Himalayas or Northern Mountains



The Himalayas or Northern Mountains consist of the youngest and loftiest mountain chains in the world
The width of the Himalayas varies from 500 km in Kashmir to 200 km in Arunachal Pradesh
The Pamir popularly known as the "Roof of the World" is the connecting link between Himalayas and the high ranges of the central Asia

Geographically the entire Himalayan regions can be divided into
  1. The Himalayan Ranges
  2. The Trans-Himalayas
  3. The Eastern Hills

1. Northern Mountains

  • The Himalayas are not a single chain or range of Mountains, but a series of several, more or less parallel or converging ranges
  • Most of the Himalayan ranges fall in India, Nepal and Bhutan, but the northern slope are partly situated in Tibet while the western extremity lies in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia 

 (a) The Shiwalik Range

  • The Shiwalik comprise the outermost range of Himalayas and is known as the Outer Himalaya
  • The width of the Shiwalik varies from 50 km in Himachal Pradesh to less than 15 km in Arunachal Pradesh 
  • The Shiwaliks are formed of great thickness of sands, gravels and conglomerates which have been brought by the rivers flowing from the higher ranges of Himalaya
  • In Shiwaliks there are flat - floored structural valleys, knowns as Duns (between Shiwalik and Lesser Himalayas). Dehra Dun in Utharkhand is the best example of such plaun. Kotah,Patli Kothri, Chumbi, Kyarda, Chaukhamba are other duns.

(b) The Middle or the Lesser Himalaya

  • In between Shiwalik in the south and the Greater Himalayas in the north is the Middle Himalaya running almost parallel to the both the ranges.
The important ranges in Middle Himalaya
  1. The Pir Panjal range (Longest)
  2. The Dhaola Dhar range
  3. The Mussoorie range
  4. The Nag Tiba 
  5. The Mahabharat Lekh
  • The best known passes of the Pir Panjal range are Pir Panjal pass, the Bidil passs and the Banihal pass
  • The Banihal pass is used by Jammu-srinagar highway
  • The Kishanganga, the jhelum and the Chenab cut through this range
  • Between Pir Panjal and the Zaskar range lies the famous valley of Kashmir, Kangra and Kullu

(c) The Greater Himalaya

  • Also known as Inner Himalaya, Central Himalaya or Himadri
  • Northern most innermost  of all the Himalayan ranges
  • Lofiest and most continuous mountain ranges of the world
  • Home of the tallest peak of the world.(Mt.Everest)
  • The other important peaks in the descending order of altitude are Kachenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Cho Oyu, Nangaparbat, Annapurna, Gosainthan
The important passes in Greater Himalaya
  1. Burzil Pass
  2. Zoji La Pass
  3. Bara Lacha La Pass
  4. Shipki La Pass
  5. Thagha La Pass
  6. Niti Pass
  7. Lipu Lekh Pass
  8. Nathu La Pass
  9. Jelep La Pass

2. The Trans - Himalaya

  • The Himalayan range immedistely north of the Great Himalayan range are called the Trans - Himalaya
The main ranges in Trans - Himalaya
  1. The Zaskar
  2. The Ladakh
  3. The Kailas
  4. The Karakoram
  • Karakoram range is the abode of some of the greatest glaciers of the world outside the polar region
  • Mt.K2, second highest peak in the world located in Karakoram 
  • The Ladakh plateau, the highest plateau of Indian Union located north - east of the Karakoram range 

3. The Eastern Hills or Purvachal

  • Hill located in the eastern part of India are called Purvachal
  • Extending from Arunachal Pradesh in the north to Mizoram in south, they form India's boundary with Myanmar



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