| |
Chiniot
is situated in Province Punjab:
The Punjab plain comprises
mainly the province of Punjab. It is the gift of
River Indus and its five eastern tributaries- Jhelum,
Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas.
The plain spreads from the south of Potohar plateau
up to Mithankot, where Sulaiman Range approaches
river Indus. The Punjab plain is almost a featureless
plain with a gentle slope southward averaging one
foot to the mile. The only break in the alluvial
monotony is the little group of broken hills(100
ft-1,600ft.) near Sangla and Irana on either side
of the
Chenab. The entire plain is extensively irrigated
by a network of canals. This system has been greatly
expanded and improved in recent years by the construction
of link-canals, dams and barrages as a result of
the Indus Water Treaty with India, which awarded
the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab)
to Pakistan, and the three eastern rivers (Ravi,Sutlej
and Beas) to India. Tarbela Dam on river Indus and
Mangla Dam on River Jhelum, which have water storage
capacities of 11.1 million acre ft. and 5.55 million
acre ft. respectively, need a special mention. Irrigation
water is supplemented by summer and winter rains(15-20
inches) so that a variety of crops is raised, the
major one being wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane.
The region has earned the name of granary of Pakistan.
However, the blessings of canal irrigation have
not been without a curse, which render about 100,000
acres of land unproductive every year through water-logging
and salinity. The menace has been greatly controlled
through salinity control and reclamation projects.
Agricultural development boosted urbanization and
industrialization so that the region has emerged
as the most important economically developed area
of Pakistan, containing over 56 per cent of the
population and most of the commercial and industrial
centres of the country, such as Lahore (2,922,000),Faisalabad
(1,092.000). Multan (730,000), Gujranwala (596,000),
Sialkot (297,000) and Gujrat (154,000) and Chiniot
Latitude 31 40 N Longitude 73 00 E Agriculture is
thus almost entirely dependent on rainfall of 15-20
inches and on the small dams built in the catchments
areas of the streams.
Fields of wheat, barley, jowar,
bajra and pulses are found in valley bottoms and
on the terraced slopes along river banks. A new
economic factor has been introduced by the establishment
of a few factories in Rawalpindi and Islamabad and
a large industrial area in the Taxila-Wah-Hassanabdal
triangle, where a large cement factory was already
in existence. The region is particularly known for
its oilfields in Khaur-Dhulian neighbourhood, the
ancient civilization sites in Soan valley, the ruins
and the Buddhist University at Taxila and the new
capital, Islamabad, which stands north of the old
city of Rawalpindi (806,000) at the southern slops
of Murree hills, the popular Holiday resort of the
country. Salt Range The ramparts of the Salt Range
stretching from east to west in the south separate
potohar upland from the Punjab plain. The average
height of the Salt Range is about 700 meters, but
near Sakesar in Sargodha district, it rises to 1,500
meters, making summer pleasant. The southern face
is remarkably steep, dissected and intensely arid.
But, the northern slope is gentle and has sparse
vegetation of oleanders and wild olives.
The top of the range is a narrow
belt of isolated plateaus and basins, where, sparse
stunted trees and fields of wheat and maize are
found. However, the real importance of the salt
mines lies in the large deposits of pure salt at
Khewra and Kalabagh and the large seams of coal
at Dandot and Makerwal. |
