Hydrology – GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF TAJIKISTAN

GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF TAJIKISTAN

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22

Sep

Water & Rivers

GeoSociety

Irrigation Heritage: Qanats and Old Systems

Beneath the sun-baked fields of Tajikistan lie the traces of another geography—one built not of asphalt and canals, but of tunnels, shafts, and whispers of flowing water. These are the qanats, or karez, ancient irrigation systems that once sustained oases and villages long before Soviet concrete channels drew straight lines across the land. In places
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17

Mar

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

Shrinking Wetlands in Sughd

The wetlands of Sughd are easy to miss. Seen from the road between Zafarobod and Istaravshan, they look like shimmering patches of reeds and shallow water, a blur of green against the gray-brown loess plains. But beneath that surface lies one of the most fragile geographies in northern Tajikistan: a network of seasonal lakes, backwaters,
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2

Jan

Hazards & Safety

GeoSociety

Avalanches and Climate Change

Each winter, as the high valleys of Tajikistan disappear under snow, the country holds its breath. In the Pamirs and the Alay ranges, avalanches descend without warning, cutting roads, sweeping away power lines, and, every few years, claiming lives. They are among the most dramatic expressions of mountain geography—sudden, unpredictable, and amplified by change. For
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11

Oct

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

The Vakhsh Valley: Agriculture and Risk

The Vakhsh Valley lies at the center of Tajikistan’s agricultural heartland—a long, sunlit corridor stretching south from the foothills near Danghara to the Afghan border. It is a place of abundance and unease. Here, the geography that makes farming possible also makes it precarious. Fertile alluvial soils spread across ancient river terraces; snowmelt from the
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10

Aug

Climate & Glaciers

GeoSociety

Glacial Monitoring: Science on High Ice

At over 5,000 meters in elevation, the glaciers of Tajikistan look eternal. Their white surfaces crown the Pamirs and feed every major river that sustains life below. Yet to scientists who have spent decades measuring them, the ice no longer feels timeless—it feels fragile, restless, and receding. Glacial monitoring in Tajikistan is a story of
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24

Aug

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

Salinization of Irrigated Soils

In the irrigated lowlands of Tajikistan, soil is not just ground—it is the country’s quiet infrastructure. It holds the water that feeds cotton, wheat, and vegetables; it anchors the livelihoods of millions who depend on the river-fed plains of Khatlon, Vakhsh, and Sughd. Yet these same fertile fields are turning saline. White crusts appear on
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3

Dec

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

The Fann Mountains: Tourism, Ecology, and Pressure

The Fann Mountains rise like a sudden wall from the Zeravshan Valley, their jagged limestone peaks and turquoise lakes drawing both mountaineers and local families during the brief, luminous summers. Tucked in northwestern Tajikistan between the Zeravshan and Gissar ranges, this compact but dramatic mountain system has become one of the country’s primary destinations for
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14

Jul

Water & Rivers

GeoSociety

Riverine Fisheries: Decline and Adaptation

On the lower reaches of Tajikistan’s rivers, as spring runoff gives way to summer flows, fishermen gather at dawn along the banks with nets, handlines, and aging wooden boats. Their activity is both timeless and newly fragile. Riverine fisheries, which once was an abundant, integral part of local livelihoods and riparian ecosystems have been steadily
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8

Jun

Cities & Society

GeoSociety

Pamir Highway: Roads as Lifelines and Fault Lines

The Pamir Highway begins in whispers. Asphalt emerges from Dushanbe’s dense urban fabric and slowly winds into hills, climbing toward the high plateaus like a ribbon laid across the bones of the Earth. Officially known as the M41, this road is one of the world’s highest international highways, crossing passes over 4,000 meters as it
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9

Oct

Climate & Glaciers

GeoSociety

Glacial Permafrost Thaw in the Pamirs

High in the Pamirs, where the landscape folds into sharp ridges and cirques, ice is not confined to glaciers alone. Much of it lies hidden within the ground, frozen into the soil and rock. This is permafrost: a perennially frozen ground that has shaped Pamiri landscapes for millennia. Now, under a warming climate, that frozen
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