Observations on rock glaciers in the Himalayas and Karakoram Mountains of northern Pakistan and India

Rock glaciers are abundant in the Lahul and Garhwal Himalayas of northern India and the Karakoram Mountains of northern Pakistan. They exhibit morainic and protalus forms and are restricted altitudinally and climatically to sites above approximately 4000 m asl. and regions where annual precipitation is less than 1000 mm. In these areas, morainic rock glaciers are large, usually >1 km long, >100 m wide and >15 m thick. They are advancing over recent fluvial terraces and modern floodplains. The morainic rock glaciers record the advance of ice-cored moraines following retreat of glaciers, likely since the Little Ice Age. These rock glaciers form a major component of the landscape and are important conveyors of debris down valley under the influence of gravity.