Afghanistan and surroundings,coloured satellite image. North is at top. Vegetation is green,deserts are pink,mountains are grey,water is dark blue,snow/ice is light blue,and borders are black. Much of Afghanistan (upper left) is mountainous,over half being at elevations of over 2000 metres. Deserts and rocky plains are also extensive. In the east,the ground rises to the glacier-covered peaks (top right) of the Hindu Kush,an extension of the western Himalayas. Only 15% of the land is suitable for farming. Years of war have left much of this unusable,due to neglect and the planting of explosive mines |