The Himalayas are one of the highest mountain ranges in the world, located in South Asia, spreading over 2,400 kilometres. The countries of Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are in the Himalayan region.
Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, and Karakoram, are part of the Himalayas. Himalayas contain nine of the world’s highest mountain peaks.
Although they are tallest mountains in the world, the Himalayas are the youngest at approximately 70 million years old.
The Himalayas were formed because of tectonic plate motions that pushed India and Tibet together, pushing the mountain ranges up. It is estimated that the tectonic motion continues to push the Himalayas 20mm higher each year.
The Himalayas serve as a natural habitat to some exotic species of animals like the snow leopard, tigers, red pandas, giant pandas, wild goat, Tibetan sheep, musk deer and mountain goats.
Besides the animals, many diverse and beautiful species of birds are found in the region such as the brown rock chat, grey bushchat, flameback woodpecker, hill patridge, Himalayan bulbul, Tibetan snowcock and many more.
The Himalayan range have approximately 15,000 glaciers. Siachen Glacier is the largest in the world outside the polar region.
The word Himalaya actually means ‘abode of snow’. Different cultures have different names for the Himalayas.
In Nepal it is Sagarmatha meaning ‘Goddess of the Universe’. In Tibet it is ‘Chomolungma’. The Hindu religion refers to the Himalayas as Giri-raj which means King of the Mountains.
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The questions are in increasing level of difficulty!
Questions –
Q1. Which of the following states of India do not have the Himalayan range: Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan.
Q2. Siachen is located in which country?
Q3. Mount Everest is situated in which country?
Q4. Name three rivers that flow from the Himalayas.
Q5. Which is the highest peak of Himalayas in India?
Answers-
A1. Rajasthan
A2. India
A3. Nepal
A4. Indus River, Ganga river and Brahmaputra river.
A5. Mount K2, located in Jammu and Kashmir and also known as Godwin-Austen, is the highest peak of Himalayas in India.