The Great Pamir or Big Pamir ( Wakhi : Past Pamir ; Kyrgyz : Chong Pamir ; Persian : پامیر کلان , romanized : Pāmīr-e Kalān ) is a broad U-shaped grassy valley or pamir in the eastern part of the Wakhan in north-eastern Afghanistan and the adjacent part of Tajikistan , in the Pamir Mountains . Zorkol lake lies at the northern edge of the Great Pamir.
4-828: The valley is 60 km long, and is bounded to the north by the Southern Alichur Range and to the south by the Nicholas Range and the Wakhan Range. The Great Pamir is used by Wakhi and Kyrgyz herders for summer pasture. Side valleys support populations of Marco Polo sheep , snow leopard , ibex , and brown bear . In the past the valley was part of the Principality of Wakhan. The 57,700 ha Pamir-i-Buzurg Wildlife Reserve in Afghanistan contains an area of high mountains, within which
8-678: Is a range of mountains in the Pamir Mountains on the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan that crosses the Wakhan in Afghanistan. The range separates the Little Pamir and Great Pamir in the Wakhan. The area is sparsely populated by Wakhi and Kyrgyz . The range has peaks that rise 5500 to 5800 metres (18,000 to 19,000 ft) elevation. The range is about 160 kilometres (100 mi) in length. The Afghan-Tajik border follows
12-519: The crest of the eastern half of the range. The range was given the title Nicholas Range during the joint Russo - British Pamir Boundary Commission of 1895 that delineated the border between Russian and Afghan territory. In exchange for a British agreement to use the term Nicholas Range, in honour of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia , on official maps, the Russians agreed to refer to Lake Zorkul as Lake Victoria in honor of Queen Victoria of
16-869: 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 . 37°24′N 73°37′E / 37.400°N 73.617°E / 37.400; 73.617 Nicholas Range (Pamir Mountains) The Nicholas Range ( Persian : سلسله کوه نیکلاس), known locally as Selselehi-i Koh-i-Wakhan (سلسله کوه واخان)
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