CameraIcon
CameraIcon
SearchIcon
MyQuestionIcon
MyQuestionIcon
1
You visited us 1 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

The Himalayan ranges are useful in the economic development of India.

Open in App
Solution

The Indian part of Himalayas extends over 10 states covering about 95 districts. It comprises over 16% of the country’s geographical area and home to 3.73% of the total population of India.
Himalayas may be the most dominating geographical feature of India.
The Himalayas are diverse in people, climate, ecology, soil, flora & fauna.
They comprise the lowland forests of the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the marshy wetlands of the Terai, the porous, rock strewn Bhabar belt, the inner Terai or Dun valleys, the Montane forests, and the Alpine scrub and grasslands.
Source of Rivers and Resources: The Himalayas have the third largest deposit of ice and snow in the world, after Antarctica and Arctic region. These glaciers and snow caps feed large perennial rivers.
Agriculture: The great rivers and their tributaries carry enormous quantities of alluvial soil while descending from the Himalayas. This is deposited in the Great Plain of North India in the form of fertile soil, making the plain one of the most fertile lands of the world.
Power Generation: The Himalayan region offers several sites which can be used for producing Hydroelectricity. In India alone, there are 74 hydro-projects with an installed power generation capacity of 15,208 MW, 37 projects with a capacity of 17,765 MW are under construction and 318 projects are further planned with an expected capacity of 93,000 MW. Thus, they greatly affect energy usage and consumption, thereby saving country billions of dollars in foreign energy trade.
Industries and Modern Cities: There are thousands of cities nurturing millions of settlements across the rivers emanating from Himalayas. Various industries have came across in these cities like heavy and automotive industry in Haridwar region, Leather tanning in Kanpur region.
Tourism: By virtue of their scenic beauty and healthy environment, the Himalayan ranges have developed a large number of tourist spots. The hilly areas in the Himalayas offer cool and comfortable climate when the neighboring plains are reeling under the scorching heat of the summer season.


flag
Suggest Corrections
thumbs-up
0
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
similar_icon
Related Videos
thumbnail
lock
Tourism in India
GEOGRAPHY
Watch in App
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
CrossIcon