Baltoro Glacier

Baltoro Glacier
བལྟོརོ་གངས།
The Baltoro Glacier from the air, looking east
Baltoro Glacier
Location in Pakistan
Baltoro Glacier
Baltoro Glacier (Gilgit Baltistan)
Baltoro Glacier
Baltoro Glacier (Pakistan)
Baltoro Glacier
Baltoro Glacier (Central Asia)
Interactive map of Baltoro Glacier
TypeMountain glacier
LocationKarakoram range, Gilgit-Baltistan
Coordinates35°44′11″N 76°22′51″E / 35.7364°N 76.3808°E / 35.7364; 76.3808
Area1,500 square kilometres (580 sq mi)
Length63 kilometres (39 mi)

The Baltoro Glacier (Balti: བལྟོརོ་གངས།, romanized: Baltoro gangs, lit.'Bone breaker';Urdu: بالتورو گلیشیر) is a glacier located in the Shigar District of the Gilgit-Baltistan, a region in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The glacier lies in the Karakoram range, and is surrounded by some of the world's highest peaks, including K2 (8,611 metres (28,251 ft)), the second highest mountain on Earth, as well as three other summits above 8,000 meters within a 20-kilometre radius.

Scientific observations between 2001 and 2011 recorded visible changes in the Baltoro, especially near Concordia, where it meets the Godwin-Austen Glacier at 4,600 metres (15,100 ft). Although reductions in snow and ice cover were noted, research indicates that the glacier is not retreating but experiencing surges, shifting and flowing into neighbouring glaciers.