Latin Caucasus Indicus
Mountain system, south-central Asia.
Some 600 mi (950 km) long, it forms a drainage divide between the Amu Darya (Oxus River) valley to the northwest and the Indus River valley to the southeast, and it runs from the Pamirs in the east near the Pakistan-China border through Pakistan to western Afghanistan. Its passes have historically been of great military significance, providing access to the northern plains of the Indian subcontinent. It includes about two dozen summits above 23,000 ft (7,000 m), including the highest, Tirich Mir, at 25,260 ft (7,699 m).