Islamabad (
اسلام آباد) Nickname
The Green City is the capital of
Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the
Islamabad Capital Territory (
ICT), The greater Islamabad-Rawalpindi
Metropolitan Area is the third largest conurbation in Pakistan with a population of over
4.5 million inhabitants.
Islamabad is located in the
Pothohar Plateau in the northeastern part of the country, within the Islamabad Capital Territory. The region has historically been a part of the crossroads of
Punjab and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with
Margalla pass acting as the gateway between the two regions.[3] The city was built during the
1960s to replace
Karachi as
Pakistan's capital. Islamabad is a well-organised international city divided into several different sectors and zones. It is regarded as the most developed city in Pakistan and is ranked as a Gamma- world city.[4] The city is home to
Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in well-organised international city[5] and the fourth largest mosque in the world.[
6][7]
Islamabad has the highest literacy rate in Pakistan[8] and is home to the some of the top-ranked universities in Pakistan, including
Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan
Institute of Engineering &
Applied Sciences and
National University of Sciences and
Technology.[9]
Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad is one of the world's largest universities by enrollment Islamabad is located at 33.43°
N 73.04°E at the
Northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau and at the foot of the
Margalla Hills in Islamabad Capital Territory. Its elevation is 540 metres (1,770 ft).[31][32] The modern capital and the ancient Gakhar city of
Rawalpindi stand side by side and are commonly referred to as the
Twin Cities,[33] where no exact boundary exists between the two cities.[20] To the northeast of the city lies the hill station of
Murree The Margalla Hills—also called
Margalla Mountain Range are also a part of lesser Himalayas located north of Islamabad. Margalla
Range has an area of 12,605 hectares.The hills are a part of Murree hills.It is a range with many valleys as well as high mountains.
The hill range nestles between an elevation of 685 meters at the western end and 1,
604 meters on its east with average height of
1000 meters. Its highest peak is
Tilla Charouni.The range gets snowfall in winters.
The Margallas are an excellent place for bird watchers. The area is home to a large number of birds, including robins, sparrows, kites, crows, larks, paradise flycatchers, black partridge, shrikes, pheasants, spotted doves,
Egyptian vultures, falcons, hawks, eagles,
Himalayan Griffon vulture,
Laggar falcon,
Peregrine falcon,
Kestrel,
Indian sparrow hawk,
White cheeked bulbul, yellow vented bulbul,
Paradise flycatcher,
Cheer pheasant, Khalij pheasant,
Golden oriole,
Spotted dove,
Collared dove, Wheatears and buntings. Margalla has a variety of mammals, they include the
Leopard,
Gray Goral,
Barking Deer,
Wild Boar,
Jackal,
Red Fox and the
Porcupine among others.
Rawal Lake in Pakistan is an artificial reservoir that provides the water needs for the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Korang River along with some other small streams coming from Margalla Hills have been set to form this artificial lake which covers an area of 8.8 km². Korang River is the outlet stream of
Rawal Dam. Rawal Lake is located within an isolated section of the
Margalla Hills National Park
- published: 09 Aug 2012
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