWLATABAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
81. KHUKUMATI-PURCHAMAN . . . . . . . . .245
82. WASP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
83. KALALASK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
84. ORUZGAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
85. MOQOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
86. SHARAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
87. ORGUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262
88. BANNU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
89. DOROH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
90. DUKALA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271
91. FARAH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
92. SHE GUSHEH-YE SHAMALI . . . . . . . .277
93. MUSA KALA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
94. TARIN KOWT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283
95. QALAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286
96. ALKADARI-SHAKHDZHOY . . . . . . . . . .289
97. MASHORAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
98. WANA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
99. NEKH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
100. LASHUDZUAYN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300
101. LUKHI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .303
102. KOTALAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
103. LASHKAR GAH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
104. KANDAHAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
105. SHAKHRI-SAFA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315
106. KHUG'YANAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
107. TARVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
108. ZHOB (FORT SANDERMAN) . . . . . . . .322
109. ZARANJ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325
110. CHAKHANSUR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328
111. WELL NABICHAKH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331
112. DARWESHAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334
113. TAKHTA PUL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .337
114. CHAMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .340
115. HINDOBAGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .343
116. DEKH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346
117. CHARBUDZHAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349
118. TAGAZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .352
119. DURZAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .355
120. MANDOZI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358
121. PISHIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .361
122. ZAKHEDAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364
123. PEDEGI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367
124. TOMB SULTAN-VAYS-KALAN . . . . . . . .370
125. BORDER POST JELEJEL . . . . . . . . . . .372
126. TOMB BIBI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .374
127. DZHAMAL'DINI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377
128. MASTUNG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
INDEX OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES . . . . . . . .383
INSERTS:
Russian 1:200,000 Topographic
Mapping Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Insert 1
Map of Provincial Boundaries . . . . . . . . .Insert 2
Russian 1:200,000 Topographic Mapping
Index Combined with Map of Provincial
Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Insert 3
Index Map of 1:1,000,000 and 1: 500,000
Russian Topographic Mapping . . . . . . . . .Insert 4
Index Map of 1:100,000 and 1: 50,000
Russian Topographic Mapping . . . . . . . . .Insert 5
Index Map of 1:1,000,000 (ONC) and
1: 500,000 (TPC) American Topographic
Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Insert 6
Index Map of 1:250,000 (JOG)
American Topographic Mapping . . . . . . .Insert 7
FOREWORD
Terrain Analysis of Afghanistan is a work undertaken with several goals. The first is to fill a void in the geographic knowledge base of Afghanistan, one of the world's most topographically stunning yet unknown countries. In the immediate aftermath of the coordinated terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, it became urgently necessary to know a lot more about Afghanistan. With the international obligation to welcome the country back into the rank of peaceful nations through long-term cooperative development and rebuilding efforts, this necessity continues. A second goal is to introduce to a much wider audience through a high-quality English translation the impressive and largely untapped potential of Soviet military topographic mapping and analysis. Afghanistan is but one example of the systematic approach of Soviet (now Russian) military cartographers to global mapping and geospatial intelligence. Thus, this book inaugurates what should be a long running series of country-specific terrain analyses.
This work was inspired by the Country Handbook series produced by the US Department of Defense, in the sense of there being a utility in having a country-specific synopsis of essential military-geographic knowledge gathered in a single volume. But the content of this book comes overwhelmingly from the terrain analysis studies found on the verso side of the 1:200,000 scale Soviet military-topographic map series as it covers the territory of Afghanistan. That content, originally in Russian, has been known for some time to a number of specialists in the West, but for various reasons has almost never been used or made usable. This book will hopefully now correct that situation.
In the 1970s the Soviet military's mapping agency, the VTU (Military-Topographic Directorate), began a systematic program of adding a terrain analysis study and concise soil map to the verso side of its 1:200,000 scale global topographic map series. This series, which to date has covered some 80 percent of the Earth's land surface in over 18,000 sheets, includes terrain analyses for almost all of its European and Asian maps (over 8000 sheets). In Africa such analyses are limited mostly to coastal sheets in the north (Mediterranean Sea) and the east (Red Sea). Considering that the present volume covers just the 128 sheets of Afghanistan, one may get an idea of the volume of knowledge yet to be revealed in English translation.
Where did the Russians get such detailed data in the first place? The answer to this comes in an examination of the Soviet/Russian approach to cartography and military geography. From the times of the Tsarist Russian Empire, through the Soviet period, to the present, Russians have been to maps as the Swiss have been to watches. The "Russian school" of cartography begins at very large scales (1:10,000, 1:25,000, or 1:50,000) and produces each succeeding scale series of maps (1:100,000, 1:200,000, 1:500,000 and 1:1,000,000) in a consecutive fashion. Thus maximum detail and accuracy is preserved as the scale becomes smaller. It is a very labor-intensive approach, and for this reason is perhaps not so emulated in the West, especially in America, where practicality invariably trumps other considerations. The Russians fight their wars on the ground; the Americans, from the air. Different warfare styles require different approaches to military mapping. The Russians tend to gather an awfully lot of data of interest to people who plan to remain on the ground, locally, for an extended period of time.
In the case of the mapping of Afghanistan, the Soviet Army conducted comprehensive country-wide aerial photo surveys for cartographic purposes alone (wholly apart from photographic surveys for military intelligence and targeting). Combined with extensive ground control data, a complete and modern 1:50,000 scale topographic map series of the country was completed in the 1984-1986 period. (Recall that Soviet troops entered Afghanistan in December 1979.). From the 1:50,000 scale series was produced the 1:100,000 scale series, and from this was derived the 1:200,000 scale series. These maps remain by far the best technical solution for precision-quality topographic maps of their respective scales to the present day, and are likely to remain so for years to come.
The organization of this book is straightforward, we hope, and has been informed by the comments of several very gracious reviewers and our own experience with geospatial intelligence customers over the years. Taking as the basic unit the content of an entire terrain analysis report as found on a single Soviet topographic map, there are 128 such reports in this volume. Each report analyzes the terrain and relevant geography of a select portion of Afghanistan-40 minutes latitude by 60 minutes longitude, to be precise (ca. 74 x 92 kilometers). We begin with the northernmost sheets and proceed from west to east, dropping down one row of maps and repeating, and so on until the extreme southeast sheet. The reports (sheets) are numbered both consecutively from 1 to 128 and by their Soviet/Russian 1:200,000 scale sheet designation. The title of each report takes the name of the largest or most significant populated place on the respective map (whether or not it happens to fall in Afghan territory, as can be seen from looking at sheets covering Afghanistan's international boundaries).
Each terrain analysis report itself is also precisely structured into six parts. We start by describing the populated places; in general we have updated the population statistics to the best extent possible (difficult in the absence of any recent authoritative census data). Local roads and the transportation network are examined. The third section looks at topography and soils. Hydrology is next, followed by a description of prevailing vegetation. Finally, there is a climate analysis, itself divided into a discussion of seasonal weather patterns and a brief summary of local winds. Following the text section is a small-scale overview topographic map of the region under examination, as well as a soil map. The legend and symbols explanation for the topographic maps are found at the beginning of this volume; the soil maps are each accompanied by their own respective legends. All measurements in this volume (wind speed, river currents, elevations, temperatures, etc.) conform to the metric system.
An important if intuitive element of both the maps used in this volume and in the terrain analysis reports throughout is the issue of geographic names. All geographic names have been rendered in the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) system of transliteration and, when encountered in the text, are italicized. Different users may have experience with different transliteration systems. This is inevitable, since around the world there are different approaches to transforming proper names in native scripts to the user's respective scripts (Cyrillic in the case of the original Soviet cartographers, or Roman in the case of English-speakers). Even in the case of the Romanization of native Afghanistan placenames, U.S. and British cartographers have a substantially different system than, for example, French or German specialists. And the new Afghan government under Hamid Karzai may well seek to promote its own Roman system for geographic names, which will inevitably be encountered by those actually traveling to Afghanistan with this book in tow. They will soon discover that Kabul alone is spelled many ways! As publishers, we have been influenced primarily by an assessment of our anticipated users, and we ask the forgiveness and understanding of those who would disagree with our choices. Should this volume make it to a multilingual, multi-script online database, then perhaps a technical solution will be available whereby each user can choose the script that he or she is most in agreement with.
As we anticipate a number of users with intensive requirements for geospatial data, this volume is accompanied by a set of map indexes to commonly available topographic maps series, all of which are available in paper and digital formats. Users requiring more detailed information should investigate our website, www.cartographic.com.
This volume was prepared over the course of many months by an outstanding team of American and Russian specialists. The publisher is especially grateful to the editor of this volume, Ms. Yuliya Smirnova, whose workmanship touches every sentence, map and diagram. As East View's resident toponymist (and now, book series editor), she has brought the company to a new level and continues to push our frontiers on a daily basis. Andrei Shumakov has performed brilliantly as usual, and has helped guide Yuliya's work throughout the process. At one time or another, almost everyone on EVC's staff here in Minnesota and in Moscow had a hand in this publication. No finer in-house, bi-continental team exists. The bulk of the translation from Russian was undertaken by Paul Gallagher, whom I consider to be the preeminent Russian-to-English translator of publications in the geographic and earth sciences. We think that his work reads like originals, indeed. Robert Steele of Open Source Solutions, Inc. (www.oss.net) also offered valuable feedback.
We would appreciate if readers would bring any mistakes or discrepancies to our attention. These and other comments may be forwarded to corrections@cartographic.com. All correspondence will be gratefully acknowledged.
This book would not have been made possible without the active support of various U.S. Government authorities and individuals. We at EVC are grateful to their willingness to take a risk on spending scarce funds for the exploitation of foreign-language open-source materials. The value of such materials is often not apparent, sometimes disputed, and at worst even denied. The substantial transformation of the raw information - never an easy matter - into a polished English-language product will hopefully open both minds and hearts (and wallets, by the way) to the abundance of untapped foreign-language open-source intelligence surrounding us. We think this book is just a beginning.
Kent D. Lee
President and CEO
East View Cartographic
June 16, 2003