| Karakoram | |
|---|---|
 Baltoro Glacier in the Central Karakoram Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | K2 |
| Elevation | 8,611 m (28,251 ft) |
| Coordinates | 35°52′57″N 76°30′48″E / 35.88250°N 76.51333°E |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 500 km (310 mi) |
| Geography | |
 Interactive map outlining Karakoram range | |
| Countries | |
| Regions/Provinces | |
| Range coordinates | 36°N 76°E / 36°N 76°E |
| Borders on | |
| Karakoram | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 喀喇昆仑山脉 | ||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | Kālǎ Kūnlún shānmài | ||||||
| Literal meaning | "Kara-Kunlun mountain range" | ||||||
| |||||||
| Tibetan name | |||||||
| Tibetan | ཁར་ཁོ་རུམ་རི | ||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||
| Uyghur | قاراقورام | ||||||
The Karakoram (/ˌkɑːrəˈkɔːrəm, ˌkær-/)[1] is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the jurisdiction of Gilgit-Baltistan, which is located in Pakistan. Its highest (and the world's second-highest) peak, K2, is located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It begins in the Wakhan Corridor (Afghanistan) in the west, encompasses the majority of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and extends into Ladakh (controlled by India) and Aksai Chin (controlled by China). It is part of the larger Trans-Himalayan mountain ranges.
The Karakoram is the second-highest mountain range on Earth and part of a complex of ranges that includes the Pamir Mountains, Hindu Kush, and Himalayas.[2][3]
The range contains 18 summits higher than 7,500 m (24,600 ft) in elevation, with four above 8,000 m (26,000 ft):[4][5][6] K2 (8,611 m (28,251 ft) AMSL) (the second-highest peak on Earth), Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum II.
The range is about 500 km (311 mi) in length and is the most glaciated place on Earth outside the polar regions. The Siachen Glacier (76 km (47 mi) long) and Biafo Glacier (63 km (39 mi) long) are the second- and third-longest glaciers outside the polar regions.[7]
The Karakoram is bounded on the east by the Aksai Chin plateau, on the northeast by the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and on the north by the river valleys of the Yarkand and Karakash rivers beyond which lie the Kunlun Mountains. At the northwest corner are 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. These rivers flow northwest before making an abrupt turn southwestward towards the plains of Pakistan. Roughly in the middle of the Karakoram range is the Karakoram Pass, which was part of a historic trade route between Ladakh and Yarkand that is now inactive.
The Tashkurghan National Nature Reserve and the Pamir Wetlands National Nature Reserve in the Karalorun and Pamir mountains have been nominated for inclusion in UNESCO in 2010 by the National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO and have been tentatively added to the list.[8]
- ^ "Karakoram". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
- ^ Karakoram Range at the Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ "Hindu Kush Himalayan Region". International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ Shukurov, The Natural Environment of Central and South Asia 2005, p. 512.
- ^ Voiland, Adam (2013). "The Eight-Thousanders". NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ "Mountains". Planet Earth. Episode 3. BBC.
- ^ Tajikistan's Fedchenko Glacier is 77 km (48 mi) long. Baltoro and Batura Glaciers in the Karakoram are 57 km (35 mi) 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.
- ^ "Karakorum-Pamir". UNESCO. Retrieved 16 February 2013.