Darvazskii

a mountain range in the northwestern Pamirs, in the Tadzhik SSR, between the Obikhingou, Piandzh, and Vanch rivers (the Piandzh basin). The eastern part of the Darvazskii Range is part of the Pamirs and merges with the Akademiia Nauk Range. The highest elevation is 6,083 m, and the range is approximately 200 km long. It is formed mainly from granite and metamorphic schist. Steppe- and arboreal-shrub vegetation predominates on the slopes (on the northern slopes are maples and walnut trees; on the southern, savin and almond trees); higher in elevation are subalpine and alpine meadows; above 4,200–4,500 m, snow and glaciers are found (the total area of glaciation is approximately 750 sq km).