The Rimo Muztagh is one of the most remote subranges 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,...

 range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

. The southern part of Rimo Muztagh is in the Kashmir

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

 portion of far northwestern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, also claimed by 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...

. The northern half, including the Rimo massif, is in the Siachen

Siachen Glacier

The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about , just east of the Line of Control between India-Pakistan. India controls all of the Siachen Glacier itself, including all tributary glaciers. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and...

 area (territory controlled by India but with sovereignty contested

Siachen conflict

The Siachen Conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen War, is a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. The conflict began in 1984 with India's successful Operation Meghdoot during which it wrested control of the Siachen Glacier from...

 between India and Pakistan. It is far from major towns, and close to the militarily sensitive Siachen Glacier, so it has seen little exploration or climbing activity compared to, for example, the nearby 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....

. The highest peak is Mamostong Kangri

Mamostong Kangri

Mamostong Kangri or Mamostang Kangri is the highest peak in the remote Rimo Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range in India near its border with China. It is located about 30 km east-southeast of the snout of the Siachen Glacier...

, 7,516 metres (24,659 feet).

The Rimo Muztagh is bordered on the north by the Rimo Glacier, which drains to the east into the upper Shyok River

Shyok River

The Shyok River flows through northern Ladakh in India and the Northern Areas of Pakistan , spanning some .The Shyok River, a tributary of the Indus River, originates from the Rimo Glacier, one of the tongues of Siachen Glacier. The river widens at the confluence with the Nubra River...

, and by the Teram Shehr Glacier, a tributary of the Siachen Glacier

Siachen Glacier

The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about , just east of the Line of Control between India-Pakistan. India controls all of the Siachen Glacier itself, including all tributary glaciers. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and...

. To the northeast lie the Northeast Rimo Mountains and the Karakoram Pass

Karakoram Pass

The Karakoram Pass is a mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkand in the Tarim Basin...

, a pass on one of the historically important trade route

Trade route

A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial...

s into Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

. To the north lies the eastern end of the Siachen Muztagh

Siachen Muztagh

The Siachen Muztagh is a remote subrange of the eastern Karakoram Range. Close to 60% is in area controlled by China, 40% in area controlled by India. Pakistan claims the Indian-controlled portion as part of the Siachen Conflict. India claims the Chinese-controlled portion. India administers its...

. On the east side of the range, the upper Shyok River divides it from the Depsang Plains

Depsang Plains

The Depsang Plains are located on the border of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and the disputed zone of Aksai Chin. The Chinese army occupied the plains in 1962 only to partially withdraw days later...

, part of the Tibetan Plateau

Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...

. On the southeast, the pass known as the Sasser Pass

Sasser Pass

Saser Pass, Saser La, or Sasser Pass is a high mountain pass in Ladakh and India on the ancient summer caravan route from Leh in Ladakh to Yarkand in the Tarim Basin...

 (Saser La) separates the Rimo Muztagh from the Saser Muztagh

Saser Muztagh

The Saser Muztagh is the easternmost subrange of the Karakoram range, in the Kashmir 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...

. The western border of the range is formed by the lower Siachen Glacier and its outflow, the Nubra River. Across this boundary lie the Saltoro Mountains

Saltoro Mountains

The Saltoro Mountains are a subrange of the Karakoram Range. They are located in the heart of the Karakoram, on the southwest side of the Siachen Glacier, one of the longest glaciers outside of the polar regions.They are claimed as part of Jammu and Kashmir by India and as part of Gilgit-Baltistan...

 and the Kailas Mountains.

Selected peaks of the Rimo Muztagh

The following is a table of the peaks in the Rimo Muztagh which are over 7,200 meters (23,622 feet) in elevation and have over 500 meters (1,524 feet) of topographic prominence

Topographic prominence

In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...

.
(This is a common criterion for peaks of this stature to be independent.)

Mountain	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Coordinates	Prominence (m)	Parent mountain	First ascent	Ascents (attempts)
Mamostong Kangri Mamostong Kangri Mamostong Kangri or Mamostang Kangri is the highest peak in the remote Rimo Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range in India near its border with China. It is located about 30 km east-southeast of the snout of the Siachen Glacier...	7,516	24,659	35°08′27"N 77°34′39"E	1,803	Gasherbrum I Gasherbrum I Gasherbrum 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...	1984	5 (0)
Rimo I Rimo I Rimo I is the main summit of the Rimo massif with an elevation of . It lies in the northern part of the remote Rimo Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. It is located about 20 km northeast of the snout of the Siachen Glacier...	7,385	24,229	35°21′21"N 77°22′05"E	1,438	Teram Kangri I	1988	1 (3)
Rimo III	7,233	23,730	35°22′29"N 77°21′42"E	615	Rimo I Rimo I Rimo I is the main summit of the Rimo massif with an elevation of . It lies in the northern part of the remote Rimo Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. It is located about 20 km northeast of the snout of the Siachen Glacier...	1985	1 (0)

Sources

• Jerzy Wala, Orographical Sketch Map of the Karakoram, Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich, 1990.
• Andy Fanshawe and Stephen Venables, Himalaya Alpine-Style, Hodder and Stoughton, 1995.