Paropamisus Mountains

The highlands west of Bamiyan are a country of bare ridges and deeply cut valleys. Streams rising here feed the headwaters of the Balkhab and other rivers descending toward the northern plains. Near Yakawlang, the waters of Band-e Amir collect behind natural travertine dams, forming a chain of lakes amid the pale mountains. The same high terrain separates these basins from the mountain valleys that drain eastward into the Kunduz River system.