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Chang Chenmo River or Changchenmo River is a
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
Shyok River The Shyok River is a tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh and enters Gilgit–Baltistan, spanning some . The Shyok River originates at the Rimo Glacier, one of the tongues of Siachen Glacier. Its alignment is very ...
, part of the
Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
system. It is at the southern edge of the disputed
Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of the ...
region and north of the
Pangong Lake Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake (; ; hi, text=पैंगोंग झील) is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet situated at an elevation of . It is long and divided into five sublakes, called ''Pangong Tso'', ''Tso ...
basin. The source of Chang Chenmo is near the Lanak Pass in the Chinese-administered region of
Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
(as part of the
Rutog County Rutog County (), (in ) is a county in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The county seat is the new Rutog Town, located some or 700 miles west-northwest of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. Rutog County sh ...
in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
). The river flows west from Lanak La. At the middle of its course lies the
Kongka Pass The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai ...
, part of the
Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment o ...
between India and China passes. Continuing west, the river enters a deep gorge in the Karakoram Range until it joins the Shyok River in
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
.


Name

Chang Chenmo means "Great Northern" in
Tibetic languages The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...
. It is primarily the name of the valley rather than the river.


Geography

The Chang Chenmo Valley lies in a depression between the
Karakoram Range The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great ...
in the north and the Changchenmo Range in the south. The depression continues into Tibet, all the way to
Yeshil Kul Bangda Lake (; ), formerly called Yeshil Kul, is a glacial lake in Ngari Prefecture in the northwest of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies south of the western Kunlun Mountains, only a few kilometres to the southeast of Guozha Lake (L ...
(Bangda Co) and
Lake Lighten Kotra Tso (), also known as Guozha Lake (), and Lake Lighten,Michael WardThe Kun Lun Shan: Desert Peaks of Central Asia ''The Alpine Journal'' (1989-90), p. 90. is a glacial lake in Rutog County in the Ngari Prefecture in the northwest of the Tibet ...
(Guozha Co) on the Khotan border. The depression is now recognized as a geological fault called the Longmu Co fault, part of the larger Longmu–Guozha Co fault system. The Chang Chenmo River has its origin in a glacier southwest of the Lanak Pass, which lies on a low ridge in the middle of the valley. The southern mountains are much more glaciated than the north and possibly much of Changchenmo's waters are derived from them. The Changchenmo flows on gravel bed for much of its course, described as "stony and bare". Numerous tributary streams flow into it from the north as well as the south, bringing alluvium. Grass grows in the alluvial beds, which is said to be used by the Ladakhis for autumn grazing. However, there is the ever-present danger of snowfall, which can cover up the grass. Unless the animals can be brought back over the high passes they would be in danger of starvation. In the middle of the Changchenmo valley, a large spur of the Karakoram Range inserts itself, causing the river to zigzag its way through its hills. The
Kongka Pass The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai ...
lies on the last of these hills. To the west of the spur, the large tributary of the
Kugrang River __NOTOC__ Gogra (also referred to as Nala Junction) is a pasture and campsite in the Ladakh union territory of India, near its disputed border with China. It is located in the Kugrang River valley, a branch valley of Chang Chenmo Valley, where ...
flows into the river. To its east the Kyapsang River does the same. Three prominent grazing grounds are found to the west of the Kongka Pass, viz.,
Kyam The ''mi gyaung'' ( my, မိကျောင်း ) or ''kyam'' ( mnw, ကျာံ, ; pronounced "chyam") is a crocodile-shaped fretted, plucked zither with three strings that is used as a traditional instrument in Burma. It is associated ...
(or ''Kiam'', also called
Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
), Tsolu (or ''T''sogstalu), and Pamzal. Another one called
Gogra Ghaghara, also called Karnali, is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. The Karnali cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form th ...
is to the northwest in the Kugrang River valley, where another tributary called Changlung flows into Kugrang. After Pamzal, the river enters a narrow gorge through the main Karakoram Range, where it becomes a rapid stream. This part of the valley is not traversable except in winter when the river is frozen.


Tributaries

In Chinese-administered
Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of the ...
, the Changchenmo is joined by ''Toglung Marpo'',
Kyapsang The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai Ch ...
, and
Silung Kongma The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai Ch ...
. It crosses the
Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment o ...
to Indian-administered
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
near the
Kongka Pass The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai ...
. In Ladakh, it is joined by
Silung Barma The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai Ch ...
,
Silung Yokma The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai Ch ...
,
Kugrang River __NOTOC__ Gogra (also referred to as Nala Junction) is a pasture and campsite in the Ladakh union territory of India, near its disputed border with China. It is located in the Kugrang River valley, a branch valley of Chang Chenmo Valley, where ...
, Rimdi River, and numerous other streams before flowing into the Shyok River.


History

In the late 1800s, in order to facilitate trade between the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
and
Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
, the British attempted to promote a caravan route via the Chang Chenmo Valley as an alternative to the difficult and tariffed
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. 'Karakoram' literally means 'Black Gravel' in ...
. The Maharaja Ranbir Singh at the request of the British made improvements to the trails and facilities of the campsites in Chang Chenmo Valley. Unfortunately, in addition of being longer and higher elevation than the traditional route, this route also goes through the desolate desert of Aksai Chin. By 1890s, traders have mostly given up on this route. At the time, Chang Chenmo valley was also a popular hunting spot for British officers on leave. Since the 1950s, the river is in the disputed territory between China and India. As such, it hosts numerous border outposts from both sides, such as
Kongka Pass The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai ...
,
Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
, and Tsogstsalu. The region was also the site of numerous tensions in the past, such as the 1959
Kongka Pass incident The Kongka Pass or Kongka La () is a low mountain pass on the Line of Actual Control between India and China in eastern Ladakh. It lies on a spur of the Karakoram range that intrudes into the Chang Chenmo Valley adjacent to the disputed Aksai ...
.


References


Bibliography

* * {{citation , last=Drew , first=Frederic , title=The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories: A Geographical Account , url=https://archive.org/details/jummooandkashmi00drewgoog/page/n5 , year=1875 , publisher=E. Stanford , via=archive.org , ref={{sfnref, Drew, The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories, 1875 Rivers of Jammu and Kashmir Rivers of Tibet Indus basin *