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The mountain chains
The Tibetan plateau is the vastest and the highest plateau of the world.
It is bordered by various mountain chains:
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the Himalayas in the south :
The Himalayas are more than 2.400 km long and from 250 to 400 km wide.
This chain begins in the west in Pakistan and finishes in the east in Tibet.
Its culminating point is the Mount Everest (8 850 meters), the highest mountaintop of the world.
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the Kunlun mounts in the North-West :
They mark the septentrional edge of the plate of Tibet. The Kunlun mounts extend on nearly 3000 km between the province to Qinghai, in the east, and the Indian border, in the west, where they join the chain of Karakorum. The culminating point is Ulugh Muztag (7 723 m).
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Karakoram or Karakorum in the North-West :
This mountain chain is the prolongation of the chain of the Himalayas, from which it is separated by the Indus river
It extends on 500 km.
Its culminating point is the K2 (8 611 meters), which is the second highest mountaintop of the world after the Everest.
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The Alps of Sichuan in south-east :
The average altitude of this mountain chain ranges between 5.000 and 6.000 meters of altitude.
The high plateau of Tibet and its mountain chains: the Himalayas, the Kunlun mounts, the Karakoram and the Sichuan Alps.
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