Great Pamir

The Great Pamir or Big Pamir^[a] is a U-shaped, grassy valley (or pamir) forming the eastern part of the Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan, in the Pamir Mountains.^[1] The area is home to a diverse range of animals and has traditionally been used as summer pasture by Wakhi and Kyrgyz herders.^[2]

Geography

The Great Pamir is part of the Pamir Mountains, 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 Afghanistan situated between Pakistan and Tajikistan.^[3] The valley is 60 kilometres (37 mi) 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.^[4]

Human and animal activity

Wakhi and Kyrgyz herders use the Great Pamir for summer pasture.^[2] Side valleys support populations of Marco Polo sheep, snow leopard, ibex, and brown bear.^[4] In the past, the valley was part of the Principality of Wakhan.^[5]

Pamir-i-Buzurg Wildlife Reserve

The 57,700-hectare (143,000-acre) 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 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.^[6]

Notes

1. • Wakhi: Past Pamir
   • Kyrgyz: Чоң Памир, romanized: Chong Pamir
   • Persian: پامیر کلان, romanized: Pāmīr-e Kalān
   • Pashto: لوی پامیر