Which mountain range contains K2, the world's second highest peak?

K2, the world’s second-highest peak, is part of the Karakoram mountain range.

K2 rises to 8,611 metres (28,251 feet) on the border between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and China’s Xinjiang region. Its steep pyramid shape, severe storms and technical climbing routes have earned it a reputation as one of the world’s most difficult major peaks.

The Karakoram stretches across Pakistan, India, China and, at its northwestern edge, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It is geographically distinct from the Himalayas, although both ranges belong to the broader mountain system created by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

A common mix-up is to call K2 a Himalayan peak because it is part of the wider Himalayan region. In standard geographic classification, however, K2 belongs specifically to the Karakoram. The same range also contains Broad Peak and three other mountains higher than 8,000 metres.