Karakoram#K-numbers

{{Short description|Mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China}}

{{About|the mountain range|the medieval city in Mongolia|Karakorum|the highway|Karakoram Highway|the tract|Trans-Karakoram Tract|the rock band|Karakoram (band)}}

{{Distinguish|Karakum (disambiguation){{!}}Karakum}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Karakoram

| photo = Baltoro glacier from air.jpg

| photo_caption = {{nowrap|Baltoro Glacier in the Central Karakoram}} {{nowrap|Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan}}

| subdivision2_type = Regions/Provinces

| subdivision2 = {{hlist|Gilgit-Baltistan|Ladakh|Xinjiang|Badakhshan}}

| country = {{hlist|Afghanistan|China|India|Pakistan|Tajikistan}}

| borders_on = {{hlist|Pamir Mountains|Hindu Kush|Kunlun Mountains|Himalayas|Ladakh Range}}

| highest = K2

| elevation_m = 8611

| coordinates = {{coord|35|52|57|N|76|30|48|E|type:mountain_region:CN_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline}}

| length_km = 500

| geology =

| orogeny =

| map_image = {{Maplink|frame=yes|frame-width=290|frame-height=300|frame-align=center|zoom= 5|stroke-width=2|frame-lat=35.555|frame-long=76.465|type=shape-inverse|stroke-color=#808080|id=Q5469|text=Interactive map outlining Karakoram range }}

| map_caption =

| range_coordinates = {{coord|36|N|76|E|type:mountain_region:CN_scale:300000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

}}

{{Infobox Chinese

| title = Karakoram

| pic =

| c = {{linktext|lang=zh|喀|喇|昆|仑|山|脉}}

| l = "Kara-Kunlun mountain range"

| p = Kālǎ Kūnlún shānmài

| showflag = p

| uig = قاراقورام

| uly =

| uyy =

| tib = ཁར་ཁོ་རུམ་རི

| wylie = kha ra kho rum ri

| thdl =

| zwpy =

}}

The Karakoram ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɑːr|ə|ˈ|k|ɔːr|əm|,_|ˌ|k|ær|-}}){{cite Dictionary.com|Karakoram}} 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 is within Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region, the northern subdivision of Kashmir.

Karakoram's highest and the world's second-highest peak, K2, is located in Gilgit-Baltistan. The mountain range begins in the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan in the west, encompasses the majority of Gilgit-Baltistan, controlled by Pakistan and then 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 the Indian Himalayas.{{Britannica |312055 |title=Karakoram Range |last=Bessarabov|first=Georgy Dmitriyevich |date=7 February 2014 |access-date=2015-05-03}}.{{cite web |url=https://icimod.org/?q=1137 |title=Hindu Kush Himalayan Region |publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development |access-date=2014-10-17}}

The range contains 18 summits higher than {{cvt|7500|m|ft|}} in elevation, with four above {{cvt|8000|m|ft|}}:{{harvnb |Shukurov, The Natural Environment of Central and South Asia |2005 |p=512}}.{{cite web |title=The Eight-Thousanders |last=Voiland|first=Adam |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/8000MeterPeaks |year=2013 |website=NASA Earth Observatory |access-date=2016-12-23}}{{cite episode |network=BBC |series=Planet Earth |title=Mountains |number=3}} K2 ({{cvt|8611|m|ft|0}} AMSL) (the second-highest peak on Earth), Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum II.

The range is about {{cvt|500|km|mi|0}} in length and is the most glaciated place on Earth outside the polar regions. The Siachen Glacier ({{cvt|76|km|mi}} long) and Biafo Glacier ({{cvt|63|km|mi}} long) are the second- and third-longest glaciers outside the polar regions.Tajikistan's Fedchenko Glacier is {{cvt|77|km|mi}} long. Baltoro and Batura Glaciers in the Karakoram are {{cvt|57|km|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.

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.{{cite web |title=Karakorum-Pamir |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5535/ |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=16 February 2013}}

Name

File:Biafo Glacier, Gilgit Region.jpg's Biafo Glacier]]

Karakoram is a Turkic term meaning black gravel. The Central Asian traders originally applied the name to the Karakoram Pass.{{Cite book |last=Mason |first=Kenneth |author-link=Kenneth Mason (geographer) |title=Exploration of the Shaksgam Valley and Aghil ranges, 1926 |year=1928 |page=72 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LrbVqD06aXYC |isbn=978-81-206-1794-0}} Early European travellers, including William Moorcroft and George Hayward, started using the term for the range of mountains west of the pass, although they also used the term Muztagh (meaning, "Ice Mountain") for the range now known as Karakoram.{{cite journal |title=Nomenclature in the Karakoram: Discussion |vauthors=Close C, Burrard S, Younghusband F, etal |journal=The Geographical Journal |volume=76 |issue=2 |year=1930 |pages=148–158 |doi=10.2307/1783980 |jstor=1783980 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing|bibcode=1930GeogJ..76..148C }} Later terminology was influenced by the Survey of India, whose surveyor Thomas Montgomerie in the 1850s gave the labels K1 to K6 (K for Karakoram) to six high mountains visible from his station at Mount Haramukh in Kashmir Valley, codes extended further up to more than thirty.

In traditional Indian geography the mountains were known as Krishnagiri (black mountains), Kanhagiri and Kanheri.{{citation|last=Kohli|first=M.S.|title=Mountains of India: Tourism, Adventure and Pilgrimage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GIs4zv17HHwC&pg=PA22|page=22|year=2002|publisher=Indus Publishing|isbn=978-81-7387-135-1}}

Exploration

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 YounghusbandFrench, Patrick. (1994). Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer, pp. 53, 56-60. HarperCollinsPublishers, London. Reprint (1995): Flamingo. London. {{ISBN|0-00-637601-0}}. 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.

The name Karakoram was used in the early 20th century, for example by Kenneth Mason, for the range now known as the Baltoro Muztagh. The term is now used to refer to the entire range from the Batura Muztagh above Hunza in the west to the Saser Muztagh in the bend of the Shyok River in the east.

File:Hunza Valley, view from Eagle's Nest.jpg in the Gilgit-Baltistan region administered by Pakistan]]

Floral surveys were carried out in the Shyok River catchment and from Panamik to Turtuk village by Chandra Prakash Kala during 1999 and 2000.{{cite journal |title=Indigenous Uses, Population Density, and Conservation of Threatened Medicinal Plants in Protected Areas of the Indian Himalayas |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=368–378 |year=2005 |first=Chandra Prakash |last=Kala |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00602.x|bibcode=2005ConBi..19..368K |s2cid=85324142 }}{{cite journal |last=Kala |first=Chandra Prakash |title=Health traditions of Buddhist community and role of amchis in trans-Himalayan region of India |journal=Current Science |volume=89 |number=8 |year=2005 |page=1331 |url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/oct252005/1331.pdf}}

Geology and glaciers

The Karakoram is in one of the world's most geologically active areas, at the plate boundary between the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate.{{cite journal |doi=10.3301/IJG.2011.08 |title=Geological evolution of the Karakoram ranges |journal=Italian Journal of Geosciences |volume=130 |year=2011 |issue=2 |pages=147–159}}

A significant part, somewhere between 28 and 50 percent, of the Karakoram Range is glaciated covering an area of more than {{convert|15,000|sqkm|sqmi|-2|disp=or}},{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.04.057 |bibcode=2019JHyd..574..467M |title=Early twenty-first century glacier mass losses in the Indus Basin constrained by density assumptions |year=2019 |last1=Muhammad |first1=Sher |last2=Tian |first2=Lide |last3=Khan |first3=Asif |journal=Journal of Hydrology |volume=574 |pages=467–475 |doi-access=free}} compared to between 8 and 12 percent of the Himalaya and 2.2 percent of the Alps.{{cite book |last=Gansser |year=1975 |title=Geology of the Himalayas |publisher=Interscience Publishers |location=London}} Mountain glaciers may serve as an indicator of climate change, advancing and receding with long-term changes in temperature and precipitation. The Karakoram glaciers are slightly retreating,{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110124162708.htm |title=Debris on certain Himalayan glaciers may prevent melting |first=Gail |last=Gallessich |work=sciencedaily.com |year=2011 |access-date=January 30, 2011}}{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.rse.2016.10.034 |bibcode=2016RSEnv.187..505M |title=Changes in the ablation zones of glaciers in the western Himalaya and the Karakoram between 1972 and 2015 |year=2016 |last1=Muhammad |first1=Sher |last2=Tian |first2=Lide |journal=Remote Sensing of Environment |volume=187 |pages=505–512 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |doi=10.1017/jog.2019.5 |bibcode=2019JGlac..65..270M |title=No significant mass loss in the glaciers of Astore Basin (North-Western Himalaya), between 1999 and 2016 |year=2019 |last1=Muhammad |first1=Sher |last2=Tian |first2=Lide |last3=Nüsser |first3=Marcus |journal=Journal of Glaciology |volume=65 |issue=250 |pages=270–278 |doi-access=free}} unlike the Himalayas where glaciers are losing mass at significantly higher rate, many Karakoram glaciers are covered in a layer of rubble which insulates the ice from the warmth of the sun.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141119 |title=Thin debris layers do not enhance melting of the Karakoram glaciers |year=2020 |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume= 746 |pages=141119 |pmid=32763605 |bibcode=2020ScTEn.74641119M |doi-access=free|last1=Muhammad |first1=Sher |last2=Tian |first2=Lide |last3=Ali |first3=Shaukat |last4=Latif |first4=Yasir |last5=Wazir |first5=Muhammad Atif |last6=Goheer |first6=Muhammad Arif |last7=Saifullah |first7=Muhammad |last8=Hussain |first8=Iqtidar |last9=Shiyin |first9=Liu }} Where there is no such insulation, the rate of retreat is high.{{cite journal |title=A Remote sensing approach for monitoring debris-covered glaciers in the high altitude Karakoram Himalayas |first=B.K. |last=Veettil |journal=International Journal of Geomatics and Geosciences |year=2012 |volume=2 |pages=833–841 |issue=3}}

= Ice Age =

In the last ice age, a connected series of glaciers stretched from western Tibet to Nanga Parbat, and from the Tarim basin to the Gilgit District.{{cite journal |last=Kuhle |first=M. |year=1988 |title=The Pleistocene Glaciation of Tibet and the Onset of Ice Ages- An Autocycle Hypothesis.Tibet and High Asia. Results of the Sino-German Joint Expeditions (I) |journal=GeoJournal |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=581–596 |doi=10.1007/BF00209444 |s2cid=129234912}}{{cite book |last=Kuhle |first=M. |year=2006 |chapter=The Past Hunza Glacier in Connection with a Pleistocene Karakoram Ice Stream Network during the Last Ice Age (Würm) |editor1-last=Kreutzmann |editor1-first=H. |editor2-last=Saijid |editor2-first=A. |title=Karakoram in Transition |location=Karachi, Pakistan |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=24–48}}{{cite book |last=Kuhle |first=M. |year=2011 |chapter=The High Glacial (Last Ice Age and Last Glacial Maximum) Ice Cover of High and Central Asia, with a Critical Review of Some Recent OSL and TCN Dates |editor1-last=Ehlers |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Gibbard |editor2-first=P.L. |editor3-last=Hughes |editor3-first=P.D. |title=Quaternary Glaciation – Extent and Chronology, A Closer Look |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Elsevier BV |pages=943–965}} (glacier maps [https://web.archive.org/web/20130606133044/http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780444534477/ downloadable]) To the south, the Indus glacier was the main valley glacier, which flowed {{convert|120|km|mi}} down from Nanga Parbat massif to {{convert|870|m|ft}} elevation.{{cite journal |last=Kuhle |first=M. |year=2001 |title=Tibet and High Asia (VI): Glaciogeomorphology and Prehistoric Glaciation in the Karakoram and Himalaya |journal=GeoJournal |volume=54 |issue=1–4 |pages=109–396 |doi=10.1023/A:1021307330169}} In the north, the Karakoram glaciers joined those from the Kunlun Mountains and flowed down to {{convert|2000|m|ft}} in the Tarim basin.{{cite journal |last=Kuhle |first=M. |year=1994 |title=Present and Pleistocene Glaciation on the North-Western Margin of Tibet between the Karakoram Main Ridge and the Tarim Basin Supporting the Evidence of a Pleistocene Inland Glaciation in Tibet. Tibet and High Asia. Results of the Sino-German and Russian-German Joint Expeditions (III) |journal=GeoJournal |volume=33 |pages=133–272 |issue=2/3 |doi=10.1007/BF00812877|s2cid=189882345 }}

While the current valley glaciers in the Karakoram reach a maximum length of {{convert|76|km|mi}}, several of the ice-age valley glacier branches and main valley glaciers, had lengths up to {{convert|700|km|mi}}. During the Ice Age, the glacier snowline was about {{Convert|1300|m|ft}} lower than today.

Highest peaks

File:Baltoro region from space annotated.png]]

Here is a list for the highest peaks of the Karakoram. Included are some of the mountains named with a K code, the most famous of which is the K2 (mountain).

class="wikitable sortable"

! Mountain

! HeightFor Nepal, the heights indicated on the Nepal Topographic Maps are followed. For China and the Baltoro Karakoram, the heights are those of Mi Desheng's "The Maps of Snow Mountains in China". For the Hispar Karakoram the heights on a Russian 1:100,000 topo map of {{cite web |title=Hispar area expeditions |url=http://echidna.rutgers.edu/expeditions/Hispar/Default.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080427142155/http://echidna.rutgers.edu/expeditions/Hispar/Default.htm |archive-date=2008-04-27 |access-date=2008-07-15}}

! Ranked

! K code

! Remark

| {{convert|8611|m|ft}}

| 2

| K2

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}} at the head of the Godwin-Austen Glacier

Gasherbrum I

| {{convert|8080|m|ft}}

| 11

| K5

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Broad Peak

| {{convert|8051|m|ft}}

| 12

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Gasherbrum II

| {{convert|8034|m|ft}}

| 13

| K4

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Gasherbrum III

| {{convert|7952|m|ft}}

| K3a

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}, not on world highest list

Gasherbrum IV

| {{convert|7925|m|ft}}

| 17

| K3

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Distaghil Sar

| {{convert|7885|m|ft}}

| 19

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Kunyang Chhish

| {{convert|7852|m|ft}}

| 21

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Masherbrum I

| {{convert|7821|m|ft}}

| 22

| K1

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Batura I

| {{convert|7795|m|ft}}

| 25

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Rakaposhi

| {{convert|7788|m|ft}}

| 26

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Batura II

| {{convert|7762|m|ft}}

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}, not on world highest list

Kanjut Sar

| {{convert|7760|m|ft}}

| 28

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Saltoro Kangri I

| {{convert|7742|m|ft}}

| 31

| K10

| {{flagcountry|IND}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Batura III

| {{convert|7729|m|ft}}

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}, not on world highest list

Saltoro Kangri II

| {{convert|7705|m|ft}}

| K11

| {{flagcountry|IND}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Saser Kangri I

| {{convert|7672|m|ft}}

| 35

| K22

| {{flagcountry|IND}}

Chogolisa

| {{convert|7665|m|ft}}

| 36

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Shispare Sar

| {{convert|7611|m|ft}}

| 38

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Trivor Sar

| {{convert|7577|m|ft}}

| 39

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Skyang Kangri

| {{convert|7545|m|ft}}

| 43

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Mamostong Kangri

| {{convert|7516|m|ft}}

| 47

| K35

| {{flagcountry|IND}}

Saser Kangri II

| {{convert|7513|m|ft}}

| 48

| {{flagcountry|IND}}

Saser Kangri III

| {{convert|7495|m|ft}}

| 51

| {{flagcountry|IND}}

Pumari Chhish

| {{convert|7492|m|ft}}

| 53

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Passu Sar

| {{convert|7478|m|ft}}

| 54

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Yukshin Gardan Sar

| {{convert|7469|m|ft}}

| 55

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Teram Kangri I

| {{convert|7462|m|ft}}

| 56

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|IND}}

Malubiting

| {{convert|7458|m|ft}}

| 58

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

K12 or Saitang Peak

| {{convert|7428|m|ft}}

| 61

| K12

| {{flagcountry|IND}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}} subsidiary of Saltoro Kangri

Sia Kangri

| {{convert|7422|m|ft}}

| 63

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Skilma Gangri or Ghursay Kangri II

| {{convert|7422|m|ft}}

| K8

| {{flagcountry|PAK}} on the western flank of the Siachen Glacier

Momhil Sar

| {{convert|7414|m|ft}}

| 64

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Skil Brum

| {{convert|7410|m|ft}}

| 66

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Haramosh Peak

| {{convert|7409|m|ft}}

| 67

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Ghent Kangri

| {{convert|7401|m|ft}}

| 69

| {{flagcountry|IND}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Ultar Peak

| {{convert|7388|m|ft}}

| 70

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Rimo I

| {{convert|7385|m|ft}}

| 71

| {{flagcountry|IND}}

Sherpi Kangri

| {{convert|7380|m|ft}}

| 74

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Bojohagur Duanasir

| {{convert|7329|m|ft}}

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}, not on world highest list

Yazghil Dome South

| {{convert|7324|m|ft}}

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}, not on world highest list

Baltoro Kangri

| {{convert|7312|m|ft}}

| 81

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Crown Peak

| {{convert|7295|m|ft}}

| 83

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}

Baintha Brakk

| {{convert|7285|m|ft}}

| 86

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Yutmaru Sar

| {{convert|7283|m|ft}}

| 87

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Baltistan Peak

| {{convert|7282|m|ft}}

| 88

| K6

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Muztagh Tower

| {{convert|7273|m|ft}}

| 90

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|PAK}}

Diran

| {{convert|7266|m|ft}}

| 92

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Apsarasas Kangri I

| {{convert|7243|m|ft}}

| 95

| {{flagcountry|PRC}}–{{flagcountry|IND}}

Rimo III

| {{convert|7233|m|ft}}

| 97

| {{flagcountry|IND}}

Gasherbrum V

| {{convert|7147|m|ft}}

Link Sar

| {{convert|7041|m|ft}}

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Gamba Gangri

| {{convert|7000|m|ft}} (approx)

| K9

| {{flagcountry|PAK}} near Trango Towers

Gomgma Gangri

| {{convert|6934|m|ft}}

| K7

| {{flagcountry|PAK}} at the head of the Charakusa Valley

Dansam Peak

| {{convert|6666|m|ft}}

| K13

| {{flagcountry|PAK}} south west of Saltoro Kangri

Paiju Peak

| {{convert|6610.|m|ft}}

| {{flagcountry|PAK}}

Pastan Kangri

| {{convert|6523|m|ft}}

| K25

| {{flagcountry|IND}} south of Saltoro Kangri

The majority of the highest peaks are in the Gilgit–Baltistan region administered by Pakistan. Baltistan has more than 100 mountain peaks exceeding {{convert|6100|m|ft}} height from sea level.

Subranges

File:Karakoram Range.jpg

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.Jerzy Wala, Orographical Sketch Map of the Karakoram, Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich, 1990. The ranges are listed roughly west to east.

Passes

Passes from west to east are:

Dandala Pass is the most important and earlier pass. It starts from Ghursay saitang city to Yarqand in China. It is the main trade route between Khaplu, Ladakh, Kharmang to Yarqand, China.
Kilik Pass
Mintaka Pass
Khunjerab Pass is the highest paved international border crossing at {{convert|4693|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It serves the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway, the "8th world wonder".{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230903-the-karakoram-highway-the-road-thats-the-eighth-world-wonder | title= The Road that's the Eighth World Wonder | last=Shea | first=Samantha | date= 8 September 2023 | publisher=BBC }}
Shimshal Pass
Mustagh Pass
Karakoram Pass
Sasser Pass
Naltar Pass or Pakora Pass{{Cite web |url=https://mehmaanresort.pk/naltar-valley-heaven-on-earth/ |title=Naltar Valley: Heaven on Earth |last=shuaib |date=2019-08-18 |website=Mehmaan Resort |language=en-US |access-date=2019-09-01 |archive-date=1 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901082129/https://mehmaanresort.pk/naltar-valley-heaven-on-earth/ |url-status=dead }}

The Khunjerab Pass is the only motorable pass across the range. The Shimshal Pass (which does not cross an international border) is the only other pass still in regular use.

Cultural references

The Karakoram mountain range has been referred to in a number of novels and movies. Rudyard Kipling refers to the Karakoram 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 children in the region. K2 Kahani (The K2 Story) by Mustansar Hussain Tarar describes his experiences at K2 base camp.{{cite book |last=Tarar |first=Mustansar Hussain |date=1994 |title=K2 kahani |location=Lahore |publisher=Sang-e-Meel (published in Urdu) |pages=179 |isbn=969-35-0523-9 |ol=18941738M}}

References

= Citations =

= Sources =

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).
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.
Mortenson, Greg and Relin, David Oliver. 2008. Three Cups of Tea. Penguin Books Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-14-103426-3}} (pbk); Viking Books {{ISBN|978-0-670-03482-6}} (hbk); Tantor Media {{ISBN|978-1-4001-5251-3}} (MP3 CD).
Kreutzmann, Hermann, Karakoram in Transition: Culture, Development, and Ecology in the Hunza Valley, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-19-547210-3}}.
{{citation |first=E. |last=Shukurov |chapter=The Natural Environment of Central and South Asia |editor=Chahryar Adle |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. VI – Towards the contemporary period: from the mid-nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century |chapter-url = http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001412/141275e.pdf |year=2005 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103985-0 |pages=480–514 |ref={{sfnref|Shukurov, The Natural Environment of Central and South Asia|2005}} }}

External links

[http://blankonthemap.free.fr/default.htm Blankonthemap] The Northern Kashmir Website
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1491179.stm Pakistan's Northern Areas dilemma]
[https://www.flickr.com/groups/greatkarakorams/ Great Karakorams] – images on Flickr