The Himalaya Mountain in India
The term “Himalaya” is derived from Sanskrit. It means “The Abode of Snow”. The Himalayan Mountains (Northern Mountains) consist of the youngest and the loftiest mountain chains in the world.
It covers for a distance of 2,500 km from the Indus in the west to Brahmaputra in the east. The width of the Northern Mountains varies from 500 km in Kashmir to 200 km in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Northern Mountains is grouped into three divisions.
1. The Trans-Himalayas
2. Himalayas
3. Eastern or Purvanchal hills.
The Trans-Himalayas
The Trans-Himalayas also known as western Himalaya’s. It lies to the north of the Himalayan range. It lies in Jammu and Kashmir and Tibetan plateau. It is also known as Tibetan Himalayas due to its areal extent is more in Tibet.
The Trans-Himalayas are about 40 km wide in its eastern and western extremities. Its central part is about 225 km wide. They contain the Tethys sediments.
Zaskar, Ladakh, Kailash, and Karakoram are the prominent ranges of Trans Himalayas.
The Himalayas
The Himalaya is a young fold mountain and constitutes the core part of northern mountains. It was formed by the movement of Angara land mass in the north and Gondwana land mass in the south.
It consists of many ranges. The main divisions of the Himalayas are:
1. The Greater Himalayas,
2. The Lesser Himalayas and
3. The Siwaliks.
The Greater Himalayas
The Greater Himalayas is also known as The Himadri. The Greater Himalayas rise abruptly like a wall north of the Lesser Himalayas. The Greater Himalayas are about 25 km wide and average height is about 6,000 m. The Greater Himalayas receive lesser rainfall as compared to the Lesser Himalayas and the Siwaliks.
The Lesser Himalayas or The Himachal
The Lesser Himalayas is also known as The Himachal. It is the middle range of Himalayas. Height of this range lies from 3, 700 to 4,500 mtrs. Its width lies upto 80 km. The major rocks of this range are slate, limestone and quartzite.
The Siwaliks or Outer Himalayas
The Siwaliks is also known as the Outer Himalayas. The Siwaliks extend from Jammu and Kashmir to Assam. It is partly made by the debris brought by the Himalayan rivers.
The altitude varying between 900–1100 metres elevation of this range is 1300 m. The width of Siwaliks vary from 10 km in the east to 50 km in the west. It is the most discontinuous range.
The longitudinal valleys found between the Siwaliks and the Lesser Himalayas are called Duns in the west and Duars in the east. These are the ideal sites for the development of settlements in this region.
Purvanchal Hills
Dafla Hills, Abor Hills, Mishmi Hills, Patkai Bum Hills, Naga Hills, Manipur Hills, Mizo Hills, Tripura Hills, Mikir Hills, Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills are the hills which are collectively known as purvanchal Hills.
