K2

K2, also known as Mount Godwin-Austen, rises on the border between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and China's Xinjiang region in the Karakoram range, reaching an elevation of about 8,611 meters, the second-highest mountain on Earth after Mount Everest. It is a non-volcanic peak raised by the same India-Eurasia continental collision that built the Himalaya and Karakoram, its extremely steep faces and severe weather earning it the nickname the Savage Mountain after climber George Bell described it in 1953 as "a savage mountain that tries to kill you." It was first climbed on July 31, 1954 by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli of an Italian expedition via the Abruzzi Spur, and its historical fatality rate among summiteers, long around 23 to 25 percent, has fallen to roughly 9 to 13 percent since commercial, fixed-rope, oxygen-supported expeditions became common after 2021. This entity documents K2 specifically as a geological formation, a distinct facet from its treatment as a place and landform on the Geography Atlas; this entry covers the mountain's tectonic origin, extreme relief and mountaineering history as the world's second-highest and most dangerous eight-thousander.