Highest Mountains of the World
Highest Mountains of the World : Annapurna
| Broad Peak | Cho
Oyu | Everest | Gasherbrum
I | Gasherbrum II
| K2 | Kangchenjunga
| Lhotse | Makalu
| Manaslu | Nanga
Parbat | Shishapangma
Mount K2
Mount K2 K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth. It is located in the Karakoram segment of the Himalayan range, in Pakistan, India and China, on the border between the Gilgit-Baltistan region in the Pakistan administered Northern Areas, and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang, China. Its current status is still debatable and has been under controversies.
Topographic characteristics
K2 is only ranked 22nd by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature, because it is part of the same extended area of uplift (including the Karakoram, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Himalaya) as Mount Everest, in that it is possible to follow a path from K2 to Everest that goes no lower than 4,594 m (at Mustang Lo). Many other peaks which are far lower than K2 are more independent in this sense.
However, K2 is notable for its local relief as well as its total height. It stands over 3,000 m (9,840 ft) above much of the glacial valley bottoms at its base. More extraordinary is the fact that it is a consistently steep pyramid, dropping quickly in almost all directions. The north side is the steepest: there it rises over 3,200 m (10,500 ft) above the K2 (Qogir) Glacier in only 3 km (1.8 mi) of horizontal distance. In most directions, it achieves over 2,800 m (9,200 ft) of vertical relief in less than 4 km (2.4 mi).This degree of steepness, at this vertical scale, in so many different directions, is unmatched in the world. This is one of the reasons why K2 is such a difficult climb.
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