Karakoram
More actions
| Karakoram | |
|---|---|
| ActiveCannabis last recorded here in 2023 | |
| |
| The Shigar River below Ganchan Peak in the Bhasha valley, Baltistan | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 35.84, 75.77 |
| Country | Pakistan,India |
| Provinces/States | Gilgit-Baltistan,Ladakh |
| Elevation | Up to 8,611 m |
| Area | 16,000 km² |
| Climate | Semi-arid and continental; monsoon reaches the southern slopes, the northern slopes are very dry |
| Growing history | |
| Dated accessions | 2022–2023 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
Karakoram is the landrace cannabis growing region of the Karakoram, a mountain system that runs some 500 km south-east from the easternmost tip of Afghanistan along the watershed between Central and South Asia, with the Hindu Kush to its west and the Himalaya to its south-east.[1] It holds the Hunza growing area and, in Nagar District, the Hispar Valley and Hopar Valley growing areas, all in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The Real Seed Company sells seed from Hispar and Hopar for charas (sieved resin), culinary seed and bhang.[2][3] The donor's note with the Hopar seed in the United States genebank calls it a landrace cultivated in the upper Hopar Valley.[4] The growing region takes in the districts of Gilgit-Baltistan and of Nubra in Ladakh that lie within the range.
Extent
The Karakoram Conference defined the Karakoram by the rivers round it; the Council of the Royal Geographical Society accepted its recommendations, the Surveyor-General of India approved them, and the Himalayan Journal printed them in 1938. On the south it is bounded by the Shyok, from its great bend at about 78° 15′ E down to its junction with the Indus, then by the Indus to the mouth of the Gilgit river, and by the Gilgit river up to the mouth of the Ishkoman. On the west it is bounded by the Ishkoman and Karambar rivers up to the Chillinji pass. On the north the line runs by the Chapursan, Kilik and Khunjerab rivers to the Khunjerab pass, across the head of the Oprang to the Oprang pass, and up the Shaksgam to its source, then to the Rimo glacier; on the east it follows the upper Shyok from the Rimo and Chip Chap rivers down to the bend. The conference left out the Aghil mountains, the mountains east of the upper Shyok, and the Ladakh range between the Shyok and the Indus, and took in the mountains of Hunza between the Hunza river and the Karambar and Ishkoman.[5]
The border of the growing region follows these rivers through the districts they cross. It takes in the districts of Hunza, Nagar and Shigar, the parts of Gilgit and Ghizer districts north and east of the Gilgit, Ishkoman and Karambar rivers, the parts of Ghanche and Skardu districts north of the Shyok and the Indus, and the part of Nubra north and west of the Shyok. On the north it stops at the international border, so the short northern slope of the range down to the Shaksgam lies outside it. Within those districts the drawn line follows the ridges round the valleys with land below 4,000 m, leaving out the glacier valleys and the high ground above them, and encloses about 16,000 km².
Mountains and climate
The Karakoram is a group of parallel ranges with spurs, about 240 km wide, and holds the greatest concentration of high mountains in the world. Four of its peaks exceed 7,900 m; the highest, K2, reaches 8,611 m. Its southern slopes are long and steep and its northern slopes short and steep, and it carries the longest glaciers outside the high latitudes, among them the Hispar, Biafo, Baltoro and Siachen.[1]
The climate is mostly semi-arid and strongly continental. The monsoon reaches the southern slopes, but the northern slopes are extremely dry. In the lower valleys almost all the lush vegetation is cultivated: mountain oases on rocky outcrops are watered by irrigation channels led from melting glaciers.[1]
Cannabis
The Real Seed Company lists seed from the 2023 harvest in the Hispar Valley and seed collected at the villages of Hopar in the winter of 2022, both for charas, culinary seed and bhang. According to the listings, the crop is harvested in late September and October.[2][3] The donor's note with the Hopar seed in the United States genebank lists the same three uses: culinary seed, bhang from the leaf and seeded flower, and dry-sieved charas.[4] In Nagar and Hunza cannabis is called thoonch, and its seed is used in medicine.[6] In 1974 the United States Department of Agriculture received hemp seed collected about 16 km south-west of Karimabad, in Hunza, where it was used as a source of oil.[7] The Vibes Collective catalogued a landrace under the name Hunza in its strain guide.[8]
Growing Areas
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Collected | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSC-PAK-GIL-0120220001 | Hopar Valley General Population 2022 | Hopar Valley | |
| RSC-PAK-GIL-0120230001 | Hispar Valley General Population 2023 | Hispar Valley | |
| VIB-PAK-GIL-0100000001 | Hunza General Population | Hunza |
Recent news
No news items are recorded for this growing region yet.
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bessarabov, Georgy Dmitriyevich (4 September 2026). "Karakoram Range". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Hispar Valley". The Real Seed Company. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Hopar Valley". The Real Seed Company. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "G 33713, Cannabis sativa L., Hopar Valley". GRIN-Global. USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
- ↑ Mason, Kenneth, ed. (1938). "Karakoram Conference report". The Himalayan Journal. 10. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
- ↑ Salim, Muhammad Asad; Ranjitkar, Sailesh; Hart, Robbie; Khan, Tika; Ali, Sajid; Kiran, Chandni; Parveen, Asma; Batool, Zahra; Bano, Shanila; Xu, Jianchu (28 January 2019). "Regional trade of medicinal plants has facilitated the retention of traditional knowledge: case study in Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 15 6. doi:10.1186/s13002-018-0281-0.
- ↑ Hyland, Howard L. (March 1976). Plant Inventory No. 182: Plant Material Introduced January 1 to December 31, 1974 (Nos. 384428 to 391684) (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture. p. 178. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ "Hunza". Vibes Collective Strainguide. Archived from the original on 29 January 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2026.