The Himalayan Region extends along the North of India. It extends from Pamir to the eastern end of Arunachal Pradesh. Himalayas are the longest and the highest mountain range in the world. Its length is about 2400 km. and its width varies from 240 km. to 350 km. Himalaya means the house of snow. Its peaks remain covered with snow throughout the year.
The States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Northern Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Northern West Bengal, Assam and North-eastern States lie in the Himalayan Region.
The Himalayas have three ranges which run almost parallel to each other. The distance between these ranges is wider in the West and becomes narrow in the East. These ranges are — (i) the outer Himalayas or the Shivalik Range, (ii) the middle Himalayas or the Himachal Range, and (iii) the inner Himalayas or the Himadri.
1. The Outer Himalayas :
This range is also called the Shivalik Range. It is the Southern-most range of Himalayas and it touches the Gangetic Plain. This range consists of hills rather than mountains. The hills are not continuous. They form valleys. Many people live in these valleys. They have terraced fields. The farmers grow rice, maize, wheat and barley. They also rear sheep and goats on slopes of these hills. The average height of this range is less than 1250 meters above the average sea level. It gets heavy rainfall in the rainy season. The slopes of the hills are covered with thick forests. These forests are storehouse of wood. Wild animals such as leopards, tigers, sambhars and bears are found in these forests.
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At the foot hills of Shivalik Range lies the feral Region. This region consists of marshy land covered by elephant grass and thick forests. Most of the Terai Region is in Uttar Pradesh. Now the forests have been cleared in most of the area and the land is used for cultivation. Sugarcane, rice and wheat are the major crops of the area. Wild animals such as bears, sambhars, leopards, panthers and tigers are found in the jungles of Terai Region.
2. The Middle Himalayas or the Lesser Himalayas
This range rises higher than the Shivalik Range. Its average height is about 3500 meters above the sea level. There are many beautiful valleys between the Shivaliks and the Lesser Himalayas. Doon Valley, Kangra Valley, Kulu Valley and Kashmir Valley are some of these valleys. In winter the Middle Himalayan Ranges get a lot of snow. In summer the snow melts and water flows down into streams and rivers.
Lower ranges of the Lesser Himalayas have beautiful hill stations such as Srinagar, Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital and Darjeeling. Many people visit these hill stations in summer, because these places are cooler than the plains.
On the slopes of these mountains grow forests of pine, oak, fir and deodar trees. The wood of these trees is used as timber. The people make terraced fields on the slopes of the mountains and grow rice and maize. The people grow fruits such as apples, plums, cherries, pears and peaches. There is tea plantation on the slopes of some hills. Some people rear sheep and goats to get wool.
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It is very difficult to go from one range to another. In some places the mountains have narrow cuts made by the streams and rivers. People can go across these mountains through these passages. These narrow passages are known as ‘Pass1.
3. The Inner Himalayas or Himadri
The Inner Himalayas are the highest ranges of the Himalayas. These ranges are farther North of the Middle Himalayas. These ranges are known as the Greater Himalayas or the Himadri. It is a huge wall along the Northern boundary of India. Its average height is about 5000 metres above the sea level. The peaks in this range remain covered with snow throughout the year. Highest peaks of the Himalayas are also in this range. Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world. Its height is 8848 metres above the sea level and it lies in Nepal.
In 1953 Tenzing Norgay of India and Edmund Hillary were able to climb Mount Everest. Bachendri Pal is the first Indian woman who has climbed the Everest. K2 or Godwin Austin ( 8611 metres } is the second highest peak. It is the highest peak in India. Kanchenjunga (8597metres), Makalu ( 8481 metres ), Dhaulagiri (8172 metres), Naga Parbat ( 8126 metres ), Annapurna (8078 metres) and Nanda Dew (781 7 metres) are some of the other high peaks.
These peaks remain covered with snow throughout the year. The snow hardens and forms ice. Huge masses of ice and snow move down slowly in the form of glaciers.
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These glaciers feed the great rivers like Ganga and Yamuna. Because of snow no vegetation and no animal life is possible in this part of the Himalayas. Mountaineers from all parts of the world come to climb these highest peaks in the world.