THE HIMALAYASBY:

N.K.ROHIT KUMAR

S.N.JAYANTHAN

OF

CLASS: IX A

THE HIMALAYAS

The Himalayas or Himalaya is a mountain range in South Asia which separates the Indo-Gangetic Plain from the Tibetan Plateau. This range is home to nine of the ten highest peaks on Earth, including the highest, Mount Everest. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia. Many Himalayan peaks are sacred in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

LOCATION OF THE HIMALAYAS

The Himalayas are bordered on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain, on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, and on the east by the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The western anchor of the Himalayas — Nanga Parbat — lies just south of the northernmost bend of the Indus River, while the eastern anchor — Namcha Barwa — is situated just west of the great bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The Himalayas span five countries:India, Nepal, Bhutan, China(Tibet), and Pakistan, with the first three countries having sovereignty over most of the range.

GEOLOGY OF THE HIMALAYAS

The Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of sedimentary and metamorphic rock. According to the modern theory of plate tectonics, its formation is a result of a continental collision or orogeny along the convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The Arakan Yoma highlands in Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal were also formed as a result of this collision.

FORMATION OF HIMALAYAS

During the Upper Cretaceous, about 70 million years ago, the north-moving Indo-Australian plate (was moving at about 15 cm per year. About 50 million years ago this fast moving Indo-Australian plate had completely closed the Tethys Ocean, the existence of which has been determined by sedimentary rocks settled on the ocean floor, and the volcanoes that fringed its edges. Since both plates were composed of low density continental crust, they were thrust faulted and folded into mountain ranges rather than sub ducting into the mantle along an oceanic trench. An often-cited fact used to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made of marine limestone from this ancient ocean.

THE GANGOTRI GLACIER

Gangotri Glacier is located in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India in a region bordering China. This glacier, one of the primary sources of the Ganges, is one of the largest in the Himalayas with an estimated volume of over 27 cubic kilometres. The glacier is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) long and 2 to 4 km (1 to 2 mi) wide. Around the glacier are the peaks of the Gangotri Group, including several peaks notable for extremely challenging climbing routes, such as Shivling, Thalay Sagar, Meru, and Bhagirathi III. It flows roughly northwest, originating in a cirque below Chaukhamba, the highest peak of the group.

The terminus of the Gangotri Glacier is said to resemble a cow's mouth, and the place is called Gomukh or Gaumukh(gou, cow + mukh, face). Gomukh, which is about 19 km (11.8 mi) from the town of Gangotri, is the precise source of the Bhagirathi river, an important tributary of the Ganges. Gomukh is situated near the base of Shivling; in between lies the Tapovan meadow.

SIGNIFICANCE OF HIMALAYAS

Himalayas  are the most significant geographical structure of the India. They comprises the most dominating geographic feature of India. No other mountain range anywhere in the world has affected the life of people and shaped the destiny of a nation as the Himalayas have in respect of India. The Himalayas are the body and soul of the India. In a very special measure Himalayas formed the India's national mountain system. The following few points will bring out the significance of the Himalayan mountain to India:-

DEFENSEThe Himalayas have been protecting India

from outside invaders since early times thus serving as defence barrier. However the Chinese aggression on India in October 1962 has reduced the defence significance of India. In spite of the advancement in  modern warfare technology, the defence significance role of the Himalayas can not be neglected.

FERTILE SOILWe know that the Himalayas are the

formation of the sediments deposited in the Tethys sea. This sediment is carried by the Himalayan rivers and deposited in the northern plain in the from of the fertile soil, making the plain one the most fertile land of the world. It has been estimated that the Ganga and Indus carry 19 and 10 lakh tonnes of the silt per day respectively and the silt carried by the Brahmaputra is even more. It is, therefore, often said that the great plain of north India is a gift of the Himalayas.

TOURISMHimalayas provides the huge scope of tourism due to

its scenic beauty and healthy environment. Beautiful landscapes on the Himalayan mountain offers a great tourist spot. The hilly areas in the Himalayas offer cool and comfortable climate when neighbouring  plains are reeling under scorching heat of the summer season. Millions of tourist from different part of the country as well as from abroad throng the Himalaya tourist centers to enjoy their natural beauty and to escape from the summer heat of the plains. The increasing popularity of the winter sports and craze to enjoy snow fall has increased the rush of tourists in winters also. Some of the famous tourists spot in the Himalayas are Mussorie, Shimla, Kulu, Manali, Nainital, Chamba, Ranikhet, Almora, Darjeeling, Mirik, Gangtok, etc.

MINERALSAs we known that the Himalayas are the creation of

sediments which was deposited by the rivers in Tethys sea. Along with this deposition thousands of the fossils also get buried, which today exits in the form of the minerals. The Himalayan region contains many valuable minerals. There are vast potentialities of mineral oil in the tertiary rocks. Coal is found in the Kashmir. Copper, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, antimony, tungsten, gold, silver, limestone, semi-precious and precious stones, gypsum and magnetite are known to occur at more than 100 localities in the Himalayas. Unfortunately, the extraction of the minerals from the Himalayan ranges is not a feasible activity, because of its complex terrain and it will also make the Himalayas more unstable as they are still the young mountains.

SOME PICTURES OF THE HIMALAYAS & MT.EVERST

THANK

YOU