Panjkora River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Panjkoraدریائے پنجکوڑہ |
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| Country | Pakistan |
| province | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Region | Upper Dir |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Hindu Kush Mountains 3,600 m (11,800 ft) |
| River mouth | Swat River Chakdara |
| Length | 220 km (140 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries |
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The Panjkora River (Urdu: دریائے پنجکوڑہ) is a river in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwestern Pakistan.
Contents
Course
The river's headwaters are high in the glaciers of Hindu Kush Mountains. It flows south through the Upper Dir District and the Lower Dir District.
Its confluence with the Swat River is in the Malakand District near totakan. The Swat River is a tributary of the Kabul River, part of the Indus River basin.
Archaeology
The Panjkora Valley contains important sites of the Gandhara grave culture.
Timergara, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Chakdara, is the site of excavated ancient graves, dating from 1500 to 600 BC. On the west side of the Panjkora River is the excavated site of Balambat. The site has been occupied continuously since 1500 BC. Houses dating from 500 BC have been discovered here. Fire altars were also discovered, evidence of Yajna, a ritual practice which is part of Hinduism. The Gandhara grave culture is the earliest phase of Indo-Aryan migrations into the Indian subcontinent. It was part of the Early Vedic culture.
The Talash Valley, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from Chakdara, has many Buddhist sites. Buddhist stupas and monasteries, which have not been excavated, are on both sides of the road towards Dir. At the west end of the valley is the Kat Kala Pass. Olaf Caroe identified this place with Massaga which was captured by Alexander the Great in 327BC. There are also crumbling remains of a massive Parthian fort of the 8th to 10th centuries.
Fishing
The Panjkora River is the natural habitat of trout and other freshwater fish sought by anglers. the most common species are cyprinids. snow trout (Schizothorax plagiostomus) is most common game fish in the upper part of River Panjkora at Kumrat Valley.Brown trout and Rainbow trout are exotic species, they were introduced by Britishers in 1928 while snow trout and other cyprinids are native species of River Panjkora.
Images for kids
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Example of the river Panjkora in heavy stream towards the mouth.
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The Panjkora River flood plains near the swat river.
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Panjkora River, lower Dir. The edges of the river can be incredibly steep creating the high velocity runoff seen during the floods.
