58-693: The Saser Muztagh is the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram range , in the Ladakh region of India . It is bounded on the south, east and northeast by the Shyok River , which bends sharply around the southeast corner of the range. On the west it is separated from the neighboring Kailas Mountains by the Nubra River , while the Sasser Pass (Saser La) marks the boundary between this range and
116-706: A 1,200 km (750 mi) road connecting Xinjiang and western Tibet , of which 179 km (112 mi) ran south of the Johnson Line through the Aksai Chin region claimed by India. Aksai Chin was easily accessible to the Chinese, but was more difficult for the Indians on the other side of the Karakorams to reach. The Indians did not learn of the existence of the road until 1957, which was confirmed when
174-775: 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. Aksai Chin Aksai Chin
232-590: A few years earlier by the Kashmiris. In 1878 the Chinese had reconquered Xinjiang , and by 1890 they already had Shahidulla before the issue was decided. By 1892, China had erected boundary markers at Karakoram Pass . In 1897 a British military officer, Sir John Ardagh , proposed a boundary line along the crest of the Kun Lun Mountains north of the Yarkand River . At that time, Britain
290-559: A large compound with elevated lookout posts and a large communications tower. Such terrain models are known to be used in military training and simulation, although usually on a much smaller scale. Local authorities in Ningxia claim that their model of Aksai Chin is part of a tank training ground, built in 1998 or 1999. In August 2017, Indian and Chinese forces near Pangong Tso threw rocks at each other. On 11 September 2019, People's Liberation Army troops confronted Indian troops on
348-482: A memo directing that the maps of India be revised to show definite boundaries on all frontiers. Up to this point, the boundary in the Aksai Chin sector, based on the Johnson Line, had been described as "undemarcated." Despite this region being nearly uninhabitable and having no resources, it remains strategically important for China as it connects Tibet and Xinjiang. During the 1950s, the People's Republic of China built
406-730: A natural boundary, which would set the British borders up to the Indus River watershed while leaving the Tarim River watershed in Chinese control, and Chinese control of this tract would present a further obstacle to Russian advance in Central Asia. The British presented this line, known as the Macartney–MacDonald Line , to the Chinese in 1899 in a note by Sir Claude MacDonald . The Qing government did not respond to
464-785: A revised boundary, initially suggested by Macartney and developed by the Governor General of India Lord Elgin . This boundary placed the Lingzi Tang plains, which are south of the Laktsang range, in India, and Aksai Chin proper, which is north of the Laktsang range, in China. This border, along the Karakoram Mountains , was proposed and supported by British officials for a number of reasons. The Karakoram Mountains formed
522-488: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Karakoram The Karakoram ( / ˌ k ɑːr ə ˈ k ɔːr əm , ˌ k ær -/ ) 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
580-517: 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) . The majority of the highest peaks are in the Gilgit–Baltistan region administered by Pakistan. Baltistan has more than 100 mountain peaks exceeding 6,100 metres (20,000 ft) height from sea level. The naming and division of the various subranges of
638-554: Is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County , Hotan Prefecture , Xinjiang and partly in Rutog County , Ngari Prefecture , Tibet and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and China since 1959. It is claimed by India as part of its Leh District , Ladakh Union Territory . Aksai Chin was first mentioned by Muhammad Amin,
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#1732765127061696-542: 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. The Karakoram is bounded on the east by the Aksai Chin plateau, on the northeast by the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and on
754-601: Is concurrent with the Chinese Aksai Chin claim line. The Akasy region is sparely populated region with few settlements such as Heweitan , Khurnak Fort , Tianshuihai and Dahongliutan and Kangxiwar which lays north of it, with the latter being the forward headquarters of the Xinjiang Military Command during the 1962 Sino-Indian War . Aksai Chin covers an area of approximately 38,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi). The area
812-599: Is largely a vast high-altitude desert with a low point (on the Karakash River ) at about 4,300 m (14,100 ft) above sea level. In the southwest, mountains up to 7,000 m (23,000 ft) extending southeast from the Depsang Plains form the de facto border (Line of Actual Control) between Aksai Chin and Indian-controlled Kashmir. In the north, the Kunlun Range separates Aksai Chin from
870-592: 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
928-585: Is no Uyghur word resembling "chin" for China. Amin's Aksai Chin was not a defined region, stretching indefinitely east into Tibet south of the Kunlun Mountains . In 1895, the British envoy to Kashgar told the Chinese Taotai that Aksai Chin was a "loose name for an ill-defined, elevated tableland", part of which lay in Indian and part in Chinese territory. The current meaning of the term
986-496: Is the second-highest mountain range on Earth and part of a complex of ranges that includes the Pamir Mountains , Hindu Kush , and Himalayas . The range contains 18 summits higher than 7,500 m (24,600 ft) in elevation , with four above 8,000 m (26,000 ft): K2 (8,611 m (28,251 ft) AMSL ) (the second-highest peak on Earth), Gasherbrum I , Broad Peak , and Gasherbrum II . The range
1044-466: Is the area under dispute between India and China, having evolved in repeated usage since Indian independence in 1947. Because of its 5,000-metre (16,000 ft) elevation, the desolation of Aksai Chin meant that it had no human importance. For military campaigns, the region held great importance, as it was on the only route from the Tarim Basin to Tibet that was passable all year round. Ladakh
1102-415: 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. 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
1160-399: The Kunlun Mountains . The Peking University Atlas , published in 1925, also put the Aksai Chin in India. When British officials learned of Soviet officials surveying the Aksai Chin for Sheng Shih-tsai , warlord of Xinjiang in 1940–1941, they again advocated the Johnson Line. At this point the British had still made no attempts to establish outposts or control over the Aksai Chin, nor was
1218-712: The Rimo Muztagh to the north. The Ladakh Range stands to the south of the Saser Muztagh, across the Shyok River. Early European exploration and surveying of this range occurred between 1850 and 1900. In 1909 famed explorer T. G. Longstaff , Arthur Neve, and A. M. Slingsby explored the Nubra Valley and scouted approaches to the main Saser Kangri massif. However the main peaks were not climbed until
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#17327651270611276-655: The Tarim Basin , where the rest of Hotan County is situated. According to a recent detailed Chinese map, no roads cross the Kunlun Range within Hotan Prefecture, and only one track does so, over the Hindutash Pass. Aksai Chin area has number of endorheic basins with many salt or soda lakes . The major salt lakes are Surigh Yilganing Kol , Tso Tang , Aksai Chin Lake , Hongshan Lake , etc. Much of
1334-637: The Uyghur meaning "white stone desert", including several British colonial, modern Western, Chinese, and Indian sources. Some modern sources interpret it to mean "white brook" instead. At least one source interprets Aksai to mean "eastern" in the Yarkandi Uyghur dialect . The word "Chin" was taken to mean "China" by some Chinese, Western, and Indian sources. At least one source takes it to mean "pass". Other sources omit "Chin" in their interpretations. Van Driem states that there
1392-801: The Yarkandi guide of the Schlagintweit brothers , who were contracted in 1854 by the British East India Company to explore Central Asia. Amin explained its meaning as "the great white sand desert". Linguist George van Driem states that the name intended by Amin was Aqsai Chöl ( Uyghur : ﺋﺎﻗﺴﺎﻱ چۆل ; Cyrillic : ақсай чөл ) which could mean "white ravine desert" or "white coomb desert". The word chöl for desert seems to have been corrupted in English transliteration into "chin". Some sources have interpreted Aksai to have
1450-606: 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. Floral surveys were carried out in
1508-503: The 1950s, India collected salt from various lakes in Aksai Chin to study the economic feasibility of salt mining operations in the area. By the end of the 1950s, in addition to having constructed a road, numerous PLA Ground Force outposts were constructed in a few locations, including at Tianwendian , Kongka Pass , Heweitan and Tianshuihai . The road was later upgraded to the China National Highway 219 . In
1566-583: The 1970s. Since this region is near the disputed border between China and India , there is currently little climbing and exploratory activity in the range, except for occasional forays by the Indian military. Notable glaciers of the Saser Muztagh include the North and South Shukpa Kunchang Glaciers, the Sakang Glacier, and the Chamshen Glacier. The following is a table of the peaks in
1624-672: The British attempted to promote a caravan route via the western side of Aksai Chin as an alternative to the difficult and tariffed Karakoram Pass . The route, referred to as the Chang Chenmo line after the starting point in Chang Chenmo River valley, was discussed in the House of Commons in 1874. In addition of being longer and higher elevation than Karakoram Pass, it also goes through the desolate desert of Aksai Chin. By 1890s, traders had mostly given up on this route. In
1682-571: The Himalaya and 2.2 percent of the Alps . 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, 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
1740-667: The Indian claim line extends northeast of the Karakoram Mountains through the salt flats of the Aksai Chin, to set a boundary at the Kunlun Mountains , and incorporating part of the Karakash River and Yarkand River watersheds. From there, it runs east along the Kunlun Mountains, before turning southwest through the Aksai Chin salt flats, through the Karakoram Mountains, and then to Panggong Lake . On 1 July 1954, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote
1798-673: The Johnson-Ardagh and the Macartney-MacDonald lines were used on British maps of India. Until at least 1908, the British took the Macdonald line to be the boundary, but in 1911, the Xinhai Revolution resulted in the collapse of central power in China, and by the end of World War I , the British officially used the Johnson Line. However they took no steps to establish outposts or assert actual control on
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1856-517: 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
1914-918: The Karakoram is not universally agreed upon. However, the following is a list of the most important subranges, following Jerzy Wala. The ranges are listed roughly west to east. [REDACTED] 1 ： Sia La , [REDACTED] 2 ： Bilafond La , [REDACTED] 3 ： Gyong La , [REDACTED] 4 ： Sasser Pass , [REDACTED] 5 ： Burji La , [REDACTED] 6 ： Machulo La , [REDACTED] 7 ： Naltar Pass , [REDACTED] 8 ： Hispar Pass , [REDACTED] 9 ： Shimshal Pass , [REDACTED] 10 ： Karakoram Pass , [REDACTED] 11 ： Turkistan La Pass , [REDACTED] 12 ： Windy Gap , [REDACTED] 13 ： Mustagh Pass , [REDACTED] 14 ： Sarpo Laggo Pass , [REDACTED] 15 ： Khunjerab Pass , [REDACTED] 16 ： Mutsjliga Pass , [REDACTED] 17 ： Mintaka Pass , [REDACTED] 18 ： Kilik Pass Passes from west to east are: The Khunjerab Pass
1972-562: The People's Republic of China for UNESCO and have been tentatively added to the list. Karakoram is a Turkic term meaning black gravel . The Central Asian traders originally applied the name to the Karakoram Pass . 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
2030-460: The Saser Muztagh which are over 7,200 m (23,600 ft) in elevation and have over 500 m (1,600 ft) of topographic prominence . (This is a common criterion for peaks of this stature to be independent.) Note that they are all in the Saser Kangri group; the highest peak in the range outside of this group is an unnamed 6,789m peak. This article related to a location in Jammu and Kashmir
2088-664: The Shyok River catchment and from Panamik to Turtuk village by Chandra Prakash Kala during 1999 and 2000. 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 . A significant part, somewhere between 28 and 50 percent, of the Karakoram Range is glaciated covering an area of more than 15,000 square kilometres or 5,800 square miles, compared to between 8 and 12 percent of
2146-622: The boundaries of the state. Chinese and Tibetan officials were invited to jointly demarcate the border, but they did not show any interest. The British boundary commissioners fixed the southern part of the boundary up to the Chang Chenmo Valley , but regarded the area north of it as terra incognita . William Johnson , a civil servant with the Survey of India proposed the "Johnson Line" in 1865, which put Aksai Chin in Kashmir. This
2204-646: The ground. In 1927, the line was adjusted again as the government of British India abandoned the Johnson line in favor of a line along the Karakoram range further south. However, the maps were not updated and still showed the Johnson Line. From 1917 to 1933, the Postal Atlas of China , published by the Government of China in Peking had shown the boundary in Aksai Chin as per the Johnson line, which runs along
2262-400: The issue ever discussed with the governments of China or Tibet, and the boundary remained undemarcated at India's independence. After Jammu and Kashmir acceded to the newly independent India in October 1947, the government of India used the Johnson Line as the basis for its official boundary in the west, which included the Aksai Chin. From the Karakoram Pass (which is not under dispute),
2320-432: 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
2378-413: The north, the Karakoram glaciers joined those from the Kunlun Mountains and flowed down to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in the Tarim basin. While the current valley glaciers in the Karakoram reach a maximum length of 76 kilometres (47 mi), several of the ice-age valley glacier branches and main valley glaciers, had lengths up to 700 kilometres (430 mi). During the Ice Age, the glacier snowline
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2436-415: The northern bank of Pangong Lake . A continued face-off in the 2020 China–India skirmishes of May and June 2020 between Indian and Chinese troops near Pangong Tso Lake culminated in a violent clash on 16 June 2020, with at least 20 deaths from the Indian side and no official reported deaths from the Chinese side. In 2021, Chinese state media reported 4 Chinese deaths. Both sides claimed provocation from
2494-435: The northern part of Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plains, located near Aksai Chin's largest river, the Karakash, which receives meltwater from a number of glaciers, crosses the Kunlun farther northwest, in Pishan County and enters the Tarim Basin, where it serves as one of the main sources of water for Karakax and Hotan Counties. The western part of Aksai Chin region is drained by the Tarim River. The eastern part of
2552-415: The note. According to some commentators, China believed that this had been the accepted boundary. The line is named after Henry McMahon , foreign secretary of British India and the chief British negotiator of the conference at Simla. The bilateral agreement between Tibet and Britain was signed by McMahon on behalf of the British government and Lonchen Shatra on behalf of the Tibetan government. Both
2610-425: The other. Aksai Chin is one of the two large disputed border areas between India and China. India claims Aksai Chin as the easternmost part of the union territory of Ladakh . China claims that Aksai Chin is part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region . The line that separates Indian-administered areas of Ladakh from Aksai Chin is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and
2668-403: 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
2726-482: The range now known as Karakoram. 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 . Due to its altitude and ruggedness,
2784-430: The region contains several small endorheic basins. The largest of them is that of the Aksai Chin Lake , which is fed by the river of the same name. The region as a whole receives little precipitation as the Himalayas and the Karakoram block the rains from the Indian monsoon . The nearby Trans-Karakoram Tract is also the subject of ongoing dispute between China and India in the Kashmir dispute . Prior to 1950,
2842-439: The road was shown in Chinese maps published in 1958. The construction of this highway was one of the triggers for the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The Indian position, as stated by Prime Minister Nehru, was that the Aksai Chin was "part of the Ladakh region of India for centuries" and that this northern border was a "firm and definite one which was not open to discussion with anybody". The Chinese premier Zhou Enlai argued that
2900-431: The town of Huangyangtan , about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Yinchuan , the capital of the autonomous region of Ningxia in China. A visual side-by-side comparison shows a very detailed duplication of Aksai Chin in the camp. The 900 m × 700 m (3,000 ft × 2,300 ft) model was surrounded by a substantial facility, with rows of red-roofed buildings, scores of olive-coloured trucks and
2958-409: The upper Karakash River firmly within the territory of Xinjiang (see accompanying map). According to Francis Younghusband , who explored the region in the late 1880s, there was only an abandoned fort and not one inhabited house at Shahidulla when he was there – it was just a convenient staging post and a convenient headquarters for the nomadic Kirghiz . The abandoned fort had apparently been built
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#17327651270613016-428: The visitors of Aksai Chin were, for the most part, the occasional explorers, hunters, and nomads who passed through the area. Prior to European exploration in the 1860s, there were some jade mining operations on the Xinjiang side of Aksai Chin. They were abandoned by the time European explorers reached the area. In the 1860s to 1870s, in order to facilitate trade between the Indian subcontinent and Tarim Basin ,
3074-435: The warmth of the sun. Where there is no such insulation, the rate of retreat is high. 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 . To the south, the Indus glacier was the main valley glacier, which flowed 120 kilometres (75 mi) down from Nanga Parbat massif to 870 metres (2,850 ft) elevation. In
3132-472: The western border had never been delimited, that the Macartney-MacDonald Line, which left the Aksai Chin within Chinese borders was the only line ever proposed to a Chinese government, and that the Aksai Chin was already under Chinese jurisdiction, and that negotiations should take into account the status quo. In June 2006, satellite imagery on the Google Earth service revealed a 1:500 scale terrain model of eastern Aksai Chin and adjacent Tibet , built near
3190-1452: Was about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) lower than today. Legend： 1： K2 , 2： Gasherbrum I, K5 , 3： Broad Peak , 4： Gasherbrum II, K4 , 5： Gasherbrum III, K3a , 6： Gasherbrum IV, K3 , 7： Distaghil Sar , 8： Kunyang Chhish , 9： Masherbrum, K1 , 10： Batura Sar, Batura I , 11： Rakaposhi , 12： Batura II , 13： Kanjut Sar , 14： Saltoro Kangri, K10 , 15： Batura III , 16： Saser Kangri I, K22 , 17： Chogolisa , 18： Shispare , 19： Trivor Sar , 20： Skyang Kangri , 21： Mamostong Kangri, K35 , 22： Saser Kangri II , 23： Saser Kangri III , 24： Pumari Chhish , 25： Passu Sar , 26： Yukshin Gardan Sar , 27： Teram Kangri I , 28： Malubiting , 29： K12 , 30： Sia Kangri , 31： Momhil Sar , 32： Skil Brum , 33： Haramosh Peak , 34： Ghent Kangri , 35： Ultar Sar , 36： Rimo massif , 37： Sherpi Kangri , 38： Yazghil Dome South , 39： Baltoro Kangri , 40： Crown Peak , 41： Baintha Brakk , 42： Yutmaru Sar , 43： K6 , 44： Muztagh Tower , 45： Diran , 46： Apsarasas Kangri I , 47： Rimo III , 48： Gasherbrum V Here
3248-457: Was concerned about the danger of Russian expansion as China weakened, and Ardagh argued that his line was more defensible. The Ardagh line was effectively a modification of the Johnson line, and became known as the "Johnson-Ardagh Line". In 1893, Hung Ta-chen, a senior Chinese official at St. Petersburg , gave maps of the region to George Macartney , the British consul general at Kashgar, which coincided in broad details. In 1899, Britain proposed
3306-403: Was conquered in 1842 by the armies of Raja Gulab Singh (Dogra) under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire . The British defeat of the Sikhs in 1846 resulted in the transfer of the Jammu and Kashmir region including Ladakh to the British, who then installed Gulab Singh as the Maharaja under their suzerainty. The British appointed a boundary commission headed by Alexander Cunningham to determine
3364-552: Was the time of the Dungan revolt , when China did not control most of Xinjiang , so this line was never presented to the Chinese. Johnson presented this line to the Maharaja of Kashmir, who then claimed the 18,000 square kilometres contained within, and by some accounts territory further north as far as the Sanju Pass in the Kun Lun Mountains . The Maharajah of Kashmir constructed a fort at Shahidulla (modern-day Xaidulla ), and had troops stationed there for some years to protect caravans. Eventually, most sources placed Shahidulla and
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