- Karakoram Pass
Infobox Mountain Pass
Name = Karakoram Pass
Photo =
Caption =
Elevation = 5,540 m./18,175 ft.
Location = CHN / IND
Range =Karakoram Range
Coordinates = coord|35|30|48|N|77|49|23|E|type:passTopographic
Traversed by = Robert Shaw (1868); Francis E. Younghusband (1889); Theodore Jr. and Kermit Roosevelt (1926).The Karakoram Pass (5,540 m or 18,175 ft) [
SRTM data; the figure is now known to be a few meters lower than provided in Rizvi, Janet. "Trans-Himalayan Caravans : Merchant Princes and Peasant Traders in Ladakh", p. 217. 1999. Oxford University Press. New Delhi. ISBN 019-564855-2.] is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route betweenLeh inLadakh andYarkand in theTarim Basin . 'Karakoram' literally means 'Black Gravel' inTurkic . [Younghusband, Francis E. "The Heart of a Continent: A Narrative of Travels in Manchuria, across the Gobi Desert, through the Himalayas, the Pamirs and Chitral, 1884-94". First published: 1897. London. Unabridged facsimile (2005): Elibron Classics Replica Edition, p. 225. London ISBN 1-4212-6551-6 (pbk); ISBN 1-4212-6550-8 (hbk).]The high altitude and lack of fodder was responsible for the deaths of innumerable pack animals, and the route across the Pass was notorious for the trail of bones strewn along the way. [Shaw, Robert. (1871). "Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand and Kashgar". Reprint with Introduction by Peter Hopkirk (1984): Oxford University Press, p. 431. ISBN 0-19-583830.] There is an almost total absence of vegetation on the approaches to the pass. [Rizvi, Janet. "Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia", p. 48. 1983. Oxford University Press. Reprint: Oxford University Press, New Delhi (1996). ISBN 019-564546-4.]
To the south was the barren and feared three days' march across the
Depsang Plains at about 5,300 m. (17,400 ft). [Rizvi, Janet. (1999). "Trans-Himalayan Caravans : Merchant Princes and Peasant Traders in Ladakh", p. 216. Oxford University Press. New Delhi. ISBN 019-564855-2.] To the north, the country was somewhat less desolate before one had to cross the relatively easy and lower Suget Dawan (or Suget Pass) [Younghusband, Francis E. "The Heart of a Continent: A Narrative of Travels in Manchuria, across the Gobi Desert, through the Himalayas, the Pamirs and Chitral, 1884-94". First published: 1897. London. Unabridged facsimile (2005): Elibron Classics Replica Edition, p. 226. London ISBN 1-4212-6551-6 (pbk); ISBN 1-4212-6550-8 (hbk).] before reaching the lush grazing grounds around Shahidullah orXaidulla in the upper valley of theKarakash River .This pass, falling precisely on the boundary of territory controlled by India (
Jammu and Kashmir region) and China (Xinjiang Autonomous Region), plays a major geographic role in the dispute between Pakistan and India over control of theSiachen Glacier area immediately to the west.It is in a saddle between two mountains and about 45 metres wide. There is no vegetation or icecap and it is generally free of snow due to the winds. However, the winds are often very high accompanied by low temperatures and there are frequent blizzards. In spite of all this, the Karakoram Pass was considered a relatively easy pass due to the gradual ascent on both sides, and lack of summer snow and ice much of the year, although the extreme altitude took its toll. Because of this it was open throughout most of the year. [Rizvi, Janet. (1999). "Trans-Himalayan Caravans : Merchant Princes and Peasant Traders in Ladakh", pp. 28, 217. Oxford University Press. New Delhi. ISBN 019-564855-2.] . The pass currently remains closed to vehicular traffic.
Footnotes
References
* Schmidt, Jeremy. "Himalayan Passage: Seven Months in the High country of Tibet, Nepal, China, India & Pakistan". 1991. The Mountaineers Books, Seattle.
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