Editing Geography of Afghanistan (section)

==Mountain systems==
{{See also|Valleys of Afghanistan}}{{Unsourced section|date=October 2023}}[[File:Black Hawk flying over a valley in Bamyan.jpg|thumb|Snow-covered [[Koh-i-Baba]] mountains in [[Bamyan Province]]]]
The [[Hindu Kush]] mountain range reaches a height of {{convert|7492|m|ft|abbr=on}} at [[Noshaq]], Afghanistan's highest peak. Of the ranges extending southwestward from the Hindu Kush, the Foladi peak (''Shah Foladi'') of the Baba mountain range (''[[Koh-i-Baba]]'') reaches the greatest height: {{convert|5142|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The [[Safed Koh]] range, which includes the [[Tora Bora]] area, dominates the border area southeast of [[Kabul]].
[[File:Mountains in Afghanistan.JPG|left|thumb|Snow-covered [[Hindu Kush]] mountains in Afghanistan]]
[[File:Landscape in Paktia Province.jpg|thumb|Snow-covered mountains in [[Paktia Province]]]]

Important passes include the [[Unai Pass]] across the Safed Koh, the [[Kushan Pass|Kushan]] and [[Salang Pass|Salang]] Passes through the Hindu Kush, and the [[Khyber Pass]] that connects Afghanistan with Pakistan. The summit of the Khyber Pass at {{convert|1070|m|ft|abbr=on}} at [[Landi Kotal]], Pakistan is 5&nbsp;km (3&nbsp;mi) east of the border town of [[Torkham border crossing|Torkham]]. Other key passages through the mountainous Pakistan border include two from Paktika Province into Pakistan's [[Waziristan]] region: one at [[Angoor Ada]], and one further south at the [[Gumal River]] crossing, plus the [[Charkai River]] passage south of [[Khost]], Afghanistan, at Pakistan's [[Ghulam Khan]] village into [[North Waziristan]]. The busy Pak-Afghan border crossing at Wesh, Afghanistan is in a flat and dry area, though this route involves Pakistan's [[Khojak Pass]] at {{convert|2707|m|ft|abbr=on}} just {{convert|14|km|0|abbr=on}} from the border. The border connects [[Kandahar]] and [[Spin Boldak]] in Afghanistan with [[Quetta]] in Pakistan.

The [[Wakhan Corridor]] in the northeast lies eastward of the province of [[Panjshir Province|Panjshir]], between the Hindu Kush and the [[Pamir Mountains]], which leads to the [[Wakhjir Pass]] into [[Xinjiang]] in [[China]]. In Kabul, and over all the northern part of the country to the descent at [[Gandamak]], winter is rigorous, especially so on the high Arachosian plateau. 

Although [[Herat]] is approximately {{convert|240|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} lower than Kandahar, the summer climate there is more temperate along with the yearly climate. From May to September, the wind blows from the northwest with great force, and this extends across the country to Kandahar. The winter is mild; snow melts as it falls, and even on the mountains does not lie long. Three years out of four at Herat it does not freeze hard enough for the people to store ice. Yet, it was not very far from Herat, in Rafir Kala, in 1750, where Ahmad Shah's army, retreating from Persia, is said to have lost 18,000 men from cold in a single night. In the northern Herat districts records of the coldest month (February) show the mean minimum as {{convert|-8|°C|°F|abbr=on}} and the maximum as {{convert|3|°C|°F|abbr=on}}. The eastern reaches of the Hari River, including the rapids, are frozen hard in the winter, and people travel on it as on a road.