Introduction
The newly established province Gilgit-Baltistan lies in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, with the border belts of
India, China and Afghanistan.It ranges from Hindukush to
the Karakorum in the North-East with the Western Himalaya in
the South and the Pamirs in the extreme North. These important
mountain ranges rendezvous with each other. With an expanse of about 27,188 square
miles, Gilgit-Baltistan, geographically, climatically and biologically
presents primarily a land of trans- Himalayan character, where Himalayan features,
monsoon rains and seasons.
The land lies amidst towering mountains, snow-clad peaks and narrow valleys with heights varying between 3000 feet and 28750 feet above sea level. In the regional geographical set up, the Karakorum,
the Hindukush, and the N.W. Himalaya emanate from the Pamir mass
lying on the north, from where the majority of the mountain ranges of Central-Asia branch
off to east and west. The second highest peak of the world, K2 or Chogori with
an elevation of 8611mt and the third highest peak, Nanga
Parbat with an elevation of 8125mt has always increased
the eminence of this part of Pakistan in the world (Hussainabadi,
2003: 202-213). Gilgit Baltistan holds twelve out of thirty top
peaks of the world with elevations over 7500mt. Therefore, this
region is considered to be the crown of Pakistan.The geology of the rocky mountains of Northern Areas is very
ancient, with some of the world’s oldest rocks forming the highly stratified
Precambrian peak groups such as:-
Gasherbrum, Mashabrum, Baltoro, Rakaposhi,
Ultar, Diran, Broadpeak, Muztagh towers, Trango Towers, Batura, Saltoro
Kangri and countless others (Trench, 1992: 31). The region also contains
some of the largest glaciers outside the polar region.
Almost 12 percent of the region is shaped by mightiest glaciers
i.e, Hispar 61 km long, Biafo 62 km, Baltoro 58 km, Gasherbrun 38 km, Chogo Lungma 38
km, Passu 32 km, Batura 58 km, Rupal 29
km, Nabandi 32 km, Baraldu 30 km, Snow lake sim
glacier 20 km, Siachen 62 km along with hundreds
of other glaciers (Stein, 1987: 74). An American study denotes that only Karakorum's are 23 - 25 percent under ice. It will not be out of place to mention
that Tirich Mir located in Chitral with an elevation of 7736
mt, the highest peak in the Hindukush system, is also
adjacent to Gilgit-Baltistan region (Waters, 1978: 71). The mountain
ranges of the area form the headwaters of major rivers, including the
mighty Indus. The Shyok river and the Indus
river come through occupied Kashmir but inside Northern
Areas, hundreds of their tributaries offer some of the finest spots for
fishing, navigation and water sports. But except for rare places such as Skardu and Chilas,
living along the Indus banks, has so far been difficult for agricultural
production and, therefore, people have stuck to smaller valleys and mountain
slopes where glacial water is easy at hand for drinking and irrigation.
However, it is only the Indus river and its tributaries that dominate the
landscape of Northern Areas by running through the chain of famous mountain
systems.