Tang-e Gharu

Tang-e Gharu, also known as Tang-e Gharo (Pashto: تنگ غارو), is a gorge and a mountain pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range of Kabul Province, Afghanistan.[1] The Kabul River passes through the gorge, flowing eastward.[2] The Kabul–Jalalabad Road runs through the gorge, parallel to the river.[3] Construction on the road began in the 1940s and was completed in the 1960s[3][4] replacing the ancient Lataband Pass mountain pass. Both the pass and the road are considered to be of major strategic importance, as they provide a connection to Pakistan and Russia.[5][6] Due to heavy usage during recent conflicts in Afghanistan and frequent traffic accidents, the pass and the surrounding areas have become heavily damaged and periodically closed off.[3][7]

The Kabul–Jalalabad Road passes through the Tang-E Gharu gorge.

Geology

The cliffs of Tang-e Gharu gorge are a blue-grey limestone, which was formed some 250 million years ago. However, the gorge itself is only about 2 million years old and was formed as a combination of water erosion from the river and the collapse of an underground river channel.[2]

References
  1. Tang-e Gharu at GEOnet Names Server
  2. Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 369. ISBN 0-89577-087-3.
  3. Gladstone, Cary (2001). Afghanistan Revisited. Nova Publishers. ISBN 9781590334218.
  4. Hodder-Williams, Richard; McLachlan, Keith (2013-12-16). Land-locked States of Africa and Asia. Routledge. ISBN 9781135254100.
  5. Quinn, Joyce A.; Woodward, Susan L. (2015-02-03). Earth's Landscape: An Encyclopedia of the World's Geographic Features. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610694469.
  6. McColl, R. W. (2014-05-14). Encyclopedia of World Geography. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816072293.
  7. Chang, Richard S. "The Most Dangerous Road?". Wheels Blog. Retrieved 2017-09-23.


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