Did You Know?
The
country we know today as Pakistan was created in 1947, but just as America
has a history that goes back further than July 4, 1776, Pakistan also
has a history that goes back further than its Independence Day.
Pakistan covers the northwestern part of the South Asian or “Indian” subcontinent. It is over 300,000 square miles (777,000 square kilometers) in size, just larger than Texas.
Flash Video and Audio
To play multimedia presentations on this site, you will need to download the Adobe Flash plug-in.
The Indus River is one of Pakistan’s defining features, running through the mountain peaks of the north, across vast plains, and eventually to the port city of Karachi on the Arabian Sea, dividing Pakistan almost in half with its north-to-south path.
The names of both the country “India” and the “Hindu” religion are derived from the river’s name. Today, however, the Indus flows through Pakistan, and most of the people who live on its banks are Muslim.
To the west of the Indus are the dry, high deserts of Balochistan; to the east in Punjab and parts of Sindh are fertile plains fed by its tributaries. Along the southern coast, mangrove swamps dot the Indus delta, while to the north, rugged hills give way to the peaks of the Karakoram Mountains.
There, on Pakistan’s border with China, is the second tallest mountain in the world after Everest. Locals call it Dapsang or Chogori, but around the world it is known as K2. It was given that unusual name in 1856 because it was the second mountain in the Karakoram Mountains to have its height measured. At 28,251 feet (8,611 m) K2 is 800 feet (244m) lower than Everest, but is considered more difficult to climb. It is almost 8,000 feet taller than Alaska’s Mount McKinley, which at 20,320 ft (6,194 meters) is the tallest mountain in the United States.
