# Murghob

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Town in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan

Place in Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan

Murghob Мурғоб (Tajik) Мургаб (Russian) Murghab Murghob Location in Tajikistan Coordinates: 38°10′08″N 73°57′54″E / 38.16889°N 73.96500°E / 38.16889; 73.96500 Country Tajikistan Region Gorno-Badakhshan District Murghob District Elevation 3,618 m (11,869 ft) Population (2015) • Total 7,468 Time zone UTC+5

Children in Murghob, 2008

**Murghob** ([Tajik](/source/Tajik_language): Мурғоб) or **Murghab** ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Мургаб, *Murgab*, from the [Persian](/source/Persian_language) word *margh-ab*, meaning 'prairie river') is the capital of [Murghob District](/source/Murghob_District) in the [Pamir Mountains](/source/Pamir_Mountains) of [Gorno-Badakhshan](/source/Gorno-Badakhshan), [Tajikistan](/source/Tajikistan). With a population of just under 7,500, Murghob is the only significant town in the eastern half of Gorno-Badakhshan. It is the highest town in Tajikistan (and of the former [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union)) at 3,650 meters above sea level. It is where the [Pamir Highway](/source/Pamir_Highway) crosses the [Bartang](/source/Bartang) river.[1]

The [Pamir Highway](/source/M41_highway) goes north to [Sary-Tash](/source/Sary-Tash) and on to [Osh](/source/Osh) in [Kyrgyzstan](/source/Kyrgyzstan) and southwest to the region's capital [Khorugh](/source/Khorugh). Another road goes east over the [Kulma Pass](/source/Kulma_Pass) to the [Karakoram Highway](/source/Karakoram_Highway) in China connecting to [Tashkurgan](/source/Tashkurgan_Town) to the south and [Kashgar](/source/Kashgar) to the north.

## History

Russian officials standing in front of Pamirsky Post, 1915

From 1892 to 1893, a fortification named Shadzhansky Post ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Шаджанский пост) existed on the site of the current town of Murghob.[2] Some historical records attest that, in 1893, the [Imperial Russian Army](/source/Imperial_Russian_Army) established Pamirsky Post ([Russian](/source/Russian_language): Памирский пост, lit. '[Pamir](/source/Pamir_Mountains) post') in the area as the main Russian fortification in the Pamir Mountains.[3] It was to be their most [advanced military outpost into Central Asia](/source/Russian_conquest_of_Central_Asia).[4] Other records published much later state that Pamirsky Post was actually established elsewhere on 26 July 1903, as a new barracks near the village of Kuni Kurgan.[5]

The modern town of Murghob was constructed during the period of Soviet rule in Tajikistan as a rest stop along the [Pamir Highway](/source/Pamir_Highway). The old Soviet outpost closed in 2002, causing economic hardship partially offset by a rise in tourism.[6]

## Climate

Murghob has an alpine [tundra climate](/source/Tundra_climate) (*ET*) in the [Köppen climate classification](/source/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification). The average annual temperature is −3.9 °C (25.0 °F). The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 8.7 °C (47.7 °F) and the coolest month is January with an average temperature of −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F). The average annual precipitation is 347.7 mm (13.69 in) and has an average of 87.1 days with precipitation. The wettest month is May with an average of 45.1 mm (1.78 in) of precipitation and the driest month is September with an average of 10.9 mm (0.43 in) of precipitation.[7]

Climate data for Murghob Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Daily mean °C (°F) −18.7 (−1.7) −16.8 (1.8) −9.9 (14.2) −2.7 (27.1) 0.8 (33.4) 5.1 (41.2) 8.7 (47.7) 8.5 (47.3) 4.0 (39.2) −2.2 (28.0) −9.0 (15.8) −14.7 (5.5) −3.9 (25.0) Average precipitation mm (inches) 27.6 (1.09) 29.4 (1.16) 40.2 (1.58) 38.4 (1.51) 45.1 (1.78) 28.4 (1.12) 22.0 (0.87) 19.9 (0.78) 10.9 (0.43) 22.8 (0.90) 29.4 (1.16) 33.6 (1.32) 347.7 (13.69) Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 6.6 7.7 8.7 9.0 11.0 9.0 8.4 6.5 5.0 4.9 4.6 5.7 87.1 Average relative humidity (%) 59.5 60.2 56.0 52.0 50.1 43.1 43.4 44.8 43.5 45.9 49.7 56.3 50.4 Source: "Climate of Murghob". Weatherbase. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

## References

- [Tajikistan portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Tajikistan)

### Citations

1. **[^](#cite_ref-jambi_1-0)** [Jamoat-level basic indicators](http://untj.org/jambi-project/index.php/maps-statistics/demography), United Nations Development Programme in Tajikistan, accessed 5 October 2020

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [A resident of the Ulyanovsk region helped close the "blank spots" of Russia's border history in the Pamirs.](http://ulgrad.ru/?p=113507%D0%92) Ulgrad.ru.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** P. Peters. "The Pamirs of Nikolai Korzhenevsky".

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Murghab Travel Guide"](https://caravanistan.com/tajikistan/pamirs/murghab/). *Caravanistan*. Retrieved 11 September 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** S. Afzalshoev. "Historical discoveries of the "Russian Pamir". Impulse Newspaper. 2015. No. 2 (208). p. 7.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Guardian2021_6-0)** Pattisson, Pete; et al. (19 August 2021). ["'No one comes here any more': the human cost as Covid wipes out tourism"](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/aug/19/no-one-comes-here-any-more-the-human-cost-as-covid-wipes-out-tourism). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 22 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Weatherbase"](http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=603156&cityname=Kara-Balta%2C+Ch%FCy%2C+Kyrgyzstan&units=metric). *weatherbase.com*. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

### Sources

- ["Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan: Trekking Routes" (map)](http://www.pamirs.org/images/maps/gbaorm.gif). www.pamirs.org. Retrieved 25 August 2005.

- Jennings, David. (18 – 25 July 2004) ["Sixty One Degrees: An Occasional Journal of an Asia-overland adventure"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173823/http://www.davidjennings.net/weblog/archives/2004_07.html).

v t e Gorno-Badakhshan Capital: Khorugh Districts Darvoz Ishkoshim Murghob Roshtqal'a Rushon Shughnon Vanj Main cities and towns Khorugh Kalai-Khumb Ishkoshim Murghob Roshtqal'a Rushon Vanj Geography Darvoz Range Vanj Range Yazgulem Range Rushan Range Shughnon Range Sarikol Range Shakhdara Range Ishkoshim Range Sarez Lake Zorkul Lake Karakul Lake Mayakovsky Peak Karl Marx Peak Pik Skalisty Rivers Bartang Gunt Pamir Panj Shakhdara Vanj Yazgulem

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