Among the main Himalayan mountain
ranges Dhaula Dhar Range, Pir Panjal Range, Zanskar Range, Ladakh
Range, Siwalik Hills are considered important. Here are some facts
about the main Himalayan mountain ranges.
The Himalayas is the highest and one of the youngest
mountain ranges in the world. Its origin can be traced in the Jurassic
Era, which is about 80 million years ago. That time the world's
landmasses were divided into Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Laurasia was in
the Northern hemisphere, and Gondwanaland in the southern hemisphere.
The landmass, which is now India separated from Gondwanaland and
collided with Asia and thus created the highest mountain range in the
world. The Himalayas are mainly young folded mountains. It extends from
west to east for about 2,500 km in a curve. The main mountain range,
which divides the subcontinent of Indian from Nanga Parbat in the west
stretches till Sikkim and Bhutan in the east. In the west the part of
this range divides Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh from Ladakh. The highest
mountain ranges here are Nun and Kun. In Kashmir the subsidiary point of
the Himalayas include the Kolahoi, Amarnath and North Sonarmarg ranges.
If we go further east we will see that the Himalayas extends till the
Baralacha range in Himachal Pradesh before it merges with the Parbati
range to the east of the Kullu valley. It then further extends across
kinnaur Kailas to the swargarohini and Bandarpunch ranges in
Uttaranchal. The further east has distinct features of snow-capped range
north of the Gangotri glacier and the huge peaks of Nanda Devi.
The Main Himalayan Ranges are:
Pir Panjal Range
Dhaula Dhar Range
Zanskar Range
Ladakh Range
East Korakoram Range
Pir Panjal Range: To the south of the main
Himalayas lies the Pir Panjal Range at an average height of 5,000m. From
Gulmarg in the Northwest it follows the southern rim of the Kashmir
valley to the Banihal pass. Here the Pir Panjal meets the ridgeline,
which separates the Kashmir valley from the Warvan valley. The major
passes here in Pir Panjal are the pir panjal pass due west of Srinagar,
the Banihal pass which lies at the top of the Jhelum River at the
southern end of the Kashmir valley, and the sythen pass linking Kashmir
with Kishtwar.
Dhaula Dhar Range: To the south of the Pir Panjal lies the
Dhaula Dhar range. It is easily visible because of its distinct feature
of the snow-capped ridge, which forms the division between the Ravi and
the Beas valleys. In the west it divides the Chenab valley and the Tawi
valley. Towards the east it extends across Himachal Pradesh forming the
high ridges of the Largi gorge and extending towards the south of the
Pin Parvati valley before it forms the ridgeline east of the Sutlej
River.
Zanskar Range: It lies to the north of the main Himalaya. It
acts as a backbone of Ladakh south of the Indus River, extending from
the ridges beyond Lamayuru in the west across the Zanskar region; there
it is divided from the main Himalaya by the Stod and Tsarap valleys, the
Zanskar valley. On the east of the Zanskar region the range continues
through Lahaul and Spiti. While on the North it continues across the
Kinnaur before extending towards west across Uttaranchal. Some of the
main passes are the Fatu La, on the Leh-Srinagar road, while the main
trekking passes into the Zanskar valley are Singge La, the Cha Cha La
and the Rubrang La are.
Ladakh Range: To the north of the Leh lies the ladakh range and
it is an important part of the Trans-Himalayan range that merges with
the Kailash range in Tibet. Here the important passes are the famous
Kardung La, and Digar La, which lie to the north east of Leh.
East Korakoram Range: It is a giant range, which geographically
divides India and Central Asia. The range consists of high mountain
peaks like Saltoro Kangri, Rimo and Teram Kargri. The Korakoram Pass
acts as the main connector between the markets of Yarkand, Leh and
Kashgar.
Siwalik Hills: It lies to the south of the Dhaula Dhar, with an
average height of 1,500 to 2,000m.It includes the Jammu hills and
Vaishno Devi, and extends to Kangra and if you move further east to the
range south of Mandi. In Uttaranchal side it stretches from Dehra Dun to
Almora before it heads across the southern borders of Nepal.
So these were some of the major mountain ranges of Himalayas.
