Safed Koh
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Safed Koh
The most conspicuous mountain range in Eastern Afghanistan, separating the Kabul basin from the Kurram and Afrldi Tlrah, and forming a natural division between Afghanistan and India. Staiting on the west (34 N., 69 30' E.) from near its highest point, Sikaiam, 15,620 feet above the sea, it forms a watershed reaching down into Southern Afghanistan, and terminating in a mass of uplands, consisting of the Psem Dag and Toba (31 15' N., 67 E. approx.). Its eastern ramifications extend to the Indus at and below Attock (33 5' N., 72 10' E. approx.) Among the northern and eastern spurs of this range are those formidable passes between Kabul and Jalalabad in which the disasters of 1841-2 culminated, and the famous Khyber Pass between Jalalabad and Peshawar. The northern spurs are extremely barren ; but the intervening valleys are a combination of orchard, field, and garden, abounding in mulberry, pomegranate, and other fruit trees, while the banks of their streams are edged with turf, enamelled with wild flowers, and fringed by rows of weeping willows. The main range and the upper portion of the spurs are wooded with pine, deodar, and other timber trees ; many of the southern offshoots are also clothed with pines and wild olive.
