BY:

N.K.ROHIT KUMAR
S.N.JAYANTHAN
OF
CLASS: IX A
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
 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:-
The 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.
We 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.
Himalayas 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.
As 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.