Teram Kangri Glacier

Teram Kangri Glacier

The Teram Kangri Glacier is located beneath Teram Kangri Peak (elevation 7,441 meters) in the Karakoram Range. The glacier stretches over 28 kilometers in length, covers an area of 124.53 square kilometers, terminates at an elevation of 4,520 meters, and has a snowline at 5,390 meters. The glacier’s net ice storage is 26.774 cubic kilometers, which is equivalent to 2.2758 billion cubic meters of water—making it a true "solid water tower." Its coverage is very extensive, with the total glacial area on the southern and western slopes reaching 37,835 square kilometers, accounting for 37% of the mountainous region. Within China, the coverage rate is 23%, making it the mountainous area with the highest glacial coverage in western China. The most extraordinary natural landscape of the Teram Kangri Glacier is its towering ice towers, some reaching dozens of meters in height, which develop from an elevation of 5,200 meters down to the glacier’s terminus, spanning a length of over 11 kilometers. The clustered ice towers form spectacular ice peaks, often accompanied by crystal-clear glacial lakes below. The upper section of the glacier tongue features pristine ice surfaces, with various ice formations and towers visible throughout.