The Northern Mountains

Origin of Himalaya

● The existence of the Himalayas is due to the powerful earth

movement between the Indo Australian Plate and the
Eurasian Plates about 80 million years ago.
● The time is known as the Jurassic age when India was part of
the Gondwana landmass in the Southern Hemisphere.
● The vast area of the Gondwana landmass includes the areas
of India, Australia, Africa, South America and Antarctica.
● In the middle Mesozoic era, Gondwana Land was divided into
many pieces by Convection currents.
● Convection currents play a significant role in the geological
processes that have shaped the Earth's crust, and they are
particularly relevant to the concept of Gondwana land and
plate tectonics. Convection currents in the mantle are a
driving force behind the movement of these tectonic plates.
● The movement of tectonic plates has played a crucial role in
the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana over millions of
years.
● After this division, the Indian plate started shifting towards the
North after getting separated from the Gondwana land.
● As a result of the displacement towards the north, the Indian
Plate collided with the much larger plate, the Eurasian Plate.
● After this collision, the sedimentary rocks of the Tethys Sea
located between these two plates were folded and
 developed into the Himalayas and the mountain ranges of
West Asia.
● The Earth's lithosphere is divided into several tectonic plates,
which float on the semi-fluid Asthenosphere beneath. These
plates are in constant motion due to the convective currents
in the underlying mantle.

The Northern Mountains:

● It is divided into three groups. They are:

➔ The Trans Himalayas
➔ The Himalayas
➔ The Purvanchal hills

Trans Himalaya:
● It is situated to the north of the Greater Himalayas. It was
formed even before the Himalayas.
● Due to its presence in Tibet, it is also called 'Tibetan
Himalaya'.
● Under this comes the Karakoram, Ladakh, Zaskar mountain
range.
● The Karakoram range is also known as the 'Backbone of High
Asia'. because of its significance in terms of geography,
elevation, and the concentration of high peaks.
● India's highest peak and the World's Second highest peak
Godwin Austin (K2) is located in the Karakoram range of the
Trans Himalayas, which is the second-highest peak on Earth.
Its height is 8,611 meters.
 ● The Siachen Glacier and the Biafo Glacier, which are the
world's 2nd and 3rd largest glaciers respectively, are located
in the Karakoram range.
● Mount Kailash, the sacred mountain of Hinduism, is located in
the western part of the Trans Himalayan range.

The Himalayan Mountains

● Himalayas are the young fold mountains.
● The term "fold" refers to the process by which Rocks bend and
buckle due to Earth's tectonic forces. When tectonic plates
move and collide, the intense pressure causes the Earth's
crust to fold, crumple, and rise, leading to the formation of
mountain ranges.
● The Himalayas formed as a result of the collision between the
Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
● This is the highest mountain range of the world.
● The Himalayas act as a “Natural barrier”. The extreme cold,
snow and rugged topography discourage the neighbors from
entering India through the Himalayas.
● They run from the West-East direction from Indus to
Brahmaputra along the northern boundary of India covering
a distance of 2500 KM.
● Their width varies from 400 in the west and 150 KM in the East
● The Himalayas may be divided into three parallel ranges:
➔ Greater Himalayas or ‘Himadri’
➔ Lesser Himalayas or ‘Himachal’
➔ Outer Himalayas or ‘Siwaliks’
The Greater Himalayas or Himadri

● It is also called 'Great Himalaya', 'Inner Himalaya' and

'Himadri'.
● It extends from Nanga Parbat in the west to Namcha Barwa in
the east.
● The Greater Himalayas comprises the northernmost ranges
and peaks.
● It has an average height of 6000 meters and width lies
between 120 to 190 Kms.
● It has high peaks like Mt. Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu,
Dhaulagiri, Nanga Parbat etc.
● having a height of more than 8000 meters. Mt. Everest (8848
m) is the highest peak of the world and Kanchenjunga is the
highest peak of Himalaya in India.
● High Mountain passes also exist in this range, namely, Bara
Lacha-La, Shipki-La, Nathu-La, Zoji-La, Bomidi-La etc.
● The Ganga and Yamuna rivers originate from the Himalayas.
Mountain Peak Height Location Important Point

Nepal/Tibet
Mount Everest 8,850 Highest peak in the world.
border

K2 (Mount Pakistan Second highest peak in the

8,611
Godwin-Austen) (Gilgit-Baltistan) world.

Third highest peak and

Kangchenjunga 8,598 Sikkim, India
revered in local culture.

Nepal/Tibet Connected to Mount

Lhotse 8,516
border Everest.

Nepal/Tibet Fifth highest peak in the

Makalu 8,485
border world.

Seventh highest peak in the

Dhaulagiri 8,172 Nepal
world.

Eighth highest peak in the

Manaslu 8,163 Nepal
world.

Pakistan Known as the "Killer

Nanga Parbat 8,126
(Gilgit-Baltistan) Mountain."

Annapurna 8,091 Nepal —-------------

The Lesser Himalayas or ‘Himachal’

● It is also called 'Small Himalaya'. It extends to the south of the

Greater Himalayas.
 ● The average width of this mountain range is 50 kilometers
and the average height ranges from 3,100 to 4,500 meters.
● The Lesser Himalayas are known as the Pir Panjal Range in
Jammu and Kashmir, the Dhauladhar Range in Himachal
Pradesh, the Nag Tibba Range in Uttarakhand and the
Mahabharat Range in Nepal.
● The world famous 'Kashmir Valley' is situated between the
Greater Himalayas and the Lesser Himalayas.
● World famous hill towns Dharamshala, Mussoorie, Almora,
Lansdowne, Ranikhet, Kullu-Manali, Lahaul-Spiti are situated
in this range.
● Small grasslands are found on the slopes of the Lesser
Himalayas which are known as 'marg' in Kashmir, 'bugyal' or
'payar' in Uttarakhand.
● A structure made of moraines called 'Karewa' is found in the
Lesser Himalayas. It is famous for the cultivation of saffron.

Mountain Peaks in Hill Stations in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand

Nanda Devi Nainital

Trisul Mussoorie
Kedarnath Auli
Chaukhamba Rishikesh
Kamet Almora
Panchachuli Ranikhet
Dunagiri Kausani
Satopanth Dhanaulti
 Binsar
Mukteshwar

The Outer Himalayas or the Siwaliks

● This is the outermost range of the Himalayas, hence it is also

called the 'Outer Himalayas'.
● Its width is 10 to 50 km and height is from 900 to 1200.
● This mountain range has been formed from sediments
brought by rivers originating from the main Himalayan
ranges in the north.
● To its South lies the vast northern plain of India.
● In some places of the Shivalik Himalayas, a flat structural
valley is found, which is called 'Dun' in the west and 'Duar' in
the east.
● Kotli Dun, Dehradun and Patlidun are examples of this.
● In the foothills region of the Shivalik region, there is a flat plain
between the Indus River in the west and the Teesta River in
the east, which is called Bhabar.

Important facts

● The Indo-Tsangpo Sachhar Zone is a tectonic zone located

south of Tibet and the Greater Himalayas. It was formed as a
result of the collision between the Indian Plate and the
Eurasian Plate.
● The geological rift formed between the Greater Himalayas
and the Lesser Himalayas is called 'Main Central Thrust'.
 ● The geological crack formed between the Lesser Himalayas
and the Shivalik Himalayas is called 'Main Boundary Fault'.
● The geological fault formed between the Shivalik Himalayas
and the plains to its south is called 'Himalayan Frontal Fault'.

Division of the Himalayas on the basis of rivers

Kashmir Himalaya Indus and Sutlej 560 kms

Kumaon Himalaya Sutlej and Kali 320 kms

Nepal Himalaya Kali and Teesta 800 kms

Assam Himalaya Teesta and Dihang 700 kms

Kashmir Himalaya

● It is also called ‘Punjab Himalaya’. The name 'Punjab' itself

derives from the Persian words "Panj" (meaning five) and
"Aab" (meaning water), which refer to the five major rivers of
this region: Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.
● These rivers have their origins in the Himalayas, and their
valleys define the topography of the Punjab region.
● It extends for 560 kilometers between the Indus and Sutlej
rivers.
● Karakoram, Ladakh, Pir Panjal and Zaskar ranges come under
this Himalaya.
● The maximum width of the Himalayas is here.
Kumaon Himalaya

● It extends for a distance of 320 kilometers between Sutlej and

Kali rivers.
● Its maximum expansion is in the state of Uttarakhand.
● Peaks like Nanda Devi, Komet, Badrinath and Kedarnath
come under this Himalaya.
● Bhagirathi and Yamuna rivers originate from this Himalaya.

Nepal Himalaya

● It is situated between the Himalayas Kali and Teesta rivers.

● The extent of the Himalayas is about 800 km.
● Here the width of the Himalayan mountain is very less, but the
highest peak of the Himalayas like Mount Everest,
Kanchenjunga Makalu is located here.
● Kanchenjunga, which is the highest peak of India within the
Himalayan mountain range, comes under the Darjeeling and
Sikkim Himalayas.

Assam Himalaya

● The Assam Himalayas extend over a distance of about 700

kilometers between the Teesta and Dihang rivers.
● In the Himalayas, the height of the Himalayas once again
decreases.
Eastern hills

● It is a part of the Himalayan mountain range which is also

called Purvanchal Hills.
● South of Arunachal Pradesh, the Himalayan ranges turn
towards the south and are known by different names here.
● In Arunachal Pradesh these are known as Patkai Boom, Naga
Hills in Nagaland and in its south as Mizo or Lushai Hills.

Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills:

● All these three hills are situated in the plateau of Meghalaya

in Northeast India.
● The Meghalaya Plateau is part of the Peninsular Plateau,
separated by the Malda Fault.
● The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills are named after the tribes
that resided here.
● The Karbi Anglong hills of Assam are also an extension of this.
● Due to the funnel shape of these hills, the annual rainfall in
Meghalaya is more than 200 cm.
● Mawsynram and Cherrapunji, the places with the highest
rainfall in the world, are located on the southern slopes of the
Khasi Hills.