The Karakoram Fault is a major right-lateral strike-slip fault stretching some 700 to 1,000 kilometres from the Pamir region through Ladakh and along the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. It runs parallel to the great mountain ranges of the western Himalaya and helps accommodate the ongoing collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates.
The fault slips at roughly a few millimetres to about a centimetre per year and has been the subject of long scientific debate over how much total displacement it has produced. Its trace follows high valleys and glaciated terrain, including parts of the Nubra and Shyok valleys, at some of the highest inhabited elevations on Earth.
While much of the Karakoram Fault produces only moderate seismicity, it remains an important active structure shaping the tectonics of the region and influencing the alignment of major rivers and mountain fronts. Its behaviour is key to models of how crust is redistributed as India continues to push north into Asia.