Lake Chaqmaqtin, the second biggest lake in Pamir (a.k.a the Roof of the World) after Zor Kol (a.k.a Lake Victoria). Chaqmaqtin Lake is 9 kilometer long and 2 kilometer wide. The lake water provides life to several Kirghiz nomad settlements nearby. The north bank of the water body is the winter settlements while the south bank is for summer period. The lake is located at 4,200 meter elevation, and freezes in winter. Behind the snow-capped mountains at the north side is Tajikistan’s Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast region.

Chaqmaqtin is the water source of Murghab River, one of the important tributaries of the Amu Darya, which then become the border separating Afghanistan from the Central Asian countries. Amu Darya is not merely a geographical water body, but is also a vital element in the geopolitics and the history of civilizations of Central Asia.

Pamir, Wakhan Corridor, Badakhshan, Afghanistan, 2008