The Shaksgam River is a left tributary of the Yarkand River. The river is also known as the Kelechin River and Muztagh River. It rises in the Gasherbrum, Urdok, Staghar, Singhi and Kyagar Glaciers in the Karakoram. It then flows in a general northwestern direction parallel to the Karakoram ridge line in the Shaksgam Valley. The river valley was explored in 1889 by Francis Younghusband (who referred to the Shaksgam as the Oprang)., and again in 1926 by Kenneth Mason, who confirmed the sources of the river.