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The Siachen glacier lies in the extreme north-central part
of Jammu and Kashmir near the border of India and
Tibet. With a length of about 72-km, Siachen is known as the largest
glacier in the world outside the Polar Regions. Located on the
north-facing slopes of the Karakoram Range, Siachen feeds the Mutzgah or
Shaksgam River that flows parallel to the Karakoram Range before entering
into Tibet.
Large tributary glaciers like the Shelkar Chorten and Mamostang open into
the main glacier from both sides of its trough. The trunk glacier and its
tributaries are in the form of a vast ice field, particularly during the
winter season when there is continuous snowfall for several weeks at a
stretch.
The Siachen glacier lies in a vast trough more than 2-km
wide and the sides of the glacier are strewn with rocks and boulders. The
central part of this glacier, however, is a vast snowfield.
Numerous icefalls have been formed at the junction of small valley
glaciers and the trunk glacier. Lateral moraines occur at the confluence
of larger tributary glaciers and the trunk glacier. The sidewalls of the
glacial trough are steeply sloping and avalanches roll down these slopes
quite often, particularly in winter. 
This glacier encompasses a vast are in winter. There are virtually no
signs of recession. This tract is more or less devoid of a vegetative
cover due to its high elevation as well as its latitude. The bulk of the
total annual precipitation is in the form of snow.
To the east of the Siachen lies the Rimo glacier group, a group of three glaciers -- North, Central and South -- located at an altitude of between 6,000 and 7,000 m above sea level. Between them, these glaciers have almost 700 -sq-kms of ice, which at places is 100 m deep. Thus the Siachen glacier empire contains about 2,000-sq-kms of ice surface and almost 200 cubic kilometers of ice.
The Siachen glacier can be approached via Skardu in Ladakh .
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