Editing Kashmir (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Kashmir top.jpg|thumb|[[Topographic map]] of Kashmir]]
[[File:Approaching_K2_Base_Camp.jpg|thumb|[[K2]], a peak in the [[Karakoram]] range, is the [[List of highest mountains on Earth|second highest mountain in the world]]]]
The Kashmir region lies between latitudes [[32nd parallel north|32°]] and [[36th parallel north|36° N]], and longitudes [[74th meridian east|74°]] and [[80th meridian east|80° E]]. It has an area of {{cvt|68000|mi2|km2}}.<ref name=drew>{{Cite book|last=[[Frederick Drew|Drew Frederic]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fVlAAAAcAAJ|title=Jummoo and Kashmir Territories |date=1875 |publisher=Stanford|pages=3–6|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117140440/https://books.google.com/books?id=_fVlAAAAcAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> It is bordered to the north and east by China (Xinjiang and Tibet), to the northwest by [[Afghanistan]] (Wakhan Corridor), to the west by [[Pakistan]] (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab) and to the south by [[India]] (Himachal Pradesh and Punjab).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tamang|first=Jyoti Prakash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EimHj9veADgC&pg=PA2|title=Himalayan Fermented Foods: Microbiology, Nutrition, and Ethnic Values |date=2009-08-17|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4200-9325-4|access-date=28 December 2022|archive-date=28 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228103212/https://books.google.com/books?id=EimHj9veADgC&pg=PA2|url-status=live}}</ref>

The topography of Kashmir is mostly mountainous. It is traversed mainly by the [[Western Himalaya]]s. The Himalayas terminate in the western boundary of Kashmir at [[Nanga Parbat]]. Kashmir is traversed by three rivers namely [[Indus River|Indus]], [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]] and [[Chenab River|Chenab]]. These river basins divide the region into three valleys separated by high mountain ranges. The Indus valley forms the north and north-eastern portion of the region which include bare and desolate areas of [[Baltistan]] and Ladakh. The upper portion of the Jhelum valley forms the proper Vale of Kashmir surrounded by high mountain ranges. The [[Chenab valley]] forms the southern portion of the Kashmir region with its denuded hills towards the south. It includes almost all of the [[Jammu Division|Jammu region]]. High altitude lakes are frequent at high elevations. Lower down in the Vale of Kashmir there are many freshwater lakes and large areas of swamplands which include [[Wular Lake]], [[Dal Lake]] and [[Hokersar]] near [[Srinagar]].<ref name=flowers>{{Cite book|last=B. O. Coventry|title=Wild flowers of Kashmir |publisher=Raithby, Lawrence & Co.|place=London|year=1923 |url=http://archive.org/details/WildFlowersOfKashmir}}</ref>

[[File:Kashmir map (UN).png|center|thumb|300px|Simplified [[UN]] map of Kashmir and its surrounding area and rivers]]
To the north and northeast, beyond the Great Himalayas, the region is traversed by the [[Karakoram]] mountains. To the northwest lies the Hindu Kush mountain range. The upper Indus River separates the Himalayas from the Karakoram.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Western Himalayas {{!}} mountains, Asia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/western-Himalayas |access-date=2020-10-29 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |archive-date=28 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228233852/https://www.britannica.com/place/western-Himalayas|url-status=live}}</ref> The Karakoram is the most heavily glaciated part of the world outside the polar regions. The [[Siachen Glacier]] at {{cvt|76|km|mi}} and the [[Biafo Glacier]] at {{cvt|63|km|mi}} rank as the world's second and third longest glaciers outside the polar regions. Karakoram has four [[eight-thousander]] mountain peaks with [[K2]], the second highest peak in the world at {{cvt|8611|m|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-longest-non-polar-glaciers-in-the-world.html|title=Longest non polar glaciers in the world|website=Worldatlas|date=25 April 2017|access-date=2020-10-27|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031015000/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-longest-non-polar-glaciers-in-the-world.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-12-17|title=The Eight-Thousanders |url=https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/8000MeterPeaks|access-date=2020-10-27|url-status=live |website=www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov |archive-date=3 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503184334/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/8000MeterPeaks/}}</ref>

[[File:Indus river basin without boundaries of disputed regions.png|thumb|The Indus River system]]
The Indus River system forms the [[drainage basin]] of the Kashmir region. The river enters the region in Ladakh at its southeastern corner from the [[Tibetan Plateau]], and flows northwest to run a course through the entire Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan. Almost all the rivers originating in these region are part of the Indus river system.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Indus River {{!}} Definition, Length, Map, History, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River|access-date=2020-10-27|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=7 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507163743/https://www.britannica.com/place/Indus-River|url-status=live}}</ref> After reaching the end of the Great Himalayan range, the Indus turns a corner and flows southwest into the Punjab plains. The Jhelum and Chenab rivers also follow a course roughly parallel to this, and join the Indus river in southern Punjab plains in Pakistan.

The geographical features of the Kashmir region differ considerably from one part to another. The lowest part of the region consists of the plains of Jammu at the southwestern corner, which continue into the plains of Punjab at an elevation of below 1000 feet. Mountains begin at 2000 feet, then raising to 3000–4000 feet in the "Outer Hills", a rugged country with ridges and long narrow valleys. Next within the tract lie the Middle Mountains which are 8000–10,000 feet in height with ramifying valleys. Adjacent to these hills are the lofty [[Great Himalayas|Great Himalayan]] ranges (14000–15000 feet) which divide the drainage of the [[Chenab River|Chenab]] and [[Jehlum River|Jehlum]] from that of the Indus. Beyond this range lies a wide tract of mountainous country of 17000–22000 feet in Ladakh and [[Baltistan]].<ref name=drew/>{{Clarify|reason=It is unclear how all these ranges relate to the geography; where is the Kashmir Valley in this system?|date=April 2021}}

===Climate===
{{climate chart
| Srinagar
| −2 | 7 | 48
| −0.7 | 8.2 | 68
| 3.4 | 14.1 | 121
| 7.9 | 20.5 | 85
| 10.8 | 24.5 | 68
| 14.9 | 29.6 | 39
| 18.1 | 30.1 | 62
| 17.5 | 29.6 | 76
| 12.1 | 27.4 | 28
| 5.8 | 22.4 | 33
| 0.9 | 15.1 | 28
| −1.5 | 8.2 | 54
| float = right
| source = HKO<ref name = HKO>{{cite web
| url = http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/asia/india/srinagar_e.htm
| title = Climatological Information for Srinagar, India
| publisher = [[Hong Kong Observatory]]
| access-date = 2012-06-09
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120406095303/http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/asia/india/srinagar_e.htm
| archive-date = 6 April 2012
| url-status = live
}}</ref> }}
Kashmir has a different climate for every region owing to the great variation in altitude. The temperatures ranges from the tropical heat of the Punjab summer to the intensity of the cold which keeps the perpetual snow on the mountains. Jammu Division, excluding the upper parts of the Chenab Valley, features a humid subtropical climate. The Vale of Kashmir has a moderate climate. The [[Astore Valley]] and some parts of [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] features a semi-Tibetan climate. While as the other parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh have Tibetan climate which is considered as almost rainless climate.<ref name=drew/><ref>{{Cite book|last=[[Aurel Stein|Stein M. A.]]|url=http://archive.org/details/anceintgeographyofkashmirsteinm.a._667_j|title=Ancient Geography Of Kashmir|date=1899|publisher=Kamala Dara|pages=257–269}}</ref>

The southwestern Kashmir which includes much of the Jammu province and Muzaffarabad falls within the reach of Indian monsoon. The Pir Panjal Range acts as an effective barrier and blocks these monsoon tracts from reaching the main Kashmir Valley and the Himalayan slopes. These areas of the region receive much of their precipitation from the wind currents of the Arabian Sea. The Himalayan slope and the Pir Panjal witness greatest snow melting from March until June. These variations in snow melt and rainfall have led to destructive inundations of the main valley. One instance of such Kashmir flood of a larger proportion is recorded in the 12th-century book ''[[Rajatarangini]]''. A single cloudburst in July 1935 caused the upper Jehlum river level to rise 11 feet.<ref>{{Cite book|author2=[[T. T. Paterson]]|author=[[Helmut de Terra]]|url=http://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.3233|title=Studies on the ice age in India and associated human cultures|publisher=Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1939}}</ref> The [[2014 India–Pakistan floods|2014 Kashmir floods]] inundated the Kashmir city of Srinagar and submerged hundreds of other villages.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2014-09-07|title=India Pakistan floods: Kashmir city of Srinagar inundated|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29100226|access-date=2020-11-01|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111183926/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29100226|url-status=live}}</ref>