The Shaksgam River (, , ) is a left tributary of the
Yarkand River
The Yarkand River (or Yarkent River, Yeh-erh-ch'iang Ho) is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. It originates in the Siachen Muztagh in a part of the Karakoram range and flows into the Tarim River or Neinejoung ...
. The river is also known as the Kelechin River ( zh, 克勒青河) and Muztagh River ( zh, 穆斯塔格河).
[US Bureau of Intelligence and Research ''International Boundary Study No. 85'' (1968)]
It rises in the Gasherbrum,
Urdok, Staghar, Singhi and Kyagar Glaciers in the
Karakoram
The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...
. It then flows in a general northwestern direction parallel to the Karakoram ridge line in the Shaksgam Valley. It receives the waters of the Shimshal Braldu river and the Oprang river from the Pakistan-administered
Hunza District
Hunza District (, ) is a district of Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the Kashmir#Dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is suppo ...
before turning east and joining the Yarkand River. The stretch of the river's course between Shimshal Braldu and Oprang is used as the Pakistan–China border.
Administratively, the Chinese part of the valley is within the southernmost portions of
Yarkand County (the source) and the
Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County
Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County (often shortened to Tashkurgan County and officially spelled Taxkorgan) is an autonomous county of Kashgar Prefecture, in western Xinjiang, China. The county seat is Tashkurgan. The county is the only Tajik (P ...
(lower course). India claims the entire valley as part of its
Jammu and Kashmir state, now part of
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...
.
History
The river valley was explored in 1889 by
Francis Younghusband (who referred to the Shaksgam as the Oprang), and again in 1926 by
Kenneth Mason, who confirmed the sources of the river.
Geography
The upper river valley is used by climbers approaching the north face of
K2. The approach requires a crossing of the river, which is hazardous. Between its confluence with the Shimshal Braldu River and its confluence with the Oprang River, the Shaksgam river forms the border between China and
Pakistan administered Kashmir.
[ The area is used as winter pastures by yak herdsmen from the village of Shimshal. Historically, the bed of the Yarkand river where the Shaksgam joins it, was used for cultivation by farmers from the state of Hunza. The rulers of Hunza are said to have obtained these "territorial rights to Shaksgam" in the distant past.]
See also
* Trans-Karakoram Tract
The Trans-Karakoram Tract (), also known as the Shaksgam Tract (), is an area of approximately north of the Karakoram watershed, including the Shaksgam valley. The tract is administered by China as part of its Taxkorgan and Yecheng counties ...
* Dafdar
Dafdar, also spelled Daftar, is a township in the Taghdumbash Pamir located in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. The township is located near the China–Pakistan border. The sou ...
* Yinsugaiti Glacier
* Sarpo Laggo Glacier
References
External links
* The Shaksgam river marked on the OpenStreetMap, Upper course
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Lower course
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{{Authority control
Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County
Rivers of Xinjiang
Rivers of Gilgit-Baltistan
Karakoram
China–Pakistan border
Rivers of Pakistan