Baltoro Glacier
Encyclopedia
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s outside the polar regions. It is located in Baltistan
Baltistan
Baltistan , also known as بلتیول བལིུལ་ in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan which forms Gilgit-Baltistan, bordering the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. In addition, a part of Baltistan also falls into Jammu and Kashmir of India. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains...
, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and runs through part of the Karakoram
Karakoram
The Karakoram, or Karakorum , is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang region,...
mountain range. The Baltoro Muztagh
Baltoro Muztagh
The Baltoro Muztagh is a subrange of the Karakoram mountain range, in Baltistan region of the Gilgit-Baltistan province in northern Pakistan; and in Xinjiang, China. The crest of the range forms part of the Pakistan-China border....
lies to the north and east of the glacier, while the Masherbrum Mountains
Masherbrum Mountains
The Masherbrum Mountains are a subrange of the Karakoram mountain range, in Baltistan region of the Gilgit-Baltistan province in northern Pakistan.-Geography:The Masherbrum Mountains are located on the south side of the Baltoro Glacier...
lie to the south. At 8,611 m (28,251 ft), K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
is the highest mountain in the region, and three others within 20 km top 8,000 m.
The glacier gives rise to the Shigar River
Shigar River
Shigar River is located in Baltistan, Northern Areas, Pakistan. The Shigar River is formed from the melt water of the Baltoro Glacier and Biafo Glacier. It flows through the Shigar Valley. The river is tributary to Indus River and meets the Indus in Skardu Valley.-See also:*Shigar...
, which is a tributary of the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
. Several large tributary glaciers feed the main Baltoro glacier, including the Godwin Austen Glacier, flowing south from K2; the Abruzzi and the various Gasherbrum Glaciers, flowing from the Gasherbrum
Gasherbrum
Gasherbrum is a remote group of peaks located at the northeastern end of the Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram range of the Himalaya on the border of the Chinese Shaksgam Valley and the Gilgit-Baltistan territory of Pakistan. The massif contains three of the world's 8,000 metre peaks...
group of peaks; the Vigne Glacier, flowing from Chogolisa
Chogolisa
Chogolisa is a mountain in the Karakoram region of Pakistan. It lies near the Baltoro Glacier in the Concordia region which is home to some of the highest peaks of the world. Chogolisa has several peaks, the highest on the SW face rises to...
, and the Yermandendu Glacier, flowing from Masherbrum
Masherbrum
Masherbrum is located in the Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan. At it is the 22nd highest mountain in the world and the 9th highest in Pakistan. It was the first scaled and mapped peak in the Karakoram mountain range, hence its name....
. The confluence of the main Baltoro Glacier with the Godwin Austen Glacier is known as Concordia; this location and K2
K2
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
base camp are popular trekking destinations.
The trough of this glacier is very wide. Small valley glaciers form icefalls where they meet the trunk glacier. The sidewalls vary from very steep to precipitous. The glacier has carved striations on the surrounding country rocks. Moving ice has formed depressions, which serve as basins for numerous glacial lakes.
The glacier can be approached via the important Balti town of Skardu
Skardu
Skardu , is the main town of the region Baltistan and the capital of Skardu District, one of the districts making up Pakistan's Gilgit Baltistan....
.
List of peaks
A list of notable peaks adjacent to or near the Baltoro Glacier includes:- K2K2K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest...
, 2nd highest of the world at 8611m - Gasherbrum IGasherbrum IGasherbrum I , also known as Hidden Peak or K5, is the 11th highest peak on Earth, located on the Pakistan-China border in Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and Xinjiang region of China. Gasherbrum I is part of the Gasherbrum massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya...
, 11th highest of the world at 8,080m. - Broad PeakBroad PeakBroad Peak , is the 12th highest mountain on Earth, with an elevation of 8,051 meters . The literal translation of "Broad Peak" to Faichan Kangri is not accepted among the Balti people.- Geography :...
, 12th highest of the world at 8,047m. - Gasherbrum IIGasherbrum IIGasherbrum II , also known as K4, is the 13th highest mountain on Earth, located on the border of Gilgit-Baltistan province, Pakistan and Xinjiang, China...
, 13th highest of the world at 8,035m. - Gasherbrum IIIGasherbrum IIIGasherbrum III is a summit in the Gasherbrum massif of the Baltoro Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram on the border between Northern Areas of Pakistan and Xinjiang, China, in the region of Baltistan...
, 7,946m. (Often regarded as a subpeak of Gasherbrum II.) - Gasherbrum IVGasherbrum IVGasherbrum IV is the 17th highest mountain on Earth and the 6th highest in Pakistan. It is one of the peaks in the Gasherbrum massif.The Gasherbrums are a remote group of peaks located at the northeastern end of the Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram range of the Himalaya. The massif contains three...
, 17th highest of the world at 7,932m. - MasherbrumMasherbrumMasherbrum is located in the Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan. At it is the 22nd highest mountain in the world and the 9th highest in Pakistan. It was the first scaled and mapped peak in the Karakoram mountain range, hence its name....
(K1), 22nd highest of the world at 7,821m. - ChogolisaChogolisaChogolisa is a mountain in the Karakoram region of Pakistan. It lies near the Baltoro Glacier in the Concordia region which is home to some of the highest peaks of the world. Chogolisa has several peaks, the highest on the SW face rises to...
, 36th highest of the world at 7,665m. - Muztagh TowerMuztagh TowerMuztagh Tower , is a mountain in the Baltoro Muztagh, part of the Karakoram range on the border of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan and the Xinjiang Uygur region of China...
, 7,273m. - Snow Dome, 7,160m.
- BiarchediBiarchediBiarchedi Peak is a mountain peak on the south of the Baltoro Glacier. In its southwest is Masherbrum and in its east is the Mitre Peak . In its northeast is the Biarchedi Glacier that flows north into the Baltoro Glacier.- External links :...
, 6,781 m - Uli BiahoUli BiahoUli Biaho is a peak near Trango Towers and Baltoro Glacier in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It consists of two main peaks, Uli Biaho Tower ; and Uli Biaho Peak , which as of 2006 was unclimbed.Uli Biaho Tower was climbed alpine-style via the direct East Face by John Roskelley et al...
Tower, 6,417m. - Trango TowersTrango TowersThe Trango Towers are a group of dramatic granite spires located on the north side of the Baltoro Glacier, in Baltistan, a district of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan . They are part of the Baltoro Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. The Towers offer some of the largest cliffs and...
, 6,286m. (Their vertical faces are the world's tallest cliffs.) - Mitre PeakMitre Peak (Pakistan)Mitre Peak is a mountain in the Karakoram mountain range near Concordia in the Northern Areas of Pakistan.-External links:*...
, 6,010m.
See also
- Baltoro MuztaghBaltoro MuztaghThe Baltoro Muztagh is a subrange of the Karakoram mountain range, in Baltistan region of the Gilgit-Baltistan province in northern Pakistan; and in Xinjiang, China. The crest of the range forms part of the Pakistan-China border....
- Sarpo Laggo GlacierSarpo Laggo GlacierThe Sarpo Laggo Glacier is a glacier in the autonomous region Xinjiang of China, in the Karakoram mountain range of the Himalayas. It lies north of the Baltoro Muztagh range. It could be reached from the Baltoro glacier on the Pakistani side of the Karakorams via the Old Muztagh Pass northeast of...
- Northern AreasNorthern AreasGilgit-Baltistan , is the northernmost political entity within Pakistan. It borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China to the east and northeast, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the...
- Eight-thousanderEight-thousanderThe eight-thousanders are the fourteen independent mountains on Earth that are more than high above sea level. They are all located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia....
- List of mountains in Pakistan
- List of highest mountains
- List of glaciers