Northern Mountains

Northern Mountains

Introduction

The northern mountains in the north of India extend from northwest to northeast of India. The Himalayas, the karakoram mountains and the northeastern mountain ranges are together called the Northern Mountains Karakoram Range

1.Western Himalayas :

The western Himalayas are located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir

2.Central Himalayas :

The central Himalayas are located in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India. They are located in Nepal too

3. Eastern Himalayas :

The eastern Himalayas are also called Poorvanchal. They are located in the states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. There are a number of important hills in the Poorvanchal, such as Khasi, Garo, Naga, Lushai, Patkai and Jaintia hills. The width of the Himalayas varies from 150 to 400 km at different places, which can be divided into three ranges : greater imalayas (Himadri), middle Himalayas (Himachal) and lower Himalayas (Shivalik).

Karakoram Range:

The Karakoram Ranges lie to the northwest of Himalayas . Mount Godwin Austin (k2) is the second highest peak in the world

The Himalayas:

The Himalayas extend in a long curve from Jammu and Kashmir in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. It is about 2500 kms in length. Its width varies from 150 to 400 kms. The Himalayas are the highest mountain range in the world. It contains many high peaks. Mount Everest in the Himalayas is the highest mountain peak in the world, with a height of 8,848 metres.

Northern Mountains

The Himalayas consist of three parallel ranges.

1.The Greater Himalayas or Himadri :

 It is the highest Himalayan range. Kanchenjunga is the highest peak in India. Many glaciers originate from this region. Rivers such as Indus, Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra originate from such glaciers. River Ganga originates from Gangotri glacier and river Yamuna originates from the yamunotri glacier.

2. The Lesser Himalayas or Himachal :

This range lies to the south of himadri. It has dense forests of pine and deodar on the mountain slopes. Beautiful hill stations like Darjeeling, Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital and Kullu are situated in this range.

3. The Outer Himalayas or shiwalik :

The southernmost range of the Himalayas is called the Shiwaliks. This range is covered with thick forests which are a home to many wild animals. Terrace farming is done on the slopes of the shiwaliks.

Purvanchal ranges

 The purvanchal ranges are the eastern extension of Himalayas. They cover the states of Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. The Garo, Khasi, Jaintia, Naga, Mizo and Lushai are the main hills in this range. Mawsynram in khasi hills, Meghalaya is the wettest place on earth.

Northern Mountains

Climate:

Greater Himalayas are extremely cold. Lesser Himalayas are pleasant during summer. The Shiwaliks get heavy rainfall.

Vegetation:

The vegetation of Himalayas varies with the altitude.

Greater Himalayas:

The vegetation here is sparse. The only vegetation found here are shrubs,mosses,lichen and wild flowerslike edelweiss and blue poppies.

Lesser Himalayas:

Thick forests of pine ,oak , fir, spruce, walnut,poplar,- cypress and birch are the natural vegetation of this region.

Terai Region:

The vegetation includes trees like sal ,keekar and babool.Forests in the terai region are being cleared to grow crops like wheat,rice and sugarcane

There is rich wildlife in the Shivalik, such as tigers, elephants, bears, sambhars, rhinoceros, leopards, monkeys, deer etc. Many colourful birds are also found here.

Passes in the Northern Mountains

 A pass is a route or path through two mountains. It is used for crossing the mountains.

(or)

A pass forms a natural route through the rugged and high mountains.

Since olden times, these passes have been used for travel and trade between countries.

The foreign invaders attacked India through these passes. Some of the important passes in the northern mountains include Jelepla, Shipkila, Nathula, Bomidala etc.

Northern Mountains

Advantage of the Himalayas:

 The Himalayas are scenic At the same time they are useful to us in many ways:

 • The Himalayas are like natural hames on our other borders

• They protect our country from icy winds blowing from Tibet and China.

 • The monsoon clouds deflect from them and being rain to the whole of India

 • Many rivers originate from the glaciers in the Himalayas, which give us water as well as fertile soil

• A number of dams have been constructed in the Himalayas, they give us electric ity and help to control floods

• The Himalayas have dense forests which are a rich source of wood and other forest products, Many well-known hill stations are located in the Himalayas