The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.134

v1.c15.134

Quetta lies about a mile above sea-level in a small plain, surrounded by great mountains rising to heights of two miles and more. Irrigation works have been constructed, so that Quetta is now an oasis amid desert mountains. It has a population of some thirty thousand. The Agent General for British Baluchistān resides there. The town is very strongly fortified, for it commands the railways leading from the Khojak pass down into India. Quetta and Peshāwar are the twin keys of the frontier.