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The Biafo Glacier ( ur, ) is a -long
The Biafo Glacier is the world's third longest glacier outside the polar regions, second only to the
Northern India detailed placemarks in Google Earth
{{Authority control Glaciers of the Karakoram Glaciers of Gilgit-Baltistan
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
situated in the Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
mountain range in Shigar district
Shigar District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of Pakistani territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. The district is bounded on the north by the Nagar District, the Hunza District, and the Kashgar Prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regi ...
, Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.Geography
Biafo Glacier meets the -longHispar Glacier
Hispar Glacier ( ur, ) is a long glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan which meets the long Biafo Glacier at the Hispar La (Pass) at an altitude of to create the world's longest glacial system outside of the po ...
at an altitude of at Hispar La to create the world's longest glacial system outside of the polar regions
The polar regions, also called the frigid zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by floa ...
. This highway of ice connects two ancient mountain kingdoms, Nagar
Nagar ( -nagar) can refer to:
Places Bangladesh
* Nagar, Rajshahi Division, a village
* Nagar, Barisal Division, a settlement
India
* Nagar taluka, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra State
* Nagar, Murshidabad, a village in West Bengal
* Nagar, Rajasthan ...
, in the west with District Shigar Baltistan
Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gil ...
in the east. This Glacier is about away from Askoli Village Braldo of Shigar District. The traverse uses 51 of the Biafo Glacier's and all of the Hispar Glacier to form a glacial route.
The Biafo Glacier presents a trekker with several days of strenuous boulder hopping, with views throughout and Snow Lake near the high point. Snow Lake, consisting of parts of the upper Biafo Glacier and its tributary glacier Sim Gang, is one of the world's largest basins of snow or ice in the world outside the polar regions, up to in depth.
The Biafo Glacier is the world's third longest glacier outside the polar regions, second only to the Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kara ...
, India and Tajikistan's long Fedchenko Glacier
The Fedchenko Glacier (russian: Ледник Федченко; tg, Пиряхи Федченко) is a large glacier in the Yazgulem Range, Pamir Mountains, of north-central Gorno-Badakhshan province, Tajikistan. The glacier is long and narrow, ...
.
Campsites along the Biafo are located off the glacier, adjacent to the lateral moraines and steep mountainsides. The first three (heading up from the last village before the glacier, the thousand-year-old Askole village) are beautiful sites with flowing water nearby. Mango and Namla, the first two campsites, are often covered in flowers and Namla has an amazing waterfall very near the camping area. Baintha, the third campsite, is often used as a rest day. A large green meadow, it has a few running streams near the camp and many places to spend the day rock climbing or rappelling.
Evidence of wildlife can be seen on the trek, including Ibex
An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...
and the Markhor mountain goat. The area is also known for Himalayan brown bear
The Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus''), also known as the Himalayan red bear, isabelline bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China an ...
s and snow leopard
The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...
s, although sightings are rare.
See also
*Baltoro Glacier
__NOTOC__
The Baltoro Glacier ( zh, 巴爾托洛冰川, ), at in length, is one of the longest glaciers outside the polar regions.The Fedchenko Glacier in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan is 77 km long, the Siachen Glacier which lies sou ...
* Godwin-Austen Glacier
The Godwin-Austen Glacier is a glacier in the Karakoram range and is close to K2, the second tallest peak on Earth, in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the highest mountain peak in Pakistan. Its confluence with the Baltoro Glacier is called ...
* Sarpo Laggo Glacier
__NOTOC__
The Sarpo Laggo Glacier ( zh, 萨尔波拉戈冰川, ''Sarpo Laggo'': 'young husband') is a glacier in the autonomous region Xinjiang of China, in the Karakoram mountain range of the Himalayas. Geography
Sarpo Laggo Glacier lies nort ...
* Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...
* Eight-thousander
The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises eight-thousanders as the 14 mountains that are more than in height above sea level, and are considered to be sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no ...
* List of highest mountains
Currently, There are at least 108 mountains on Earth with elevations of or greater above sea level. The vast majority of these mountains are located on the edge of the Indian and Eurasian plates in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan.
The di ...
* List of glaciers
A glacier ( ) or () is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly defo ...
References
External links
Northern India detailed placemarks in Google Earth
{{Authority control Glaciers of the Karakoram Glaciers of Gilgit-Baltistan