The Karakoram Mountain Range is a mountain system in Asia. It is part of the Great Himalayas, constituting its outermost northwestern portion. It extends from west to east in northern Kashmir, in Pakistan and India. It lies to the east of the Hindu Kush. It is about 550 km in length, straddling the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in its extreme western portion. Its narrowest part is 150 km in width, while its widest portion is 250 km across. The Karakoram consist of several parallel ranges and spurs of the ranges, including the Saltoro and the Sasir ranges. The average elevation is around 6,000 m; the highest point in the system is Mt. Godwin Austen (K2), which is 8,611 m high, being second in height only to Chomolungma (Mt. Everest). Most road passes of this mountain system lie at altitudes of 4,600–5,800 m.
Geology
The origin and geological nature of this mountain range is similar to the rest of the Himalayas. Its formation and elevation began about 50 million years ago, during the Tertiary period (Cenozoic). Thus, it is a young mountain system, being the result of the collision and subduction of the Indian Plate against the Eurasian Plate. In tectonic terms, the Karakoram are a major anti-clinorium with a northwestern strike. Its axial zone was formed by gneiss, crystalline schist, and marble intruded by granodiorite and granite of alpine age; the northeastern zone was formed by argillaceous and carbonaceous rock of the different periods of the Upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic era, broken through by individual granitoid bodies.
Although most of these geological layers of rocks dates from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, the orogenic process that uplifted the terrain, folded it up, and formed the Karakoram mountains began relatively recently, only some 50 million years ago. In other words, the orogeny is young. The southwestern zone was formed by weakly metamorphized igneous-sedimentary formations. The structures of the northeastern zone have been tilted sharply toward the north; those of the southwest, toward the south. The systems of major fracture disturbances are the boundaries of the zones.
Climate
The climate is predominantly semi-desert and sharply continental. The moisture conditions of the southern slope are influenced by the monsoon of the Indian Ocean; the northern slope is characterized by exceptional aridity. At the foot of the slopes, total precipitation is around 100 mm; however, over 5, 000 m it exceeds 500 mm per year. Precipitation in the mountainous zone (with a summer maximum) always falls in the form of snow. Much of the Karakoram is characterized by below-freezing average annual air temperatures. Other characteristic features of the climate include intensive solar radiation, large daily fluctuations of the air temperature, and significant evaporation.
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| Above, a map showing the Karakoram Mountain Range, with the K2. |
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| Above, the K2, the highest peak in the Karakoram range and the second highest in Himalayas. |