1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Miranzai Valley

MIRANZAI VALLEY, or Hangu, a mountain valley on the Kohat border of the North-West Frontier Province of India. Miranzai comprises two valleys draining S.W. into the Kunam and N.E. into the Kohat Toi. It is thus divided into upper and lower Miranzai, and extends from Thal to Raisan, and from the Zaimukht and Orakzai hills to those of the Khattaks. Its length is about 40 m., and its breadth varies from 3 to 7 m. Area, 546 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 43,901. The portion of Miranzai east of Hangu village consists of numerous small and well-cultivated valleys, in which orchard trees flourish abundantly. To the west of Hangu, including the whole of Upper Miranzai, the country is a broad, open, breezy valley. The plain is bare of trees, but the hills are generally covered with scrub. The country is full of ravines towards Thal. The wealth of the inhabitants consists principally in cattle, goats and sheep; of these the cows are of a lean and dwarf breed, and give but little milk. Miranzai forms the meeting place of many different tribes; but its chief inhabitants are the Bangash and Orakzais. Disturbances have necessitated British expeditions in 1851, 1855, and twice in 1891.