Editing Geography of Pakistan (section)

===The Northern Highlands===
{{see also|Northern Pakistan}}
The northern highlands include parts of the [[Hindu Kush]], the [[Karakoram]] Range, and the [[Himalayas]]. This area includes such famous peaks as [[K2]]<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/312055/69374/K2-in-the-Karakoram-Range-northern-Baltistan-Northern-Areas-Pak K2] – Britannica.com</ref> (Mount Godwin Austen, at 8,611 meters the second highest peak in the world). More than one-half of the summits are over 4,500 meters, and more than fifty peaks reach above 6,500 meters. Travel through the area is difficult and dangerous, although the government is attempting to develop certain areas into tourist and trekking sites. Because of their rugged topography and the rigors of the climate, the northern highlands and the [[Himalayas]] to the east have been formidable barriers to movement into Pakistan throughout history.
[[File:K2 8611.jpg|thumb|[[K2]], at {{convert|8,611|m|ft|abbr=off}}, is the world's second highest peak]]

South of the northern highlands and west of the [[Indus River]] plain are the Safed Koh Range along the Afghanistan border and the Suleiman Range and Kirthar Range, which define the western extent of the province of Sindh and reach almost to the southern coast. The lower reaches are far more arid than those in the north, and they branch into ranges that run generally to the southwest across the province Balochistan. North-south valleys in Balochistan and Sindh have restricted the migration of peoples along the Makran Coast on the Indian Ocean east toward the plains.

Several large passes cut the ranges along the border with [[Afghanistan]]. Among them are the [[Khojak Pass]], about eighty kilometres northwest of Quetta in Balochistan; the Khyber Pass, forty kilometres west of [[Peshawar]] and leading to [[Kabul]]; and the [[Broghol]] Pass in the far north, providing access to the [[Wakhan Corridor]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

Less than one-fifth of Pakistan's land area has the potential for intensive [[agriculture|agricultural]] use. Nearly all of the arable land is actively cultivated, but outputs are low by world standards. Cultivation is sparse in the northern mountains, the southern deserts, and the western [[plateau]]s, but the [[Indus River]] basin in Punjab and northern Sindh has [[fertility|fertile]] soil that enables Pakistan to feed its population under usual climatic conditions.