16-635: White Mountains may refer to: Mountain ranges [ edit ] Afghanistan and Pakistan White Mountains ( Spīn Ghar ) Australia White Mountains National Park , in Queensland Greece White Mountains ( Lefka Ori ), on the island of Crete United States White Mountains (Alaska) White Mountains (Arizona) White Mountains (California) and partly in Nevada White Mountains (New England) ,
32-677: A mountain on the Afghanistan – Pakistan border, south of the Kabul River and Khyber Pass . At 4,755 m (15,600 ft), it is the highest peak of the Spīn Ghar , or Safēd Kōh, mountain range. Mount Sikaram is located north of the village of Peshawar in the Kurram District of Pakistan ’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Its parent range, Spīn Ghar connects directly with the Shandūr offshoot of
48-689: A few notable mountain passes in or near the Spīn Ghar mountain range. The famous Khyber Pass crosses a spur of the Spīn Ghar. A second crossing, near Mount Sikaram , is called Peiwar Pass or Gawi Pass and connects Parachinar city on the Pakistani side with the Aryob Valley of Paktia Province , Afghanistan. The most viable route over the main ridge of the White Mountains is the Agam Pass (3586 m), over which
64-568: A natural border between the two areas. Its highest peak is Mount Sikaram on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border , which towers above all surrounding hills to 4,755 m (15,600 ft) above mean sea level . The lower hills are mostly barren and treeless, but pine grows on the main mountains that form the East Afghan montane conifer forests . The range extends from the Peshawar valley in
80-897: A range of mountains in New Hampshire and Maine White Mountain National Forest White Mountains Region , a tourist region that encompasses the New Hampshire mountain range In fiction [ edit ] The White Mountains , the first novel in The Tripods trilogy by author John Christopher; the titular mountains are the Alps . The White Mountains (Middle-earth) , of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth Companies [ edit ] White Mountains Insurance Group See also [ edit ] White Mountain (disambiguation) White Hills (disambiguation) Sierra Blanca (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
96-536: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sp%C4%ABn Ghar The Spīn Ghar ( Pashto : سپین غر ) or Safēd Kōh ( Dari : سفیدکوه , less used in this area) meaning both White Mountains , or sometimes ( Pashto : Selseleh-ye Safīd Kūh ) meaning white mountain range , is a mountain range to the south of the Hindu Kush . It ranges from eastern Afghanistan into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan , and forms
112-620: The Eurasian Plate . The base of the mountains consists of Proterozoic gneisses and granites with admixtures of gabbros , mafic metavolcanic rocks , marble and migmatites . On the summit there are cirque glaciers, some of which are filled with scree. On the southern flank of the Sikaram Sar follow from 2500 m from bottom to top: alluvial soils in valleys, limestone and dolomite up to 4000 m, an intermediate zone of slate at 4000 m, above crystalline rock. A 20,000 hectare biotope in
128-465: The Hindu Kush mountain system. Atop the range, temperatures can fall below 0 °C (32 °F) at any time of the year. A small valley on the slope of Mount Sikaram encompasses a number of villages, districts, and tribal regions—many historically significant—including Peiwar, Alizai, Tari Mangal, Narai, Speena Shaga, and Khewas. The Gawi Pass, also known as the Peiwar Kotal Pass , runs between
144-568: The watershed between the river systems of the Kabul and Kurram . The closest cities to the Spīn Ghar are Jalalabad to the north; Gardez to the west; and Khost , and Parachinar in Pakistan to the south. The range between Herat in the west and Chaghcharan in the east is called Paropamisus Mountains . The White Mountains are part of the western rim that separates the Indian subcontinent from
160-505: The distance from Jalalabad to Parachinar is 92 km. The Durand Line border formed in 1893 between Afghanistan and British India cuts through these mountains. According to US military intelligence, many al-Qaeda fighters, including Osama bin Laden , crossed the Spīn Ghar to escape to Pakistan during the Tora Bora offensive in 2001. Bin Laden hid in the sparsely vegetated mountains in
176-833: The east about 160 kilometers west to the Logar valley in Afghanistan. The Kabul River cuts a narrow trough through the Spīn Ghar mountains to flow eastward into the Indus River . The range connects directly with the Shandur Top offshoot of the Hindu Kush mountain system. The highest peak is Mount Sikaram (Sikaram Sar) , near the Pakistani town of Parachinar in the Kurram Valley . From here it passes to Tari Mangal , Pewar , Alizai , Khewas, Shilawzan, Luqman Khel, Maikay, Chappri Rest House, Zeran, and Upper Khyber Agency . The Spīn Ghar form
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#1732837947801192-452: The northern part, called Tora Bora . After 2004, the Spīn Ghar mountain range was a pivotal place and theater of many battles fought between the foreign fighters of al-Qaeda and the joint Northern Command of the Pakistani military , with the latter trying to prevent the foreign fighters' incursion into Pakistan. Mount Sikaram Mount Sikaram ( Pashto , Dari , Urdu : سیکرم ) is
208-426: The pelvis of Jalalabad multiple harvests. Wheat, maize, various types of vegetables (onions, green beans, okra, tomatoes, etc.), cotton, opium poppies, lemons, sugar cane, and olives are also grown around Jalalabad. The Bara high valley in the southeast of the range is one of the most intensively used agricultural areas of the Pakistani tribal areas under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . Older reports speak of rich orchards in
224-466: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title White Mountains . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Mountains&oldid=1218403637 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
240-471: The southwest of Spīn Ghar is listed as an important bird area in Afghanistan. Above the nearly barren lower slopes, forests of pine and deodar cedar thrived on the main range, but devastation during the Afghan civil wars reduced timber resources. The valleys still support some agriculture. The rivers of the White Mountains serve the irrigation of the fields in the densely populated river valleys, which allows
256-449: The valleys of Spīn Ghar with mulberry and pomegranate trees. Wood from the eastern Afghan forests has been exported mainly to Pakistan since the 19th century, and in increasingly irresponsible quantities, so that Afghanistan imposed a complete export ban in 1975, which smugglers circumvented. In addition to the actual forestry there is or was a collection economy for pistachio nuts and the edible seeds of Pinus gerardiana . There are
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