Garam Chashma (literally: Hot Spring ) is one of the many branch valleys of Chitral District , situated in the extreme north-west of Pakistan . It is one of the highest human settlements in the Hindukush ranges with an altitude of almost 2550 meters (8389 feet). The place is known for its hot spring , which is one of the tourist attraction sites. It is also famous for its trout fish. The water flowing down through the length of the valley is famous for fishing sports. The Lotkoh River (Garam Chashma River) running down from the lofty peaks of the Hindu Kush is most suitable for the brown type of trout fish. Other features of the area include snow-covered peaks, pleasant weather, and natural springs, and more recently, has remained in the limelight for being a potential site of hydropower generation. Besides tourists, people suffering from skin diseases also visit the hot spring for treatment (not proven scientifically). It is located in the northwest of Chitral at a distance of about forty-eight kilometres by road. It shares international borders with Afghanistan being situated in the extreme northwest of Pakistan. Dorāh Pass (14,940 feet [4,554 metres) connects this part of Pakistan with Badakhshan , the adjacent province of Afghanistan.
15-540: The spring water emerges from underground sulfur deposits making its temperature rise above boiling point. For the same reason, the spring is also known as Sulphur Spring . The spring is the warmest in the westward extension of the Himalayan Geothermal Belt . It emerges from leucogranites of the Hindu Kush Range that date from 20–18 Ma. Reservoir temperatures may be as high as 260 °C (500 °F). It
30-501: A dialect spoken in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan . In addition, many people understand and some can even speak Persian . This is due to the influence of Nasir Khisraw , the eleventh-century poet and philosopher. One of his disciples had come to this part of the region and settled here permanently. He preached the Ismaili thought, hence marking the dawn of Ismailism in this part of
45-616: Is a light-colored, granitic , igneous rock containing almost no dark minerals . Leucogranites have been reported from a variety of orogenies involving continental collisions . Examples include the Black Hills ( Trans-Hudson orogeny of Proterozoic age), the Blue Ridge basement complex ( Grenville orogeny of Proterozoic age), the Paleozoic Appalachian orogeny in Maine , and
60-603: Is a region that extends for 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) through India, Tibet, Yunnan, Myanmar and Thailand, and that contains many geothermal fields. The Himalayan Geothermal Belt was formed as a result of the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate , which created the Himalayas . The belt is more than 150 kilometres (93 mi) wide. The HGB has an extension to the westward that shows in warm or hot springs in
75-547: Is made of leucogranite, which solidified from an underground intrusion of molten magma about 525 million years ago during the Cambrian period . A study of sodium-rich quartz - alkali feldspar — biotite gneiss granulite facies terrane in the Kerala Khondalite Belt near Manali in south India found that in situ leucosomes (light colored segregations) within the gneiss showed the development of garnet replacing
90-579: Is not clear whether the circulation of deep groundwater in this region is driven by topography or by tectonic lateral stress. More than 150 of the geothermal fields have the potential to generate energy. There is a binary plant in Thailand that generates 300 kWe from 117 degrees C water. The Yangbajain Geothermal Field is in the Lhasa-Gangdise terrane . It is in an active part of a slip-fault zone of
105-483: Is not clear whether the circulation of deep groundwater in this region is driven by topography or by tectonic lateral stress. The Khowar is the official language spoken in this valley. The population of Garam Chashma is approximately 50,000 people. Since the last census in Pakistan was conducted in 1998, there is no precise source of information in this regard. The male-to-female ratio is almost 50-50. Almost 60 percent of
120-631: The Nyainqentanglha Mountains and fractured Himalayan granite. A shallow reservoir has temperatures up to 165 °C (329 °F), while a deep reservoir has temperatures up to 329 °C (624 °F). The first 1 MWe turbine came into operation in September 1977, and capacity had been increased to 25.18 MWe by 1991. As of 2007 another 7 MWe was being generated by seven small plants in Tibet and Yunnan. Leucogranite Leucogranite
135-865: The Peshawar region of Pakistan. These are clustered along the Main Karakoram Thrust, Main Mantle Thrust and Main Central Thrust. Some authors consider that the belt extends yet further west and should be called the Mediterranean-Himalayan Geothermal Belt. Heat transfer in the HGB mainly occurs in "heat bands", 30 to 50 kilometres (19 to 31 mi) wide, within which there are at least 600 associated geothermal systems. These may be interpreted as segments of slip lines caused by deformation of
150-508: The 1990s and deep drilling results it is now thought that the heat source is granite that has remelted to magma due to the collision of the plates. The warmest hot spring in the westward extension at 68 °C (154 °F) is the Garam Chashma Hot Springs, which emerge from in post-collisional leucogranites of the Hindu Kush Range that date from 20–18 Ma. Reservoir temperatures may be as high as 260 °C (500 °F). It
165-478: The currently active Himalayan orogeny. The leucogranite magmas are interpreted to have been derived by partial melting of pelitic rocks in the upper portions of thickened crust . These melts result following deformation and metamorphism , but the heat source is uncertain. Shear-heating associated with large shear zones in the crust has been proposed as the mechanism. Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy , France
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#1732855738056180-400: The dark biotite . The study indicated localized melting or migmatization within the gneiss. This was followed by intrusion of the gneiss by garnet-bearing leucogranitic melts. Strontium isotope ratios of the leucogranite intrusives are distinct from that of the gneiss and associated leucosomes. This indicates the leucogranite melts were not derived from the local gneiss, however the gneiss
195-512: The ductile crust in the Asian tectonic plate . In the eastern Himalayas the heat bands transfer two to three times as much heat as in the western Himalayas. This may be due to the Indian plate rotating in a counter-clockwise direction as it penetrates the Asian plate. The thermal waters in Tibet were thought to be meteoric in origin, and the heat source to be decaying radioactive nuclides. Due to studies in
210-634: The population is young people. The majority religion in Garam Chashma is Ismaili Shi'ite Islam and adherence to the Aga Khan is widespread. Khowar is the main language spoken and understood by the majority of the population. The second most spoken language is Yidgha , an Iranian language spoken by a few thousand people in Parabeg valley. A small number of people, in Gobor Valley, also speak Sheikhan-War,
225-624: The world. More recently, the neighbouring country, Afghanistan, was involved in the war with the USSR and as a result, a huge influx of refugees fled to this area. Since Garam Chashma was easily accessible from Badakhshan , many Afghans chose to stay and some of the refugees are still living here. This interaction with Dari speakers refreshed the memories associated with Persian. 35°59′50″N 71°33′50″E / 35.99722°N 71.56389°E / 35.99722; 71.56389 Himalayan Geothermal Belt The Himalayan Geothermal Belt (HGB)
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