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Band-e Amir National Park ( fa, بند امیر) Afghanistan established its first national park on April 22, 2009, to promote and protect the natural beauty of a series of intensely blue lakes created by natural dams high in the Hindu Kush. Band-e-Amir is a chain of six lakes in the mountainous desert of central Afghanistan. The lakes formed from mineral-rich water that seeped out of faults and cracks in the rocky landscape. Over time, the water deposited layers of hardened mineral (travertine) that built up into walls that now contain the water. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, who helped the Afghan government set up the park, Band-e-Amir is one of the few travertine systems in the world.
They were created by the
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
rich water oozing out of the faults and fractures to deposit
calcium carbonate precipitate
In an aqueous solution, precipitation is the process of transforming a dissolved substance into an insoluble solid from a super-saturated solution. The solid formed is called the precipitate. In case of an inorganic chemical reaction leading ...
in the form of
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...
walls that today store the water of these lakes. Band-e Amir is one of the few rare natural lakes in the world which are created by travertine systems. The site of Band-e Amir has been described as Afghanistan's
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
, and draws thousands of tourists a year.
The river is part of the system of the
Balkh River The Balkh River ( fa, دریای بلخاب; ps, د بلخ سیند) or Balkhab, also known in its upper reaches as the Band-e Amir River, is a river in northern Afghanistan.
The river rises in the Band-e Amir lakes in Bamyan Province in the Hindu ...
.
History
The name Band-e Amir literally means ''"
the Ruler's Dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
"'' which is believed by some to be a reference to
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, the fourth
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
of the
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
. The area is dominated by ethnic
Hazaras
The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scatt ...
, who are estimated to make up about 40 percent of
Afghanistan's population.
In her 1970 guide to Afghanistan,
Nancy Dupree
Nancy Hatch Dupree ( ps, نانسي دوپري, translit=Nansi dupri; October 3, 1927 – September 10, 2017) was an American-Afghan historian whose work primarily focused on the history of modern Afghanistan. She was the director of the Afghanis ...
wrote that a full description about Band-e Amir would "rob the uninitiated of the wonder and amazement it produces on all who gaze upon it". Parts of the 1975
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film
Dharmatma
''Dharmatma'' () is a 1975 Hindi thriller movie and the first Bollywood film to be shot in Afghanistan. It was produced and directed by Feroz Khan. The movie is the first attempt in India to localise ''The Godfather''. The cast includes Feroz ...
, with
Feroz Khan and
Hema Malini
Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...
, were filmed at the Band-e Amir National Park.
In 2004, Band-e Amir was submitted for recognition as a
World Heritage
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
site. Efforts to make Band-e Amir a national park started in the 1970s, but were then put on hold due to the wars.
In April 2009, Band-e Amir was finally declared Afghanistan's first national park.
[Leithead, Alastair (2008-07-15). Getting tourists to Afghanistan's 'Grand Canyon'. BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-07-15 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7506146.stm.] As of 2013, about 6,000 local tourists visit the Band-e Amir National Park every year. The area is protected by a small number of
park ranger
A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks.
Description
"Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in thi ...
s.
Geography
![Band-e-Amir National Park, Afghanistan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Band-e-Amir_National_Park%2C_Afghanistan.jpg)
Band-e Amir is situated at approximately 75 km to the north-west of the ancient city of
Bamyan
Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an alti ...
, close to the town of
Yakawlang
Yakawlang (also romanized as Yakaolang) ( fa, یکاولنگ) was a city of 65,000 people (est. 2000) in Yakawlang District, Bamyan Province, Afghanistan. It is the capital of Yakawlang District with an altitude of . It was significantly destr ...
. Together with
Bamyan Valley, they are the heart of Afghanistan's tourism, attracting thousands of tourists every year and from every corner of the world. The Band-e Amir lakes are primarily a late spring and summertime tourism destination, as the high elevation central Hazarajat region of Afghanistan is extremely cold in winter, with temperatures reaching as low as . The six constituent lakes of Band-e Amir are:
*
Band-e Gholaman (Lake of the slaves)
*
Band-e Qambar (Lake of Caliph Ali's slave)
*
Band-e Haibat (Lake of grandiose)
*
Band-e Panir (Lake of cheese)
*
Band-e Pudina (Lake of wild mint)
*
Band-e Zulfiqar (Lake of the sword of Ali)
The white travertine dams created by fault lines, which are prevalent in the Band-e Amir Valley, form the barriers between the lakes. Band-e Haibat is the biggest and the deepest of the six, with an average depth of approximately 150 metres, as estimated by the
Provincial Reconstruction Team
A Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) was a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRT ...
diving team from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Another comparable lake is
Band-e Azhdahar (The Dragon), located a few kilometres southeast of the town of Bamyan, which has also been created as a result of carbon dioxide rich water oozing out of the faults underground and depositing calcium carbonate precipitate to form the travertine walls of Band-e Amir.
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-2.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-3.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-4.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-5.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-6.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-7.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-8.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-10.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-11.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-12.jpg,
File:Band-e-Amir National Park-9.jpg, The Band-e Amir Lake
File:BandeAmir1.jpg, One of the Lakes at Band-e Amir Area
File:BandeAmir2.jpg, Another Lake at Band-e Amir Area
File:Band e Paneer.jpg, Band-e Panir
Current status
After the formal establishment of the park in 2009, a park office with a park warden and a group of rangers was installed to manage the conservation and protection of park natural resources. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is the only non-government organization with an office in the park. WCS supports park staff and works with the local community to promote conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Ecotourism is expected to decrease local economic dependency on the park's natural resources. Tourists visit Band-e-Amir primarily in the summer months when the weather is warm. A poor local economy and limited outside investment have hampered efforts to attract winter tourism.
The local people in Band-e-Amir National Park rely heavily on the park's natural resources for their livelihood. Grazing of livestock, collection of shrubs for fuel and winter fodder and rain-fed farming is still widely practiced within the park boundary. Although the illegal hunting of birds and a few mammals living in the park is formally prohibited by the park office, there is no current data to evaluate the status of wildlife and biodiversity.
Important Bird Area
A 41,000 ha tract overlapping the national park has been designated an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because it supports populations of
Himalayan snowcock
The Himalayan snowcock (''Tetraogallus himalayensis'') is a snowcock in the pheasant family Phasianidae found across the Himalayan ranges and parts of the adjoining Pamir range of Asia. It is found on alpine pastures and on steep rocky cliffs wh ...
s,
Hume's lark
Hume's short-toed lark (''Calandrella acutirostris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in south-central Asia from Iran and Kazakhstan to China.
Taxonomy and systematics
The name commemorates the British naturalist Allan ...
s,
white-winged snowfinch
The white-winged snowfinch (''Montifringilla nivalis''), or snowfinch, is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is a sparrow rather than a true finch.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description o ...
es,
Afghan snowfinch
The Afghan snowfinch (''Pyrgilauda theresae'') or the Afghan ground-sparrow, bar-tailed snowfinch, Meinertzhagen's snowfinch, or Theresa's snowfinch, is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, endemic to the northern parts of the Hind ...
es and
Eurasian crimson-winged finches.
See also
*
List of dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan
Dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan are used for irrigation, water supply, hydro-electric power generation or combination of these. Below are a map and a chart showing some of Afghanistan's dams and reservoirs.
Location map of major reservoirs an ...
*
Natural areas of Afghanistan
This is a list of protected areas of Afghanistan.UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for Afghanistan from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 15 August 2021/ref>
* Ab-i Istada, Ab-i-Estada Nature Reserve, Ghazni Province
* Ajar Va ...
*
Wakhan National Park
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Wakhan National Park is a national park in Afghanistan. Established in 2014, the park comprises the entire district of Wakhan, extending along the Wakhan Corridor between the Pamir mountains and the Hindu Kush, bordering Tajikistan t ...
*
Nuristan National Park
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Nuristan National Park is a national park in Afghanistan announced by the Government of Afghanistan on 5 June 2020 (coinciding with World Environment Day), making it the third in the country after Band-e Amir National Park and Wakhan N ...
References
Bibliography
*
Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977): ''An Historical Guide to Afghanistan''. 1st Edition: 1970. 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Afghan Tourist Organization.
External links
{{authority control
National parks of Afghanistan
Geography of Bamyan Province
Hazarajat
Lake groups of Afghanistan
Landforms of Bamyan Province
Reservoirs in Afghanistan
Protected areas established in 2009
2009 establishments in Afghanistan
Important Bird Areas of Afghanistan