KERALA PSC / INDIAN GEOGRAPHY / THE HIMALAYAS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

 

KERALA PSC / INDIAN GEOGRAPHY / THE HIMALAYAS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

KERALA PSC / INDIAN GEOGRAPHY / THE HIMALAYAS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

·      Mountains between the Indus and the Brahmaputra are called ‘the Himalayas’ meaning ‘the abode of snow’.

·      It is one of the youngest mountain systems in the world and comprise mainly sedimentary rocks

·      The Indus Valley in Kashmir and the Brahmaputra valley in Arunachal Pradesh are accepted as the western and the eastern limits of the Himalayas in India

·      The Himalayan chain measures about 2500 km from west to east and width of this fold system varies between 150 and 400 km. It becomes narrower from west to east.

·      According to the plate tectonics theory, the Indian plate moved northwards and its forward edge penetrated below the southern edge of the Tibetan plate. This resulted in the folding and uplift of the Himalayas.

·      The Himalayas consist of three parallel ranges:

Ø The southernmost range, called the Siwalik or the Outer Himalaya is the lowest

Ø The ranges lying north of the Siwalik are known as the middle Himalayas or the Himachal

Ø The northernmost ranges of the Himalayas, known as Great Himalayas or the Himadri, are the highest with an average height of more than 6000 meters above the sea level.

·      The Himadri contain some of the world’s highest peaks like Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, Nandadevi and Nanga Parbat, Makalu and Dhaulagiri

·      Mt. Everest (8848m) in Nepal is the world’s highest peak

·      Kanchenjunga in Sikkim is the highest peak of the Himalayas in India (8598m)

·      To the south of the Central Himalayas lies the second major range, the Lesser or Lower or Middle Himalayas or Himachal. It is separated from the Great Himalayas by the structural zone called the Main Central Thrust Zone.

·      The Himalayan rivers have cut deep gorges in the Himachal

KERALA PSC / INDIAN GEOGRAPHY / THE HIMALAYAS / NOTES / OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS / STUDY MATERIALS / GENERAL KNOWLEDGE