ĀB-E ĪSTĀDA “still water,” a salt lake in the province of Ḡazna in modern Afghanistan, lying 30 km southeast of the present Ḡazna-Kandahār highway and 100 km south of Ḡazna itself, in 32°30 ′ north latitude and 67°55 ′ east longitude and at an altitude of 2,130 m above sea level. The lake, some 25 km by 10 km in size but very shallow, is fed by the river of Ḡazna, and out of it the river Lora flows down to the Arḡandāb. Being one of the few extensive stretches of water in Afghanistan, it is much frequented by migrating wild fowl. The surrounding region forms pasture grounds for the Ḡilzay tribe.
Bibliography:
Imperial Gazetteer of India, Afghanistan and Nepal, Calcutta, 1908, pp. 54-55.
J. Humlum, La géographie de l’Afghanistan: étude d’un pays aride, Copenhagen, 1959, p. 51.
L. Dupree, Afghanistan, Princeton, 1973, p. 39.
(C. E. Bosworth)
Originally Published: December 15, 1982
Last Updated: December 15, 1982
This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 1, pp. 48
C.E. Bosworth, “ĀB-E ĪSTĀDA,” Encyclopaedia Iranica, I/1, p. 48, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ab-e-istada-.
