(Chapter 2: The Northern Mountains); Himalayan Ranges

Chapter 2

The Northern Mountains

India is a unique country in which all major landforms like mountains, plateaus, plains, coasts, and deserts are found. The Northern Mountains stretch across the northern border of India. These mountain ranges can be traced from Jammu and Kashmir in the west and  Arunachal Pradesh in the east. Northern Mountains are made up of two mountain ranges-The Himalayas and The Karakoram ranges. The Himalayas, (meaning abode of snow), is the highest mountain range in the world. They form a big wall along the northern borders of India. It extends from Jammu and Kashmir in the west and Arunachal Pradesh in the east to total length is about 2500 km and width is between 150-400 km.

The Northern Mountains are covered with snow throughout the year. Mount Everest in the Himalayas is the highest peak in the world. It is 8,848 metres high. It is in Nepal. Many people and professional trackers regularly client the snow covered peaks of the Himalayas.

Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay was the first to climb Mount Everest on 1953, Bachendri pal was the first Indian woman to climb the peak in 1984. Santosh Yadav was the first woman in the world to have climbed Mount Everest twice.

Himalayan ranges

Himalayas have 3 ranges.

Great Himalayas-Himadri

Middle Himalayas-Himachal

The lesser Himalayas- Shiwalik

Himadri ranges

The high Mountain peaks live in the Himadri range is Mount Everest in Nepal is the world's highest mountain peak, the highest mountain peak within Indian territory is Kanchenjunga. The other important mountain peaks in India are DhaulaGiri and Nanda Devi. Mountains covered with snow all over there. There is no vegetation or animal habitation over there, but high peaks have always challenged Mountaineers.

Hazards of mountaineering

Mountaineers need protection from severe cold and frost. But there is limit to how much baggage can be taken up. So the clothing has to be quilted and light. The air up on the mountains is rare. Breathing becomes difficult due to lack of oxygen. Mountaineers carry oxygen cylinders with them to use beyond a certain height. The  glare of the sun's reflection from ice can seriously damage the eyes. As such, mountaineers have to wear special glasses. Besides posing a challenge to mountaineers, the high peaks are useful in many more ways. Huge blocks of ice from these  mountain top flow down as river of ice. They are known as glaciers. As these glaciers move into warmer regions, the snow melts. Rivers like Ganga and the Yamuna originate from the glaciers Gangotri and Yamunotri. During the summer months, these rivers do not get dry. The melting snow feeds them with water. Melting snow also keep other rivers like the Satluj and the brahmaputra full of water during the summer months.

Himachal ranges

These are the middle Himalayan ranges. They are lower than the Himadri and lie towards its south. The slopes of these mountains are covered with pine, chir and deodar. Fruits like apples, plums, peaches, apricots, pears and cherries are grown here. Terrace farming is done in these slopes. In this method, large flat steps are cut into the slopes to form fields. We find many hill stations like Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Dalhousie, Shimla, Kullu, Mussoorie, Nainital and Darjeeling in this range. The rivers here from waterfalls as they flow rapidly down the mountains.

Shivalik ranges

The Shivalik ranges are the lowest. They lie in the extreme south of the Himalayas. The average height of shiwalik ranges is about 600 metres only. There are some broad valleys in between the Himachal and the Shiwalik ranges which are known by names “doons”. Dehradun is one of them. These ranges are known for their thick forest and wild animals such as tigers, leopards, bears and crocodiles. The foothills of the Shivalik form the Terai region. Most of this region lies in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. It is a marshy area that receives a lot of rainfall. The terai region has many national parks and wildlife santuaries. The Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand is the place of tourist interest.

In the north-east are the Purvanchal Ranges. They are not very high and have thick forest with a huge variety of wild animals. The Garo, Khasi, Jaintia, Naga, Lushai and Mizo hills are part of these range.

Towards the north-west of Himalayas lies the Karakoram mountain ranges is Mount Godwin Austen (K2) lies in the Karakoram Range and is the second highest peak in the world