Himalayan Mountains

Himalayan Mountains

The word Himalayas means ‘abode of snow or habitat of snow'. Geologists believe that the Himalayan Mountains were formed due to the shrinking action of the Tethys Sea in the last phase of the geological history of the earth. The Himalayas are the natural northern boundary of the Republic of India. The Himalayas are young mountains because they have striking contrast in their relief such as steep slopes and pointed peaks. The mountain ranges appear in several parallel folds. The entire Himalayan Mountains are classified into –

1. the Western Himalayas,

2. the Central Himalayas and

3. the Eastern Himalayas.

1. The Western Himalayas:

The Western Himalayas are a lofty range of mountains that lie in territories of three nations, Afghanistan, India and China. Therefore, they are called the Trans Himalayas. The Karakoram Range is an important range in the Western Himalayas which extends eastwards from the Pamirknot to India’s frontier with Afghanistan and extends further down to south-east of Kashmir. The Zaskar range and the Ladakh range are the other two important mountain ranges that lie in the Western Himalayas. The Ladakh range and the Zaskar range are the parallel ranges that lie to the south of the Karakoram range. The Ladakh plateau is the extension of the Ladakh range of mountain that lies in the north western regions of Kashmir. The Ladakh plateau is the highest plateau in India. The Siachin glacier and the Baltoro glaciers are the two important glaciers located in the Western Himalayas.

2. The Central Himalayas:

The Central Himalayas stretches from Kashmir in the westtotheArunachal Pradesh in the east. The west-east distance of the Central Himalayas is about 2500 km. The width of the Central Himalayas varies from 400 km in the western regions, to about 150 km in the eastern regions. The region Central Himalayas has numerous steep slopes and pointed peaks. The mountain ranges in this region appear in parallel foldings and the height of the eastern half is greater than the height of the western half. The Himadri, the Himachal and the Siwaliks are the three subdivisions of the Central Himalayas.

(a) Himadri Range: The Himadris range are the northern ranges of the Central Himalayas. It looks like an arc extending from the Indus valley to the Brahmaputra River. Himadri is the abode of several mountain peaks in the world. The highest peak in the world, the Mount Everest (8848mts) is found in the Himadri range. Important other summits found in the Himadri range are the Kanchan Junga (8598mts), the Nanga Parhhat (8126mts), Dhaulagiri (8167mts) and Nanda Devi (7817mts). The Himadri consists of several glaciers that have become the source for many river; Gangotri and Yamunotri are two important glaciers. The Himadri range consists of several passes - Zojila Pass in Kashmir, Sipkila Pass in Himachal Pradesh and Nathula and Jelapla Pass in Sikkim are the important passes.

(b) The Himachal Range: The Himachal range of the Central Himalayas is a parallel range that lies between the Himadri in the north and the Siwalik in the south. The average width of the range is about 80km. The Himachal range is the middle range of the Central Himalayas having an average width of 80km. The height of the range varies from 3700 - 4500 mts. It has a rugged topography consisting of spurs and dissected uplands. The Himachal has several ranges of mountains and numerous valleys between the ranges. The Pirpanjal and the Dhauladar range are the two important ranges found in the Himachal which has numerous valleys.

The Kashmir valley, the Khangra valley, the Kulu valley are the important valleys. Thousands of tourists flock to Himachal regions to spend their holidays in hill stations every year. Pahelgam, Gulmarg, Mussourie, Simla, Srinagar and Nai.tital are the important hill resorts. The Himachal is also a region of religious importance. Amarnath Temple, Kedarnath Temple, Badrinath Temple and Vaishnavi Devi Temple are some of the Hindu religious centers found in the Himachal range.

(c) The Siwalik regions: The Siwalik range is the lowest range of the Himalayas. The range consists numerous hills called the foothills of the Himalayas. The Siwalik range is a discontinuous range made up of soft and muddy rocks. The region has some longitudinal valleys. Dehradun is one such valley. The Tarai plain is located in the southern part of this range. The Tarai plain is the result of fine silt brought by perennial rivers that originated in the upper and middle Himalayan ranges. Thick forests and marshy lands are found in the Terai plain.

3. The Eastern Himalayas:

The Eastern Himalayas is also called Purvachal Hills. The Purvachal hills consist of the Patkai Bum hills and the Naga hills in the north and the Mizo hills in the south. Purvachal hills have a medium height, and hills appear in the border between India and Bangladesh. In the border regions the Eastern Himalayas has three important ranges, the Jaintia, the Khasi and Garo hills. These hills act as climatic barrier to the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west monsoon.