Rasht Valley

The Rasht Valley, historically known as Karotegin or Karategin, lies in Tajikistan and makes up a large part of the Region of Republican Subordination, covering the districts of Lakhsh, Rasht, Tavildara (now Sangvor), Tajikobod and Nurabad. From the 1920s until 1955 it was organized as the Gharm Oblast. The valley was a stronghold of forces opposed to the government of Emomalii Rahmon during the 1992-1997 Tajikistan Civil War, and in 1998 four United Nations military observers were killed in its Garm district. Gold has historically been mined in the valley and salt pits worked in its surrounding mountains, and in 1949 the Khait earthquake triggered the Khait landslide, which killed more than 30,000 people.