The Kongur Tagh (meaning 'Brown Mountain' in English) is the highest peak in the Pamir Mountains, and also the highest mountain wholly within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. With an elevation of 7,649 metres (25,095 ft), it is also the highest mountain outside of the Hindu Kush/Karakoram and Himalaya ranges.

Kongur Tagh
قوڭۇر توو (Kyrgyz)
قوڭۇر تاغ (Uyghur)
Хонгор Таг (Mongolian)
ཀོང་གེལ་རི་རྩེ། (Standard Tibetan)
公格尔峰 (Chinese)
South face of Kongur Tagh
Highest point
Elevation7,649 m (25,095 ft)[1]
Ranked 37th
Prominence3,585 m (11,762 ft)[1]
Ranked 49th
ListingUltra
Coordinates38°35′39″N 75°18′48″E / 38.59417°N 75.31333°E / 38.59417; 75.31333[1]
Geography
Kongur Tagh is located in Southern Xinjiang
Kongur Tagh
Kongur Tagh
Location in Xinjiang
LocationAkto County, Xinjiang, China
Parent rangePamir Mountains
Climbing
First ascent1981 by British team
Easiest routeRock/snow/ice climb

Geography

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Kongur Tagh is within a range called the Kongur Shan (Chinese: 公格尔山; pinyin: Gōnggé'ěr Shān.) Kongur Tagh is located just north of Muztagh Ata and visible from Karakul Lake. Some sources use "Kongur Shan" mistakenly to refer to the peak itself. The Kongur Shan range, including Muztagh Ata, is separated by the major Yarkand River valley from the Kunlun Mountains and thus is included in the "Eastern Pamirs".[2] Kongur Tagh is the highest peak in the Pamirs. Due to its remoteness and being hidden by nearby peaks, Kongur was not discovered by Europeans until 1900. However, the building of the Karakoram Highway from Pakistan to China, which runs past nearby Tashkurgan and Karakul Lake, has now made it more accessible.

Administratively, the Kongur Range is within Akto County.

Climbing history

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The first ascent of Kongur Tagh was made in 1981 by a British expedition consisting of Chris Bonington, Alan Rouse, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker.[3]

Elevation

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Kongur Tagh is 7,649 metres (25,095 ft) high. Some sources list the peak's elevation as 7,719 m (25,325 ft), but this is likely incorrect. The main summit is close enough in height to the 7,625 m (25,016 ft) high northeastern summit that climbers standing on the main summit could not tell which was taller, thus it can not be 7,719 m (25,325 ft) high.[4]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c "China II: Sinkiang - Xinjiang". Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  2. ^ N. O. Arnaud; M. Brunel; J. M. Cantagrel; P. Tapponnier (1993). "High cooling and denudation rates at Kongur Shan, Eastern Pamir (Xinjiang, China)". Tectonics. 12 (3): 1335–1346. doi:10.1029/93TC00767.
  3. ^ Ward (1983), pp. 146–8.
  4. ^ "Summit Elevations: Frequent Internet Errors". www.viewfinderpanoramas.org. Retrieved 2021-09-20.

See also

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References

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  • Ward, Michael. (1983). "The Kongur Massif in Southern Sinkiang." The Geographical Journal, Vol. 149, No. 2 (Jul., 1983), pp. 137–152.
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