| Ladakh Range | |
|---|---|
 View of Ladakh Range aboveLeh | |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 370 km (230 mi) |
| Geography | |
 Interactive map outlining Ladakh range | |
| Country | India |
| Territory | Ladakh,Baltistan |
| District | Leh |
| City | Leh |
| Range coordinates | 34°40′N76°53′E / 34.66°N 76.88°E /34.66; 76.88 |
| Parent range | Karakoram |
| Borders on | Kailash Range |
TheLadakh Range is a mountain range in centralLadakh in India with its northern tip extending intoBaltistan in Pakistan. It lies between theIndus andShyok river valleys, stretching to 230 miles (370 km).[1]Leh, the capital city of Ladakh, is on the foot of Ladakh Range in the Indus river valley.
The Ladakh Range is regarded as a southern extension of theKarakoram Range, which runs for 230 miles (370 km) from the confluence of theIndus andShyok rivers inBaltistan to theTibetan border of Ladakh in the southeast.[1][2] The southern extension of the Ladakh Range is called theKailash Range, especially in Tibet.[3]
The Ladakh Range forms the northeastern bank of theIndus River and the western bank of theShyok River.[4]
The Ladakh Range has an average height of about 6,000 metres and has no major peaks. Some of its peaks are less than 4,800 metres.[5]
The main mountain passes areChorbat (5,090 metres), Digar La (5,400 metres),Khardung La (5,602 metres),Chang La (5,599 metres) and Tsaka La (4,724 metres).[1]
The city ofLeh lies in theIndus Valley at the foot of the Ladakh Range. Leh is a historic trading town with trade routes toYarkand andTibet on the one hand, andSrinagar and rest of the Indian subcontinent on the other. The summer route from Leh to Yarkand passed through Khardung La to pass into theNubra valley and thence to Yarkand via theKarakoram Pass and Suget Pass (in theTrans-Karakoram Tract). The winter route passed through Digar La to reach the Shyok river valley and, again, reach the Karakoram Pass. The trade route to Tibet went viaGartok in the Indus river valley at the foot of the Kailash Range.[6] By theTreaty of Tingmosgang signed in 1684, Ladakh had the exclusive right to trade in thepashmina wool from Tibet, which led to its prosperity.[7]
Leh was for centuries trade centre for finepashmina wool (once worth its weight in gold); yak and pony caravans brought in pashmina from Tibet, turquoise, coral and silver fromYarkand andKashgar, spices, fabrics fromIndia andsilk fromKashmir.
Two English explorers,William Moorcroft andGeorge Trebeck visiting Leh in 1820, were stunned seeing a town of such wealth located in midst of obviously arid desert land.
The nomadicChangpa rely mostly on sheep and yak herding for subsistence in the Ladakh Range. Tibet's Chang Tang plain, most remote section of Himalayas, is extreme high country; here the valleys are about 14,000 feet above sea level.
Ladakh is a desert region. Culturally/geographically close to Tibet, it has few resources with an extreme climate. TheBuddhist Ladakhis with their traditions and intimate knowledge of local environment have survived and actually prospered, in spite of centuries of invasions from theMongols (from central Asia), theBaltis (from west),the Dogras (from south) and evenTibetans (from east). The mixed ethnic origins are reflected in their faces.
The extension of the Ladakh Range into China is known asKailash Range.
Media related toLadakh Range at Wikimedia Commons