The Biafo GlacierUrdu: بیافو گلیشیر) is a glacier located within the Karakoram mountain range in the Hisper valley, Nagar District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It extends over a considerable distance, measuring 67 kilometers (42 miles) in length, and ranks as one of the largest glaciers in the entire Karakoram range. Flowing in a south-eastern direction from the central Karakoram crest, this glacier covers a basin area spanning 853 square kilometers, of which 628 square kilometers are characterized by permanent snow and ice. The accumulation zone alone contributes to 68% of the glacier's total area.[1]
Biafo Glacier and Hispar Glacier, which is a 49km (30mi) long glacier, converge at Hispar La, situated at an elevation of 5,128 meters (16,824 feet), forming the world's longest non-polar glacial system, spanning a distance of 49 kilometers (30 miles).[2] This frozen pathway links two ancient mountain regions, connecting Nagar in the west with Shigar District, Baltistan in the east. Approximately, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the village of Askole in Braldo, Shigar District, this glacial junction is found. The entire journey spans 100 kilometers (62 miles), utilizing 51 kilometers (42 miles) of the Biafo Glacier and the entirety of the Hispar Glacier.
The Biafo Glacier presents a trekker[3] 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 1,600 m (0.99 mi) in depth.
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 close to 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 and the Markhor mountain goat. The area is also known for Himalayan brown bears and snow leopards, although sightings are rare.
^Hewitt, K.; Wake*, C. P.; Young, G. J.; David, C. (1989). "Hydrological Investigations at Biafo Glacier, Karakoram Range, Himalaya; an Important Source of Water for the Indus River". Annals of Glaciology. 13: 103–108. doi:10.3189/S0260305500007710. ISSN 0260-3055.
^. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^. Archived from the original on 2006-03-16. Retrieved 2006-04-21.
External linksedit
Northern India detailed placemarks in Google Earth 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine
January 01, 1970
biafo, glacier, urdu, بیافو, گلیشیر, glacier, located, within, karakoram, mountain, range, hisper, valley, nagar, district, gilgit, baltistan, pakistan, extends, over, considerable, distance, measuring, kilometers, miles, length, ranks, largest, glaciers, enti. The Biafo Glacier Urdu بیافو گلیشیر is a glacier located within the Karakoram mountain range in the Hisper valley Nagar District of Gilgit Baltistan Pakistan It extends over a considerable distance measuring 67 kilometers 42 miles in length and ranks as one of the largest glaciers in the entire Karakoram range Flowing in a south eastern direction from the central Karakoram crest this glacier covers a basin area spanning 853 square kilometers of which 628 square kilometers are characterized by permanent snow and ice The accumulation zone alone contributes to 68 of the glacier s total area 1 Biafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Biafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Location in KarakoramShow map of KarakoramBiafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Biafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Gilgit Baltistan Show map of Gilgit BaltistanBiafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Biafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Kashmir Show map of KashmirBiafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Biafo Glacierབ ཨཕ གངས Pakistan Show map of PakistanTypeMountain glacierLocationKarakoram Hispar Valley PakistanCoordinates35 41 N 75 55 E 35 683 N 75 917 E 35 683 75 917Length67 kilometres 42 mi Contents 1 Geography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksGeography editBiafo Glacier and Hispar Glacier which is a 49km 30mi long glacier converge at Hispar La situated at an elevation of 5 128 meters 16 824 feet forming the world s longest non polar glacial system spanning a distance of 49 kilometers 30 miles 2 This frozen pathway links two ancient mountain regions connecting Nagar in the west with Shigar District Baltistan in the east Approximately 20 kilometers 12 miles from the village of Askole in Braldo Shigar District this glacial junction is found The entire journey spans 100 kilometers 62 miles utilizing 51 kilometers 42 miles of the Biafo Glacier and the entirety of the Hispar Glacier The Biafo Glacier presents a trekker 3 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 1 600 m 0 99 mi in depth nbsp Biafo Glacier Hispar nbsp Snow Lake Hispar Pakistan The Biafo Glacier is the world s third longest glacier outside the polar regions second only to the 70 km 43 mi Siachen Glacier contested between Pakistan and India and Tajikistan s 77 km 48 mi long Fedchenko Glacier 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 close to 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 and the Markhor mountain goat The area is also known for Himalayan brown bears and snow leopards although sightings are rare See also editBaltoro Glacier Godwin Austen Glacier Sarpo Laggo Glacier Azad Kashmir Eight thousander List of highest mountains List of glaciersReferences edit Hewitt K Wake C P Young G J David C 1989 Hydrological Investigations at Biafo Glacier Karakoram Range Himalaya an Important Source of Water for the Indus River Annals of Glaciology 13 103 108 doi 10 3189 S0260305500007710 ISSN 0260 3055 Archived copy Archived from the original on 2014 02 22 Retrieved 2014 02 16 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Snow Lake Biafo Hispar Glacier Trek Archived from the original on 2006 03 16 Retrieved 2006 04 21 External links editNorthern India detailed placemarks in Google Earth Archived 2012 02 04 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Biafo Glacier amp oldid 1220598786, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
