Balochistan Plateau East of the Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges lies the
Balochistan Plateau with an average altitude of 2,000 ft.(610 m).
The physical features of the plateau are very varied, but mountains,
plateaus and basins predominate the scene. The Mountains spread in
various directions, attaining height 6,000- 11,000 ft. (1,830-3,335
m).
In the north are the Toba Kakar Range and Chagai hills which form
the border of Pakistan with Afghanistan for some distance. In the
west-central part is the Siahan Range and in the east-southern
corner the Mekran Range. Except for the Toba Kakar Range, which is
dotted here and there with juniper, tamarisk and pistachio trees,
all other ranges are naked and bleak. The mountains are carved off
by innumerable channels and hill torrents which contain water only
after rains. Very little water, however, reaches the basins lying on
their foot. Comparatively more important rivers are Zhob, Bolan and
Mulla, located in the north-eastern portion of Balochistan.
The valleys of the main streams and their tributaries exhibit
similar feature and consist of flat plains of alluvial soil in the
centre, with a pebbly slope of varying length rising on either sides
of the mountains. It is from these pebbly beds that the supply of
water for irrigation is chiefly obtained through Karezes. Zhob,
Bloan and their tributaries have formed two important alluvial
basins of Balochistan, namely, the Lorlai basin and Quetta basin,
which together produce a major portion of Balochistan's crops and
fruits: wheat, barley, maize, lucerne, potato, apple, apricot,
peach,almond, grape and pomegranate. Kalat Plateau at 7,000-8,000
ft. (2,135-2,440 m), in the centre of Balochistan is the most
important plateau.
The largest desert is found in western Balochistan. This is an area
of inland drainage and dry lakes (hamuns), the largest of which is
Hamun-i-Mashkhel, which is 54 miles long and 22 miles wide. The
surface is littered with sun-cracked clay, oxidized pebbles, salty
marshes and crescent-shaped movisng sand dunes. The area is known
particularly for its constant mirage and sudden severe sand-storms.
Being outside the sphere of monsoon current, Balochistan receives
scanty and irregular rainfall (4 inches); the temperature is very
high in summer and very low in winter.
Owing to continuous draught, there is very little vegetation. Most
of the people, therefore, lead nomadic life, raising camels, sheep
and goats. Balochistan is, however, fortunate to have considerable
mineral wealth of natural gas, coal, chromite, lead, sulphur and
marble. The reserves of natural gas at Sui are among the largest in
the world. The gas is piped to Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan,
Faisalabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Quetta for use as industrial
power.
