The Great Pamir or Big Pamir is a U-shaped, grassy valley (or pamir) forming the eastern part of the Wakhan Corridor in northeastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, in the

Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...

. The area is home to a diverse range of animals and has traditionally been used as summer pasture by Wakhi and Kyrgyz herders.

Geography

The Great Pamir is part of the

, consisting of the primary range of high mountains and the plateau at the western end of the Pamir Knot. It constitutes the eastern portion of the Wakhan Corridor, a narrow strip of mountainous terrain in northeastern

situated between

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. The valley is long and bound to the north by the Southern Alichur Range and to the south by the Nicholas Range and the Wakhan Range. Lake Zorkol lies at the northern edge of the Great Pamir.

Human and animal activity

Wakhi and Kyrgyz herders use the Great Pamir for summer pasture. Side valleys support populations of Marco Polo sheep, snow leopard,

ibex An ibex ( : ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. T ...

, and brown bear. In the past, the valley was part of the Principality of Wakhan.

Pamir-i-Buzurg Wildlife Reserve

The Pamir-i-Buzurg Wildlife Reserve in Afghanistan contains an area of high mountains, within which the valleys of the Abakhan, Manjulak, Sargaz and Tulibai rivers flow into the Pamir River. In the south is the wide Wakhan River valley. The reserve has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports populations of Himalayan snowcocks, Himalayan griffons, wallcreepers, white-winged redstarts, Altai accentors, brown accentors, white-winged snowfinches, great rosefinches, plain mountain finches, and Brandt's mountain finches.

Notes

References

{{coord, 37, 24, N, 73, 37, E, dim:50000, display=title Valleys of Afghanistan Valleys of Tajikistan Wakhan Landforms of Badakhshan Province Important Bird Areas of Afghanistan