The Himalayas are a fold mountain formed by the collision of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates.
When two plates collide, one plate heavier and the other light, one plate moves down and the other plate comes up, and fold mountains are formed.
You can watch the below video for a better understanding of how the Himalayas are formed -
There are 3 types of mountains -
a.Fold Mountains - When two or more earth's tectonic plates collide together, then fold mountains are formed.
b.Block Mountains - When two tectonic plates move away from each other causing cracks on the surface of the earth, then Block Mountains are formed.
c.Lava Mountains - When magma rising up from the mantle to the crust, then Lava mountains are formed.
Himalaya is divided on the basis of Height and Region.
Division of Himalaya on the basis of Height:
a.Trans Himalaya
b.Greater Himalaya
c.Middle Himalaya
d.Shivalik
e.Purvanchal
Division of Himalaya on the basis of Region:
a.Punjab Himalaya
b.Kumaun Himalaya
c.Nepal Himalaya
d.Assam Himalaya
Trans Himalaya:
The Trans Himalayas is the northernmost part of the Himalayas. Some part of it is in Tibet and China, hence it is also called Tibetan Himalaya.
Karakoram, Ladakh, Kailash, and Zaskar are the main mountain ranges of the Trans Himalayas.
The Trans Himalayas are part of the Eurasian Plate. Any plate is made up of part of the lithosphere crust and the upper part of the mantle.
Karakoram Mountain Range:
The Karakoram originates from the Pamir Knot and extends to the Gilgit River.
K2 is the highest peak of Karakoram. K2's real name is Godwin Austin. Earlier Karakoram was also called Krishnagiri.
There are many glaciers in the Karakoram like Siachen Glacier, Baltoro Glacier, Biafo Glacier, Hisper Glacier, etc...
Siachen glacier is the largest glacier in India.
Ladakh Mountain Range:
Ladakh is the western extension of the Kailash range. Mount Rakaposhi is the highest peak in Ladakh.
Kailash Mountain Range:
The Kailash range is one of the highest and rugged parts of the Himalayas. It is located in the southwestern part of Tibet.
Zaskar Mountain Range:
Zaskar range is a group of mountains in northern India and western Tibet.
Greater Himalaya:
It is also known as Inner Himalaya or Central Himalaya or Himadri means Abode of God.
These mountains are located in the south of the Trans Himalayas and their average height is 6100 m, width is 25 cm, and the average length is 2500 cm.
The Greater Himalayas are the highest peaks in the world. These mountain peaks start from Nanga Parbat and extend till Namcha Barwa.
The world's most important peaks are found in the Greater Himalayas such as Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, Nanga Parbat, Namach Barwa, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Makalu, Akaulu, Lhotse, Annapurna, Nanda Devi, Kamet, Gurla Mandhata, Badrinath, etc...
Different passes are also found in the Greater Himalayas like Zoji-la, Burji-la, Bara-lacha-la, etc...
Middle Himalaya:
The Middle Himalayas is also known as Lower Himalayas, Lesser Himalayas, or Himachal.
Middle Himalayas is present in the South of the Greater Himalayas. It has spread from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.
Their average height is from 1300m to 5100m.
Pir Panjal, Nag Tibba, Dhauladhar, Mussoorie, Mahabharata range are some of the important ranges of the Middle Himalayas.
Hill stations like Kullu, Manali, Shimla, Ranikhet, Mussoorie, Almora, Darjeeling, etc... all come in the Middle Himalayas.
There are some pastor lands on the south of the Middle Himalayas, which are known by different names in different places. It is known as Merg in Kashmir like Gulmerg, Sonmerg, Tanmerg, etc... and Bugyal and Payar in Himachal and Uttarakhand.
Shivalik Mountain Range:
Shivalik Range is present in the south of the Middle Himalayas and has an average length of 2400m, an average height of 1200m, and an average width of 40kms.
It starts from Potwar, Jammu and Kashmir and extends to the Brahmaputra river valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
This mountain is built in the last, so this mountain is the youngest. Because these mountains are made later, they stop the rivers and after some time the river crosses them after cutting them.
Because of this, Temporary Lakes are formed there. As rivers are flown by cutting these mountains, plains were formed here which are called Duns.
In the West, they are called Duns and in the East, they are called Duars. The southern part of the Shivalik ranges comes in Punjab and Haryana and there is a very dense forest and there is a lot of rainfall here which is called Chos.
Purvanchal Mountain Range:
After crossing the Dihang Gorge, the Himalayas take a hairpin southern turn, from which the Himalayas are known as Purvanchal.
In Myanmar, it is called Arakan Yoma. Purvanchal is basically a chain of Low Hills along the border of Myanmar.
Patkai Hills, Naga Hills, Manipur Hills, Mizo Hills, Tripura Hills are some of the parts of Purvanchal hills.
Saramati is the highest peak of Purvanchal and it is situated on the Naga Hills.
The Shivalik Ranges form the boundary line between India and Myanmar.
Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia Hills are not part of Purvanchal Hills.
Himalaya is also divided on the basis of region. Now let's discuss the regional division of the Himalayas on the basis of the river valleys.
Punjab Himalaya:
The range of the Himalayas between the Indus and the Sutlej river is known as Punjab Hiamalaya and it is 560 km long.
Kumaun Himalaya:
The range of the Himalayas between the Sutlej river and the Kali river is known as Kumaun Himalaya and it is 320 km long.
Nepal Himalaya:
The range of the Himalayas between the Kali river and the Tista river is known as Nepal Himalaya and it is 800 km long.
Assam Himalaya:
The range of the Himalayas between the Tista river and the Bramhaputra river is known as Assam Himalaya and it is 750 km long.
Sir Sydney Burrard made this division, apart from that some other peoples are also divided the Himalayas on their own way.
If you like this article about Himalayan ranges and their division on the basis of height and regions, consider sharing this article with friends.
