Question

Give a brief description of the Himalayan mountain ranges. (5 marks)

Answer 1

Location​ (What are the Himalayas and where are they found?)

The Himalayas are a chain of mountain ranges which are located in the Northern part of India. They cover the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and states like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

​Formation​ (How and when were the Himalayas formed?)

The Himalayas were formed around 50 million years ago by the collision of the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate which resulted in the folding of their edges. This folding process gave rise to Himalayas.​

Special features:
Division of Himalayas.​ (How big are the Himalayas?)
A) North-South Division:​
On the basis of its North-South extent, the Himalayas can be divided into three parallel ranges namely Himadri or the Greater Himalayas, Himachal or the lesser Himalayas and the Shiwaliks or the Lower Himalayas.​

B) West-East Division:​
On the basis of its West-East Extent, the Himalayas can be divided into five ranges namely Punjab, Kumano, Nepal, Assam and Purvanchal Himalayas.