the northern mountains

• The Northern Mountains consist of the youngest and the loftiest mountain chains in the world.
• Aravalli range is one of the oldest fold mountain range in the World.
• It stretches for a distance of 2,500 km from the Indus gorge in the west to Brahmaputra gorge in the east.
• The width of the Northern Mountains varies from 500 km in Kashmir to 200 km in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Pamir Knot, popularly known as the “==Roof of the World==” is the connecting link between the Himalayas and the high ranges of Central Asia.
• From the Pamir, Himalayas extend eastward in the form of an arc shape. The term “Himalaya” is derived from Sanskrit. It means “The Abode of Snow”.

The Northern Mountains that function as a great wall is grouped into three divisions.

• The Trans-Himalayas
• Himalayas
• Eastern Himalayas or Purvanchal hills.

I Trans - Himalayas

• It lies to the north of the great Himalayan range.
• It lies in Jammu and Kashmir and Tibetian plateau.
• As its areal extent is more in Tibet, it is also known as Tibetean Himalayas.
• K2 is the second highest peak in the world and highest peak in the Indian union (Godwin Austin)
• It’s about 40 km wide in its eastern and western extremities and about 225 km wide in its central part.
• They contain the Tethys sediments.
• The rocks of this region contain fossils bearing marine sediments which are underlain by ‘Tertiary granite’. It has partly metamorphosed sediments and constitutes the core of the Himalayan axis.
• The prominent ranges of Trans Himalayas are Zaskar, Ladakh, Kailash, and Karakoram.

==Valley of Kashmir== ==is located between Himachal and Zaskar range==

II Himalayas

• It constitutes the core part of northern mountains.
• It is an young fold mountain.
• It was formed by the movement of Eurasia land mass in the north and Gondwana land mass in the south.
• The Tethys sea found between these two land masses was uplifted by the compression and the resultant landform was the Himalayas.
• It consists of many ranges. The main divisions of the Himalayas are the

1. The Greater Himalayas/The Himadri
   • The Greater Himalayas rise abruptly like a wall north of the Lesser Himalayas.
   • Height: 6,000 m. (Avg)
   • Width : 25 km wide.
   • It receive ==lesser rainfall== as compared to the Lesser Himalayas and the Siwaliks.
   • Physical weathering is less effective over the Greater Himalayas as compared to the other ranges.
   • Almost all the lofty peaks of Himalayas are located in this range. The notable ones are
     • 🏔️ Mt. Everest (8,848 m ) Nepal
     • 🏔️ Kanchenjunga (8,598 m) Nepal - Sikkim
   • Himalaya is the home of several high peaks. • However, it holds the record of having the maximum number of highest peaks among any mountain range in world.
   • Out of 14 highest peaks in this world, Himalayas holds 9.
   • This range is the most continuous of all ranges.
   • It is region of permanent snow cover. So, it has many glaciers.
     • Gangothri
     • Yamunothri
     • Siachen
2. The Lesser Himalayas /The Himachal
   • It is the middle range of Himalayas.
   • Height : 3, 700 to 4,500 m.
   • Width : varies upto 80 km.
   • The major rocks of this range are slate, limestone and quartzite.
   • This region is subjected to extensive erosion due to heavy rainfall, deforestation and urbanization.
   • Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar and Mahabharat are the mountain ranges found in this part.
   • Major hill stations of the Himalayas are located in this range. Shimla, Mussourie, Nainital, Almora, Ranikhet and Darjeeling are the familiar ones.
   • The major passes in the Himalaya are
     • Karakoram pass (Jammu and Kashmir),
     • Zojila pass
     • Shipkila pass (Himachal Pradesh)
     • Bomdila pass (Arunachal Pradesh)
     • Nathula pass
     • Jhelepla pass (Sikkim).
     • The Khyber pass which connects Pakistan and Afganisthan
     • Bolan pass in Pakistan
3. The Outer Himalayas/The Siwaliks
   • The Siwaliks extend from Jammu and Kashmir to Assam.
   • It is partly made by the debris brought by the Himalayan rivers.
   • Height : 900-1100 m
   • Width : Siwaliks varies 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.

III Eastern Himalayas/Purvanchal hills.

• These are the eastern off-shoot of Himalayas.
• It extended in the north-eastern states of India.
• Most of these hills are located along the border of India and Myanmar while others are inside India.
• 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.

Importance of Himalayas

• Himalayas blocks southwest monsoon winds and causes heavy rainfall to north India.
• It forms a natural barrier to the subcontinent.
• It is the source for many perennial rivers like Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra etc.
• The Northern Mountains are described as the paradise of tourists due to its natural beauty.
• Many hill stations and ==pilgrim centres== like Amarnath, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Vaishno Devi temple, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh centres are situated here.
• ==It provides raw material for many forest based industries.==
• It prevents the cold winds blowing from the central Asia and protects India from severe cold.
• ==Himalayas are renowned for the rich biodiversity==.