The Theory of Everything: Himalayas

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Formation of Himalaya

• Gondwanaland is the oldest landmass (the Peninsula part) which included India, Australia, South Africa, South America and Antarctica as one single land mass.
• The ordinary splitting of current into crust with a number of pieces, leads the drifting of the Indo-Australian plate towards north after being separated from the Gondwanaland.
• The northward drift resulted in the collision of the plate with the much larger Eurasian Plate.
• Due to this collision, the sedimentary rocks which were collected in the geosyncline known as the Tethys were folded to form the mountain system of western Asia and Himalaya.
• The Himalayan uplift out of the Tethys Sea and collapse of the northern quarter of the peninsular plateau resulted in the formation of a large basin.
• In due course of time this depression, gradually got filled with deposition of sediments by the rivers flowing from the mountains in the north and the peninsular plateau in the south.
• A flat land of extensive alluvial deposits led to the formation of the northern plains of India.

It was supposed to be one of the most stable land blocks. The Himalayas and the Northern Plains are the most recent landforms. From the view point of geology, Himalayan Mountains form an unstable zone. The whole mountain system of Himalaya represents a very youthful topography with high peaks, deep valleys and fast flowing rivers.

There are three parallel ranges of Himalayan Mountain

• Himadri: Himadri lies in the northern most range & is also known as the Great or Inner Himalayas. It is the most continuous range consisting of the tallest peaks & contains all the prominent Himalayan peaks with an average height of 6,000 metres.
• Himachal: This range lays to the south of the Himadri forms & is the most rugged mountain system also known as lesser Himalaya. The ranges are mainly composed of highly compressed and altered rocks. The altitude varies between 3,700 and 4,500 metres and the average width is of 50 Km.
• Shiwalik: It lies in the outer most range of the Himalayas & have extend over a width of 10-50 Km with an altitude varying between 900 and 1100 metres. These ranges are composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by rivers from the main Himalayan ranges located farther north.

Economy

The Himalayas do not offer extensive flat lands for agriculture but some of the slopes are terraced for cultivation. Rice is the main crop on the terraced slopes. The other crops are wheat, maize, potatoes, tobacco and ginger. Tea is a unique crop which can be grown on the hill slopes only. A wide variety of fruits such as apples, pears, grapes, mulberry, walnut, cherries, peaches, apricot, etc. are also grown in the Himalayan region.

Many useful herbs which are used as medicines grow on the slopes of Himalayas. Tea is also grown on the Himalayan slopes. India is a big producer of tea.

• Everest’s commercial era started in the 1990s.
• Around 400-500 adventurers travel to Nepal and China to test their fate on the world’s tallest mountain.
• In climbing Everest great price is involved-monetarily and mentally.
• Due to high cost, climbers usually include young sponsored athlete to wealthy men trying to battle their fears out, dealing with insecurities, or adventurous people.
• The actual expedition or the climb costs between $35,000-$100,000. This includes the royalty fee, amount given to Sherpa and virtually the village of Sherpa’s -porter, cook and guides who helps the climber to climb the Everest.
• The estimated earning of Nepal on Everest climbing fees is about $3.5 million per annum.
• Earlier this year a new policy of accident and death insurance of mountain guides have come into force which doubles the amount of compensation from $5,100 to $10,300.

Rivers originating from Himalaya

Himalaya is the source of almost all the great rivers of India. During summers the snow of the Himalaya glaciers melt & provides water to these rivers throughout the year. Some of the great rivers in India are:

Indus – with the Length of 3180 Km

Ganga – with the Length of 2525 Km

Brahmaputra – with the Length of 2900 Km

Climate on Himalaya

1. The climate of Himalaya plays an important role in influencing the climate of India with the help of its high altitude, length and direction, they effectively prevent the summer monsoons coming from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and cause rainfall. It also prevents the cold winds of central Asia from entering into India.

If there were no Himalayas, the whole of India would have been a desert in the absence of rainfall. According to the latest meteorological studies, the Himalayas are responsible for splitting the jet stream into two branches and these in turn play an extremely important role in bring monsoons in India.

Highlights

• The maximum average daytime temperature is -19°C
• The maximum average temperature during winters ranges between -36°C to -60°C.
• The westerly winds blows against the peak and around the Mount Everest summit during spring and winter.
• From June to September, Mount Everest is under the control of Indian Monsoon.
• There are strong winds before and after monsoon season.
• Rough description of weather periods of Everest are as follows:

I. Summer – Very Wet.

II. Autumn Window – Dry, Warm, Calm.

III. Autumn – Very Windy, Cold, Very Dry, Dark.

IV. Winter – Very Windy, Very Cold, Dry, Dark.

V. Spring – Windy, Cold, Dry.

VI. Spring Window – Dry, Warm, Calm.

Advantages from The Great Himalaya

1. The Himalayas also protect us from invaders since early times & acts as a great wall, inspite of the advanced technologies the defence significance of Himalayas can’t be ignored.

2. The great rivers & their tributaries which flows from Himalaya carry different forms of fertile soil with which make the plains one of the most fertile lands of the world.

3. The Himalaya region gives many opportunities for producing Hydroelectricity to construct dams across the rivers even after that the vast power potential of the Himalayan Rivers still is a hope of proper utilisation.

4. The Himalayan region contains many valuable minerals. There are vast variety of mineral oil in the tertiary rocks. Coal is found in 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.

Mount Everest

• Mount Everest is also known by the Tibetan name Chomolangma (Goddess Mother of the Snow) and by the Nepali name Sagarmatha (Mother of the Universe) & is the highest mountain in the world.
• Continent – Asia.
• Country – Nepal /China.
• Latitude – 27.9881.
• Longitude – 89.9253
• Best months for climbing – April, May.
• First successful climbers – Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay.
• First successful attempt in the year – 1953.
• The first seven unsuccessful attempts on Everest took place in 1921 with climbers from Tibet.
• The first woman to climb Everest is Junko Tabei from Japan in the year 1975.
• Around 600 climbers from 20 countries have climbed the summit from various Routes.
• 100 climbers have perished.
• First Indian man to climb Mount Everest is Avtaar Singh Cheema.
• First Indian woman to climb Mount Everest is Bachendri Pal.
• Climbing of Everest is strictly regulated by Chinese and Nepalese governments.

Highest Peak in India

Kanchenjunga: It is the highest mountain peak in India and ranked 3rd highest summit in the world with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft). It is located at the border of India and Nepal in the great Himalayas range, Sikkim. Kanchenjunga section contains five peaks and the region has twelve more peaks over 7,000 m (23,000 ft).

Elevation: 8,586 m (28,169 ft)

Prominence: 3,922 m (12,867 ft)

Isolation: 124 kilometres (77 mi)

Coordinates

• 27°42′09″N
• 88°08′48″E

The Question which disturbs many of us is The Himalaya & Everest the same?

The Himalayas, or Himalaya, are a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan range is home to the planet’s highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest.

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