KABUL RIVER, a river of Afghanistan,
300 m.' in length. The Kabul (ancient Kophcs),
which is the most important (although not the
largest) river in Afghanistan, rises at the foot
of the Unai pass leading over the Sanglakh range,
an offshoot of the Hindu Kush
Mountains towards Bamian and Afghan
Turkestan. Its
basin forms the province of Kabul, which includes
all northern Afghanistan between the Hindu Kush
and the Safed Koh ranges. From its source to the
city of Kabul the course of the river is only 45
m., and this part of it is often exhausted in
summer for purposes of irrigation. Half a mile
east of Kabul it is joined by the
Logar, a much larger river, which rises beyond
Ghazni among the slopes of the Gul Koh
(14,200 ft.), and drains the rich and picturesque
valleys of Logar and Wardak. Below the confluence
the Kabul becomes a rapid stream with a great
volume of water and gradually absorbs the whole
drainage of the Hindu Kush. About 40 m. below Kabulthe
Panjshir river joins it; 15 m. farther the Tagao;
20 m. from the Tagao junction the united streams
of Alingar and Alishang (rivers of Kafiristan);
and 20 m. below that, at Balabagh, the Surkhab
from the Safed Koh. Two or three miles below
Jalalabad it is joined by the Kunar, the river of
Chitral. Thenceforward it passes by deep gorges
through the Mohmand hills, curving northward
until it emerges into the Peshawarplain at
Michni. Soon afterwards it receives the Swat
river from the north and the Bara river from the
south, and after a further course of 40 m. falls
into the Indusat Attock. From Jalalabad downwards
the river is navigable by boats or rafts of
inflated skins, and is considerably used for
purposes of commerce
The Encyclopędia Britannica: A Dictionary of
Arts, Sciences, Literature and General
Information
By Hugh Chisholm Published by At the University
press, 1911