Kashmir Valley

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For other uses, see Kashmir (disambiguation).

Kashmir Valley
Administrative Division
Kashmir valley seen from a satellite. Snow-capped peaks of the Pir Panjal Range (left in the image; southwest in compass) and the Himalayas (right in image; northeast in compass) flank the valley
Kashmir valley seen from a satellite. Snow-capped peaks of the Pir Panjal Range (left in the image; southwest in compass) and the Himalayas (right in image; northeast in compass) flank the valley
Kashmir Division (bordered orange) shown within the wider Kashmir region
Kashmir Division (bordered orange) shown within the wider Kashmir region
Country India
Union territoryJammu and Kashmir
DistrictsAnantnag, Baramulla, Budgam, Bandipore, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Srinagar.
HeadquartersSrinagar
Historical divisions
List
  • Kamraz (North Kashmir)[1]
  • Yamraz (Central Kashmir)[1]
  • Maraz ( South Kashmir)[1]
Government
 • TypeDivision
 • Divisional CommissionerPandurang Kondbarao Pole
Area
 • Total15,948 km2 (6,158 sq mi)
Dimensions
 • Length135[2] km (83.885 mi)
 • Width32[2] km (19.884 mi)
Elevation
1,620[2] m (5,314 ft)
Population
 (2011[3])
 • Total6,907,622[3]
 • Density450.06/km2 (1,165.7/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Kashmiris, Koshur
Ethnicity and language
 • LanguagesKashmiri, Urdu, Hindi,[4] English,[5] Pahari people (Kashmir), Gojri, Shina
 • Ethnic groupsKashmiri, Pahari people, Gujar, Shina
 • Religion (2011[6])96.41% Islam,
2.45% Hinduism,
0.81% Sikhism,
0.17% Christianity
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationJK
Highest peakMachoi Peak (5458 metres)
Largest lakeWular lake(260 km2 (100 sq mi))[7]
Longest riverJhelum river(725 kilometres)[8]
Websitehttp://kashmirdivision.nic.in/

The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in the portion of the Kashmir region administered by India. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and on the northeast by the main Himalayas range. It is approximately 135 km (84 mi) long and 32 km (20 mi) wide, and drained by the Jhelum River.[2]

The Kashmir Division is a revenue and administrative division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmir division borders Jammu Division to the south and Ladakh to the east while Line of Control forms its northern and the western border. The division consists of the following districts: Anantnag, Baramulla, Budgam, Bandipore, Ganderbal, Kupwara, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Srinagar.[9]

Districts[edit]

See also: List of districts of Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmir Division consists of ten districts:

Name of
district 		HQ Area Population[10]
Total
(km2) 		Total
(sq mile) 		Rural
(km2) 		Urban
(km2) 		2001
census 		2011
census
Anantnag Anantnag 3,574 1,380 3,475.8 98.2 [11] 778,408 1,070,144
Kulgam Kulgam 410 158 360.2 49.8 [12] 394,026 422,786
Pulwama Pulwama 1,086 419 1,047.5 38.6 [13] 441,275 570,060
Shopian Shopian 312 120 306.6 5.4 [14] 211,332 265,960
Budgam Budgam 1,361 525 1,312.0 49.1 [15] 607,181 735,753
Srinagar Srinagar 1,979 764 1,684.4 294.5 [16] 1,027,670 1,269,751
Ganderbal Ganderbal 259 100 233.6 25.4 [17] 217,907 297,003
Bandipore Bandipore 345 133 295.4 49.6 [18] 304,886 385,099
Baramulla Baramulla 4,243 1,638 4,179.4 63.6 [19] 843,892 1,015,503
Kupwara Kupwara 2,379 919 2,331.7 47.3 [20] 650,393 875,564
Total 15,948 6,158 15,226.4 721.5 5,476,970 6,907,623

Srinagar is its main city and also the summer capital of the Jammu and Kashmir. Other main cities are Baramulla, Anantnag, Pulwama.

Climate[edit]

Srinagar
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
48
 
 
7
−2
 
 
68
 
 
8
−1
 
 
121
 
 
14
3
 
 
85
 
 
21
8
 
 
68
 
 
25
11
 
 
39
 
 
30
15
 
 
62
 
 
30
18
 
 
76
 
 
30
18
 
 
28
 
 
27
12
 
 
33
 
 
22
6
 
 
28
 
 
15
1
 
 
54
 
 
8
−2
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: HKO [21]

Kashmir Valley has a moderate climate, which is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering Karakoram Range in the north, Pir Panjal Range in the south and west and Zanskar Range in the east.[22] It can be generally described as cool in the spring and autumn, mild in the summer and cold in the winter. As a large valley with significant differences in geo-location among various districts, the weather is often cooler in the hilly areas compared to the flat lower part.

Summer is usually mild and fairly dry, but relative humidity is generally high and the nights are cool. The precipitation occurs throughout the year and no month is particularly dry. The hottest month is July (mean minimum temperature 16 °C, mean maximum temperature 32 °C) and the coldest are December–January (mean minimum temperature −15 °C, mean maximum temperature 0 °C).

Compared with other plain parts of India, Kashmir valley enjoys a more moderate climate but weather conditions are unpredictable. The recorded high temperature is 33 °C and the recorded low is −18 °C. On 5 and 6 January 2012, after years of relatively little snow, a wave of heavy snow and low temperatures (winter storm) shocked the valley covering it in a thick layer of snow and ice.

Kashmir Valley has seen an increase in relative humidity and annual precipitation in the last few years. This is most likely because of the commercial afforestation projects which also include expanding parks and green cover.

  • Different seasons and climatic conditions in Kashmir

  • Autumn

  • Winter

  • Spring

  • Summer

Transport[edit]

Kashmir valley is connected to Jammu Division and Ladakh region by road and air. It has access to Jammu Division and the rest of India through the Banihal road tunnel near Qazigund on national highway NH 1A and through NH 1B that passes through Sinthan pass and Kishtwar.

Srinagar Airport (SXR) is the main airport in Kashmir Valley and has scheduled flights from Jammu, Leh, Mumbai, Chandigarh and New Delhi. Kashmir valley has a 119 km (74 mi) long modern railway line that started in October 2009 and connects Baramulla in the western part of the valley to Srinagar and Qazigund. It further links the Kashmir Valley to Banihal across the Pir Panjal mountains through the new 11.215 km (6.969 mi) long Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel or Banihal rail tunnel from 26 June 2013. Banihal railway station will be linked to the rest of India in another few years as the construction of the railway line from Jammu to Banihal progresses steadily. Transport within the valley is predominantly by road. Other airports are in Udhampur, Leh and Jammu. Another airport is proposed in Anantnag.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Spoken Kashmiri: A Language Course". Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Vale of Kashmir | valley, India". Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF). The Gazette of India. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Parliament passes JK Official Languages Bill, 2020". Rising Kashmir. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  6. ^ Religion Data of Census 2011: XV Jammu and Kashmir, https://blog.cpsindia.org/2016/02/religion-data-of-census-2011-xv-jammu.html?m=1 Archived 24 January 2021[Date mismatch] at Archive.today
  7. ^ "Wular Lake | lake, India". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Jhelum River | river, Asia". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  9. ^ "In Depth-the future of Kashmir". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  10. ^ Census of India 2011, Provisional Population Totals Paper 1 of 2011 : Jammu & Kashmir. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (Report).
    Annexure V, Ranking of Districts by Population Size, 2001 - 2011 (Report).
  11. ^ District Census Handbook Anantnag, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 9. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Anantnag, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 12, 22. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  12. ^ District Census Handbook Kulgam, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 10. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Kulgam, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 12, 22. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    Part B page 12 says the are of the district is 404 sq km, but page 22 says 410 sq km.
  13. ^ District Census Handbook Pulwama, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 12, 22. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  14. ^ District Census Handbook Shupiyan, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. p. 10. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Shupiyan, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 12, 22. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    Part B pages 12 and 22 say the district area is 312.00 sq km, but Part A page 10 says 307.42 sq km.
  15. ^ District Census Handbook Badgam, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 10, 46. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Badgam, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 11, 12, 22. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    Part A says the district area is 1371 sq km, Part B says 1371 sq km (page 11) and 1361 sq km (page 12s and 22).
  16. ^ District Census Handbook Srinagar, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 11, 48. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    Part A page 48 says the district area was 2228.0 sq km in 2001 and 1978.95 sq km in 2011.
  17. ^ District Census Handbook Ganderbal, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 11, 12 and 22. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    Part B page 11 says the district area is 393.04 sq km, but pages 12 and 22 say 259.00 sq km.
  18. ^ District Census Handbook Bandipora, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. pp. 10, 47. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Bandipora, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 11, 20. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  19. ^ District Census Handbook Baramulla, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 11. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Baramulla, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. p. 22. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  20. ^ District Census Handbook Kupwara, Part A (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). July 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
    District Census Handbook Kupwara, Part B (PDF). Census of India 2011 (Report). 16 June 2014. pp. 11, 12. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Climatological Information for Srinagar, India". Hong Kong Observatory. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  22. ^ Sharad Singh Negi (1986). Geo-botany of India. Periodical Expert Book Agency, 1986. p. 58–. ISBN 9788171360055. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 34°02′00″N 74°40′00″E / 34.0333°N 74.6667°E / 34.0333; 74.6667

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