Karakoram
| Karakoram | |
| Range | |
 Baltoro glacier in the central Karakoram with 8000ers Gasherbrum I & II.
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| Countries | Pakistan, India, China |
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| Regions | Gilgit-Baltistan, Ladakh, Xinjiang |
| Borders on | Ladakh Range, Pamirs, Hindu Raj (Hindu Kush) |
| Highest point | K2 |
| - elevation | 8,611 m (28,251 ft) |
| - coordinates | |
 Highest Karakoram peaks as seen from International Space Station
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Karakoram (or Karakorum) is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan), Ladakh (India), and Xinjiang region, (China). It is one of the Greater Ranges of Asia, a part of the greater Himalaya while north of the actual Himalaya Range.
The Karakoram is home to the highest concentration of peaks over five miles in height to be found anywhere on earth[1], including K2, the second highest peak of the world (8,611 m/28,251 ft). K2 is just 237 m (778 ft) lower than the 8,848 m (29,029 ft) tall Mount Everest.
The range is about 500 km (311 mi) in length, and is the most heavily glaciated part of the world outside the polar regions. The Siachen Glacier at 70 km and the Biafo Glacier at 63 km rank as the world's second and third longest glaciers outside the polar regions.[2]
The Karakoram is bounded on the northeast by the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, and on the north by the Pamir Mountains. The southern boundary of the Karakoram is formed, west to east, by the Gilgit, Indus, and Shyok Rivers, which separate the range from the northwestern end of the Himalaya range proper as these rivers converge southwestward towards the plains of Pakistan.
Due to its altitude and ruggedness, the Karakoram is much less inhabited than parts of the Himalayas further east. European explorers first visited early in the 19th century, followed by British surveyors starting in 1856.
The Muztagh Pass was crossed in 1887 by the expedition of Colonel Francis Younghusband and the valleys above the Hunza River were explored by General Sir George K. Cockerill in 1892. Explorations in the 1910s and 1920s established most of the geography of the region.
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Geological importance
The Karakoram and the Himalayas are important to Earth scientists for several reasons. They are one of the world's most geologically active areas, at the boundary between two colliding continents. Therefore, they are important in the study of plate tectonics. Mountain glaciers may serve as an indicator of climate change, advancing and receding with long-term changes in temperature and precipitation. These extensive ranges may have even caused climate change when they were formed over 40 million years ago. The large amounts of rock exposed to the atmosphere are weathered (broken down) by carbon dioxide. This process removes the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, and could have caused the global climate to cool, triggering an ongoing series of ice ages.
Highest peaks
The Notable Peaks of the Karakoram are:
- K2 (8,611 m)
- Gasherbrum I (8,068 m)
- Broad Peak (Phalchen Kangri) (8,047 m)
- Gasherbrum II (8,035 m)
- Gasherbrum III (7,952 m)
- Gasherbrum IV (7,925 m)
- Distaghil Sar (7,885 m)
- Kunyang Chhish (7,852 m)
- Masherbrum I (7,821 m)
- Batura I (7,795 m)
- Rakaposhi (7,788 m)
- Batura II (7,762 m)
- Kanjut Sar (7,760 m)
- Saltoro Kangri (7,742 m)
- Batura III (7,729 m)
- Saser Kangri (7,672 m)
- Chogolisa (7,665m)
- Haramosh Peak (7,397 m)
- Baintha Brakk (7,285 m)
- Muztagh Tower (7,273 m)
The majority of the highest peaks are in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. Baltistan has more than 100 mountain peaks exceeding 6,100 metres (20,000 ft) height from sea level.
Subranges
The naming and division of the various subranges of the Karakoram is not universally agreed upon. However, the following is a list of the most important subranges, following Jerzy Wala.[3] The ranges are listed roughly west to east.
- Batura Muztagh
- Rakaposhi-Haramosh Mountains
- Spantik-Sosbun Mountains
- Hispar Muztagh
- South Ghujerab Mountains
- Panmah Muztagh
- Wesm Mountains
- Masherbrum Mountains
- Baltoro Muztagh
- Saltoro Mountains
- Siachen Muztagh
- Rimo Muztagh
- Saser Muztagh
Popular culture
The Karakoram mountain range has been referred to in a number of novels and movies.
Rudyard Kipling refers to the Karakorum mountain range in his novel Kim, which was first published in 1900.
Marcel Ichac made a film titled Karakoram, chronicling a French expedition to the range in 1936. The film won the Silver Lion at the Venice film festival of 1937.
Greg Mortenson details the Karakoram, and specifically K2 and the Balti, extensively in his book Three Cups of Tea, about his quest to build schools for girls in the region.
In the Gatchaman TV series, the Karakoram range houses Galactor's headquarters.
See also
- Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan)
- Karakoram Highway
- Khunjerab Pass (the highest paved international border crossing at 4,693 m/15,397 ft)
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Himalayas
- List of mountain ranges of the world
- List of highest mountains (a list of mountains above 7,200 m/23,622 ft)
- Khardung La
- Karakoram Pass
- Mount Imeon
Notes
- ↑ BBC, Planet Earth, "Mountains", Part Three
- ↑ Tajikistan's Fedchenko Glacier is 77 km long. Baltoro and Batura Glaciers in the Karakoram are 57 km long, as is Bruggen or Pio XI Glacier in southern Chile. Measurements are from recent imagery, generally supplemented with Russian 1:200,000 scale topographic mapping as well as Jerzy Wala,Orographical Sketch Map: Karakoram: Sheets 1 & 2, Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich, 1990.
- ↑ Jerzy Wala, Orographical Sketch Map of the Karakoram, Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich, 1990.
References
- Curzon, George Nathaniel. 1896. The Pamirs and the Source of the Oxus. Royal Geographical Society, London. Reprint: Elibron Classics Series, Adamant Media Corporation. 2005. ISBN 1-4021-5983-8 (pbk); ISBN 1-4021-3090-2 (hbk).
- Kreutzmann, Hermann, Karakoram in Transition: Culture, Development, and Ecology in the Hunza Valley, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780195472103
- Mortenson, Greg and Relin, David Oliver. 2008. Three Cups of Tea. Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN 978-0141034263 (pbk); Viking Books ISBN 978-0670034826 (hbk); Tantor Media ISBN 978-1400152513 (MP3 CD).
- Kipling, Rudyard 2002. Kim (novel); ed. by Zohreh T. Sullivan. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 039396650X—This is the most extensive critical modern edition with footnotes, essays, maps, etc.
External links
- Blankonthemap The Northern Kashmir Website
- Pakistan's Northern Areas dilemma
- Great Karakorams
- Karakorams.com : Travel and Trekking in the karakorams
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Landforms of China