evidence: Trans-Himalayan and Karakoram Ranges [...] The Himalayan Mountains are bordered on the northwest by the Ladakh, Karakoram, Pamir and the Hindu Kush ranges, while the Tibetan Plateau in the central part controls its overall shape. A 50–60 km wide tectonic valley, the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone, separates these geographical units as a garland throughout the Himalayan ranges from extreme west to the east. These mountain ranges of the Trans-Himalayan and Karakoram Mountains are essentially drained by the Indus, Shyok, Nubra Rivers and their tributaries in the west, and Tsangpo-Brahmaputra drainage system in the east. [...] Jain AK, Singh S, Manickavasagam RM, Joshi M, Verma PK (2003) HIMPROBE programme: integrated studies on geology, petrology, geochronology and geophysics of the Trans-Himalaya and Karakoram. Mem Geol Soc India 53:1–56