5.2.Topography

Ladakh covers about 117,000 square km and contains the Ladakh Range, which is a south

eastern extension of the Karakoram Range, and the upper Indus River valley. Ladakh is one of the

highest regions of the world. Its natural features consist mainly of high plains and deep valleys.

The high plain predominates in the east, diminishing gradually toward the west. In south eastern

Ladakh lies Rupshu, an area of large, brackish lakes with a uniform elevation of about 13,500 feet

(4,100 meters). To the northwest of Rupshu lies the Zanskar Range, an inaccessible region where

the people and the cattle remain indoors for much of the year because of the cold. Zaskar is drained

by the Zaskar River, which, flowing northward, joins the Indus River below Leh. In the heart of Ladakh, farther to the north, cultivation by means of manuring and irrigation is practiced by farm-

ers living in valley villages at elevations between about 9,000 and 15,000 feet (2,750 and 4,550

meters). Shepherds tend flocks in the upland valleys that are too high for cultivation. Leh, the most accessible town of Ladakh, is an important trade center located 160 miles (260 km) east of Srinagar.

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Indus river

Ladakh range

Shrinagar

Zanskar range Leh

Karakorum range

Stod river Z a n skar r i v er Indus river Pangong Tso

Tsarap river

Bhag r iver

Chenab river Chandra river Tso Mortri

Manali

Figure 116 Topographically, the whole district is occupied by mountains with three parallel ranges of the Himalayas, the Zanskar range at south, the Ladakh at center and the Karakoram on north. Between these ranges, the Shayok, Indus and Zanskar rivers flow throuugh the region. Most of the civilisation is near to the river plains because of fertile soil and flat lands.