Environment of the Central Asian Highlands

The report presents a survey of environmental conditions - physiography, vegetation, and climate - which might affect military personnel and equipment above the 2,000- meter elevation in Central Asia. These highlands include some of the worlds highest and most inacessible mountain ranges, such as the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir, Hindu Kush, Kun Lun Shan, Anme Machin, Tien Shan, Nan Shan, and Great Snowy Range, as well as the high plateaus of Tibet and the generally lower mountains of Mongolia. The study treats portions of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, China including all of occupied Tibet, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim, and the Soviet Union. It is organized in two parts a general synopsis of environmental characteristics of the area as a whole, and a series of more detailed treatments by sections. For the latter, Central Asia is subdivided into five sections comprising the Sino-Burmese Ranges, Tibetan Plateau and associated ranges, Pamir Knot and associated ranges, Tiem Shan and associated ranges, and the Mongolian Highlands. All of these except the Mongolian Highlands are shown in topographic and cultural maps at a scale of approximately 13,800,000. The distribution of terrain, vegetation, and climatic elements over the area as a whole is shown in a series of smaller-scale maps at 110,000,000.