A portion of land surface, which could

be small or big, rising above 900

metres is regarded as ‘Mountains’ and
those which are below this are
referred to as ‘Hills’

It has a conical peak and steep slope

Eg Himalayas, Rockies and Andes

mountains etc
 Hills

Height - 300-900 metre

Dome shaped

Formed by
sedimentation
Fold mountains originate as a result of tectonic plates
converging at a plate boundary.

So, any material, be it rocks, which was previously present

convergent area will get compressed by the force experienced
sides and will rise up to form some disoriented layered
 Block Mountains

When the earth's crust cracks, faulting takes place. Block Mountains are
upliftment or subsidence at regional level due to endogenetic forces

e.g. Vosges mountain in Europe, Mountain ranges of Satpura and

Sierra Nevada Block Mountains in North America, Harz Block
 Volcanic Mountains

Volcanic Mountains Formed due to volcanic activity

e.g. Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt. Fuji in Japan

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram
Kailash
Ladakh
Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram
Ladakh
Kailash
 Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram Range

It is longest and highest among all the trans-Himalayan ranges.

Origin - Pamir Knot, highest plateau of the world and is also known as the “Roof of the World”.
It is a knot formed by convergence of Hindukush Mountains, Suleiman Mountains, Karakoram Mountains
and Kunlun Mountains.

• Highest peak - Godwin Austin or Qogir or K2 (8611m)

• Second highest peak of the world after Mt. Everest.
 Trans-Himalayan Ranges
Karakoram Range

Siachen Glacier – Highest glacier in India and longest in India (76km)

Nubra River originates from Siachen Glacier which is a tributary of Shyok River which in turn is a
tributary of Indus River.

The Baltoro Glacier - Located in Gilgit-Baltistan (63 km long)

The glacier gives rise to the Shigar River, which is a tributary of the Indus River.

Biafo Glacier – 70 km – 2nd Longest in India

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram
Ladakh
Kailash
 Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Ladakh Range

Ladakh range lie to the south-east of the Karakoram ranges.

It is separated by Shyok River from Karakoram and by Indus River from Zanskar Range in the
south.

Khardung La Pass (India's highest motorable road)

Chang La Pass

These ranges extend into China where they are known as the Kailash ranges. They include Mt. Kailash
and Mansarovar Lake.
Pangong Tso (largest saline lake between India and China)
 Trans-Himalayan Ranges
Ladakh
Highest point - Stok Kangri
The peak is located in Hemis National Park, It is the only national park in India north of the
Himalayas
Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram
Ladakh
Kailash
 Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Kailash Range

Highest point – Mount Kailash (6,638 m)

The mountain is located near Lake Manasarovar

Source of some of the longest Asian rivers

Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali also known as Ghaghara (a tributary of
the Ganges)
 Himalayas – Zanskar (Greater Himalayas in Kashmir)

Zanskar range

It lies south of the Ladakh range

Cut across by the Zanskar river

These ranges extend into Uttarakhand.

They contain some prominent peaks like Mt. Kamet, Nanda Devi (a biosphere
reserve), Kedarnath etc.

Lipu Lekh Pass that leads to Mansarovar is a part of these ranges.

Spiti Valley, Lahaul Valley, and Kinnaur Valley are also a part of these ranges.
 Himalayas

1. Greater Himalayas / Himadri

2. Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalays
3. Outer Himalayas / Shivalik
4. North-Eastern Hills / Purvanchal
 Greater Himalayas / Himadri

It is called Himadri because it is permanently snow-capped

Passes of Greater Himalayas

This is the northernmost of all the Himalayan ranges.

Average elevation - 6100 m above sea level
Length of 2400 km from Nanga Parbat in Kashmir to Namcha Barua in Tibet

Mt. Everest (Highest), Mt. Kanchenjunga (3rd highest) , Mt. Makalu (5th highest) etc. are a part of
these ranges.
 Greater Himalayas / Himadri

Ladakh - Zoji La
Himachal Pradesh - Bara Lacha La, Shipki La
Uttarakhand - Thaga La, Niti Pass, Lipu Lekh
Sikkim - Nathu La, Jelep La
Arunachal Pradesh – Bomdi La

It is mainly formed of the central crystalline rocks (granites and gneisses) overlain by
metamorphosed sediments.
 Greater Himalayas / Himadri

The Greater Himalayas are almost a contiguous range.

The Greater Himalayas receive less rainfall as compared to the Lesser Himalayas and the
Shiwaliks.
 Himalayas

Greater Himalayas / Himadri

Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas
Outer Himalayas / Shivalik
North-Eastern Hills / Purvanchal
Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas
Less in height and discontinuous

Elevations vary from 3,700 to 4,500 m above sea level.

The important ranges included are

Pir Panjal (Kashmir)
Dhauladhar (Himachal Pradesh)
Mussoorie Range (Uttarakhand)
Mahabharat (Nepal)
Darjeeling Hills (West Bengal)
 Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas
The flat valleys between the Lesser Himalaya and the Shiwalik range are called ‘doons’ or ‘Duns’
of which Dehra Dun is the most famous.

Pir Panjal range - longest range of the middle Himalayas.

It is cut across by the Jhelum river & Chenab river.
Famous passes of this range include - Pir Panjal Pass, Banihal Pass (connects Jammu and
Srinagar)

Dhauladhar ranges are the extension of Pir Panjal into Himachal Pradesh. They are cut across by
the river Ravi.
 Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas

This range consists of the famous valley of Kashmir, the Kangra and Kullu Valley in
Himachal Pradesh

Majority of the Himalayan hill stations like Shimla, Mussoorie, Dalhousie, Ranikhet, Nainital,
Almora and Darjeeling, etc. are located here.
 Himalayas

Greater Himalayas / Himadri

Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas
Outer Himalayas / Shivalik
North-Eastern Hills / Purvanchal
 Outer Himalayas / Shivalik

The outer most range of the Himalayas is called the Shivaliks.

The Shiwaliks extend from Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir State to Assam.

Altitude varies between 900 and 1100 metres.

These ranges are composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by rivers from the
main Himalayan ranges located farther north. These valleys are covered with thick gravel
and alluvium.
 Outer Himalayas / Shivalik

Jammu Region - Jammu Hills

Arunachal Pradesh - Dafla, Miri, Abor and Mishmi Hills
Uttarakhand - Dhang Range, Dundwa Range
Nepal - Churia Ghat Hills
 Hills of North East
Made of sedimentary rocks

Dafla, Mishmi, Abor, Miri and Patkai hills - Arunachal Pradesh

Mikir hills - Assam
Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills - Meghalaya

Naga hills – Nagaland

(Saramati (3,826 m) is the highest peak)

Mizo or Lushai hills - Mizoram

The highest point is the Blue Mountain (2,157 m)
 Aravali Hills

Oldest fold mountains of the world

Starts from Delhi, then passes through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ends in Gujarat.
800 km from Delhi to Palanpur in Gujarat

Average Height - 400-600 m

Highest Peak – 1722 m

(Gurusikhar peak in Mount Abu)
 Vindhya Range
It runs east-west direction from South Gujarat to Sasaram in Bihar for a distance of over 1,200
km.

Average elevation - 300 to 650 m

The Vindhyas are continued eastwards as the Bharner and Kaimur hills.
In Bihar, the Vindhayas are known as Kaimur hills.

The highest point of the Vindhyas is the Sad-bhawna Shikhar ("Goodwill Peak"), which lies 2,467
feet (752 m) above the sea level
 Satpura Range
Satpura range is a series of seven mountains

It runs in an east-west direction south of the Vindhyas and in between the Narmada and the Tapi.

Commencing from the Rajpipla Hills in the west, through the Mahadev Hills to the Maikala Range,
it stretches for a distance of about 900 km.

Dhupgarh (1,350 m) near Pachmarhi on Mahadev Hills is the highest peak.

 Western Ghats

The Western Ghats are called

Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka

Nilgiri hills in Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Cardamom Hills in Kerala
Anamalai Hills in Kerala
 Western Ghats

Anaimudi (2,695 m) is the highest peak in Western Ghats and the whole of Peninsular India.
Anaimudi is a knot of 3 hills which are the Anaimalai from the north, the Palni from the
north-east and the Cardamom Hills from the south.

DodaBetta (2,637 m) is the second highest peak of the Western Ghats and the whole of
Peninsular India.
 Western Ghats

The Nilgiri Hills marks the junction of the Western Ghats with Eastern Ghats.

Western Ghats are a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Thal ghat and Bhor ghat are important passes in the Sahyadri Range which provide
passage by road and rail between the Konkan Plains in the west and the Deccan Plateau in
the east.
 Western Ghats

Thal ghat (Kasara ghat) connects Mumbai with Nasik and Bhor ghat connects Mumbai with
Pune.

The southern part of the Western Ghats is separated from the main Sahyadri range by Pal
ghat Gap which presents a sudden break in the continuity of this mountain range.
Pal ghat gap (Palakkad gap) connects Kochi with Coimbatore.
 Western Ghats

Konkan coast - Maharashtra coast and Goa coast

Kanara Coast - Karnataka
Malabar Coast - Kerala and Karnataka coast

The major river systems originating in the Western Ghats include Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna
and Tungabhadra.
 Eastern Ghats

In striking contrast to the continuous eminence of the Western Ghats, it is a chain of highly
broken and dissected hills starting from the Mahanadi in Orissa to the Vaigai in Tamil Nadu.

These dissected hills are known as

Nalla Malai and Palkonda in Andhra Pradesh
Javadi and Shavaroy in Tamil Nadu
Arma Konda (1680 m) is the tallest peak of Eastern Ghats, it is in Andhra Pradesh
 Eastern Ghats

The Northern Circars lies between Mahanadi and Krishna rivers in the states of Orissa and
Andhra Pradesh.

The second part of the eastern coastal plain called as Coromandal Coast lies between
Krishna and Kaveri region. It lies in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
 Others

Gawilgarh Hills – Maharashtra

Harischandra Range - Maharashtra
Rajmahal Hills – Jharkhand
Garhjat Hills – Odisha
Sirumalai Hills – Tamil Nadu
Seshachalam Hills – Andhra Pradesh
Varusanadu Hills - Tamil Nadu