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 second-longest in the world's non-polar areas.Siachen Glacier is long; Tajikistan's
Fedchenko Glacier is long. The second longest in the Karakoram Mountains is the Biafo Glacier at . Measurements are from recent imagery, supplemented with Russian 1:200,000 scale topographic mapping as well as the 1990 "Orographic Sketch Map: Karakoram: Sheet 2", Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, Zurich. It falls from an altitude of 5,753 m (18,875 ft) above
sea level at its head at
Indira Col on the China border down to 3,620 m (11,875 ft) at its
terminus.
The Siachen Glacier lies immediately south of the great
watershed that separates
China from the
Indian subcontinent in the extensively
glaciated portion of the Karakoram that is sometimes called the "Third Pole." The glacier lies between the
Saltoro Ridge immediately to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east. The Saltoro Ridge originates in the north from the Sia Kangri peak on the China border in the Karakoram range. The crest of the Saltoro Ridge's altitudes range from 5,450 to 7,720 m (17,880 to 25,330 feet). The major passes on this ridge are, from north to...
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