page_title: North Waziristan
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: North Waziristan / Geography
context_page_description: North Waziristan District is a district in Bannu Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering 4,707 square kilometres. The capital city of North Waziristan is Miranshah.
context_section_description: Geographically, the whole of Waziristan is a single unit. However, for administrative convenience it has been split into two agencies: North and South Waziristan. The area has been described as a land of high and difficult hills with deep and rugged defiles. The mountains of North Waziristan are geographically separate from the larger mountain systems of Koh-e-Sufaid in the north and Sulaiman in the south. The Waziristan hills were subject to igneous activity during the late Cretaceous period. The highly mineralised zone of Razmak is connected with it. The mountains and hills form a rampart between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The average height of the Waziristan hills is 1,500–2,500 metres (4,900–8,200 ft) above sea level. The important ranges in the Waziristan hills are Derwesta, Laran, Vizhda, Ingame, Shoidar(highest peak Shuiar Sar of NWA is part of this range; visible from Cadet College Razmak also), Shawal, Eblunkai, Alexandra, Muzdak and Zakha.
  The Tochi River flowing through the agency has formed the Tochi Pass, through which armies, people and cultures have moved in and out of this region. The Tochi Pass connects Ghazni, Afghanistan with Bannu, Pakistan. The Tochi River has carved a large and important valley which is bounded by hills and mountains on all sides except the eastern side. It is about 100 kilometres (60 mi) in length and opens up into the Indus Valley near Bannu. The Tochi valley is fertile and cultivable. Ketu and Kurram are the two minor rivers which flow in the northern part of the agency.
  There are five notable rivers: Tochi, Kaitu, Kurram, Khaisor, and Shaktue. Some notable streams are Kishi Aigad, Chashma Aigad, Saidgi Algad, Kanungo Aigad, Sagga Aigad, Tauda China Algad, Damoma Algad, Tarkhobi Algad, Suedar Aigad.
caption: Map of agencies and frontier regions in FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northwest Pakistan
   * – North Waziristan * – FATA * – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa