Kashmir Valley

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Map of Jhelum River & its tributaries in Kashmir Valley

Kashmir Valley is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

Variants

• Vale of Kashmir
• Kashmir valley
• Sati Sar - Earlier name of Kashmir valley

Location

The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and on the northeast by the main Himalayas range. It is approximately 135 km long and 32 km wide, and drained by the Jhelum River. The valley is bounded by sub-ranges of the Western Himalayas: the Great Himalayas bound it in the northeast and separate it from the Tibetan plateau, whereas the Pir Panjal Range in the Lesser Himalayas bounds it on the west and the south, and separates it from the Punjab Plain.

Geography

The Kashmir Valley lies between latitude 33° and 35°N, and longitude 73° and 76°E. The valley is 100 km wide and 15,520.3 km2 in area. The valley has an average elevation of 1,850 metres above sea-level, but the surrounding Pir Panjal range has an average elevation of 10,000 feet (3,000 m).

Unlike other areas of Kashmir region, the Kashmir valley is densely populated owing to the availability of a large expanse of fertile flat land.

Rivers in Kashmir Valley

The Jhelum River is the main river of the Kashmir valley. It rises at Verinag in Anantnag district; its most important tributaries are the Lidder and Sind Rivers.

The river Jhelum rises from Verinag Spring situated at the foot of the Pir Panjal in the southeastern part of the Kashmir Valley administered by India. It is joined by its tributaries Lidder River near village Mirgund at Khanabal, Veshaw River at Sangam in Anantnag, Sind River at Shadipora and Pohru River at Doabgah in Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir. It flows through Srinagar and Wular Lake before entering Pakistan-administred Kashmir through a deep narrow gorge.

Districts

Region	Name	Headquarters	Area (km²)
Kashmir	Anantnag	Anantnag	3,984
	Kulgam	Kulgam	1,067
	Pulwama	Pulwama	1,398
	Shopian	Shopian	612.87
	Budgam	Budgam	1,371
	Srinagar	Srinagar	2,228
	Ganderbal	Ganderbal	259
	Bandipora	Bandipora	398
	Baramulla	Baramulla	4,588
	Kupwara	Kupwara	2,379
	Total for division	Srinagar	15,948

कश्यपमेरु

कश्यपमेरु (AS, p.154) : कश्मीर का प्राचीन नाम अर्थात कश्यप का पर्वत. कश्मीर शब्द को कश्यपमेरु का ही रूपांतर कहा जाता है. दूसरा मत यह भी है की कश्मीर, (कश्यप की झील) का अपभ्रंश है. (दे.कश्मीर)