Himalayas

Himalayas literally means ("the abode of snow"), is a stupendous mountain chain stretching 1500 m. along the northern frontier of India, and dividing that country from Tibet; forty-five of its peaks attain a greater height than those of any other mountain system in the world. Mount Everest, the loftiest, reaches 29,002 ft.; the best-known pass is the Karakoram Pass (18,550 ft.), leading into Eastern Turkistan; there are few lakes, but amid the snowy heights rise the rivers Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, &c.; gold, iron, copper, and lead are wrought.

The birth of Himalayas dates back to million of years ago. There were series of stages, which led to the formation of the Himalayas. The formation of the Himalayas is the result of a collision of India with Asia along the convergent boundary. There were powerful earth movement between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate that resulted in the creation of the Himalayan range.

This movement of Indian plate into the Asian plate makes this region very active and prone to earthquakes. In the future also the plate will move like this causing changes in the structure of the Himalayas. The height and width of the mountain will change according to the action beneath the earth's surface. In the north the mountains will be taller and smaller in the south while the width remains the same.

“The Himalya, the king of the mountains, five and thousand league in extent at the circumference, with its ranges or eight hundred and forty thousand peaks, the source of five hundred rivers, the dwelling place of multitudes of mighty creatures, the producer of manifold perfumes, enriched with hundreds of magical drugs, it is seen to rise aloft like a cloud in the centre of the earth.” In fact, a text called the Sama Veda (Sam Veda) does describe the mountain ranges to be the centre of the earth.

Mythology

The oldest Veda, the Rig Veda refers to the Himalayas as ‘Himavan’, a deity and asks: “To which other deity shall we offer our prayers? On account of your prowess, mountains like the Himalyas and the oceans with rivers are created and the distant quarters are designated as your mere arms.” No wonder then that a mountain of so many aspects is viewed in Indian mythology as having a ‘divine soul’. It is called “Devatatma” in a Sanskrit poet Kalidasa’s works.

Geography

The Himalaya is the world's largest mountain range. Its peak is of 8,000 meters, which is approximately 26, 000 feet. There are 14 such peaks of Himalayas and hundreds of summits, which are around 23,000 feet high. The east is guarded Namche Barwa while the west is guarded by the splendid Nanga Parbat. The Himalayas are mainly young folded mountains. It extends from west to east for about 2,500 km in a curve from the Pamit Knot in the northwest to the valley of the Brahmaputra River in the east. The width of the Himalayas is of 100 - 400 km. The Himalayas range covers an area of 612,021 sq. km. The Himalayas passes through five nations: India, Pakistan, China, Bhutan and Nepal. In India it stretches across five states: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, and in China it is Tibet. The Himalayas is also the origin or source of world's two important river systems: the Indus Basin and the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin

From south to north the Himalayas are divided into different parallel ranges - and they are as follows:

Lower Himalayas average height of 3,700 m
Sub Himalaya average height of 900 to1, 200 m.
The Great Himalayas height above 6,000 m
Tibetan Himalayas average height of 4,000 to 4,5900 meters.

The Karakoram Range in the northwest is also considered as a part of the Himalayan range.

Peaks

Mount Everet: Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world. It rises to a height of 8,850m (29,035) above sea level.

Karakoram: Second highest mountain peak in the world with a height of 8,611m or 28,250ft.

Kanchenjunga: Height of 8,000 meters. It is located at Latitude 27° 42' 9'' and Longitude 88° 9' 1 '

Nanga Parbat: height of 8,126m or 26,660 ft

Annapurna ranks 10th highest mountain in the world with an altitude of 8,091m.

Manaslu located at longitude 84.33 and latitude 28.33

Dhaulagiri Mountain located at longitude 83.30 and latitude 28.42

Shivaliks A long chain of low hills from 300 mts. to 600 mts

Nanda Devi Altitude: 7,817 mts.

Bandar Punch west Altitude: 6,316 mts.

Devtoli Altitude: 6,788 mts.

Panchchuli Peaks Altitude: 6,904 mts

Trimukhi Parvat Altitude: 6,422 mts.

Neelkanth Parvat Altitude: 6,597 mts.

Nandakot Parvat Altitude: 6,861 mts.

Chandrashila Parvat Altitude: 3,679 mts.

Yogeshwar Parvat Altitude: 6,678 mts.

Chturbhuj Parvat Altitude: 6,655 mts.

Sudarshan Parvat Altitude: 6507 mts.

Nearby pages
Himangshu Bhowmick, Himation, Himyarite, Hin, Hinckley, Hincmar