Geography of India

Unit I- Relief
Himalayan Mountainous Region

B.A./B.Sc. 2nd Year

Lecture III & IV
Prepared by
Dr. Koyel Paul
University of Allahabad
 Physiographic Regionalization
• 1. Himalayan
Mountainous region
• 2. The Great Indian Plain
• 3. The Peninsular Plateau
• 4. The Coastal Plain
• 5. The Islands
. Himalayan Mountainous Region
Origin of Himalayan Mountain System
• 120 million ago, Pangaea;
• Laurasia or Angaraland and Gondowanaland;
• Tethys Sea;
• Himalayan geosyncline;
• Three phases of orogeny:
• 1st phase- 120 million years ago, completed 70 million
years ago - Great Himalayan ranges
• 2nd phase- 25-30 million years ago- Middle Himalayas
• 3rd phase- 2-20 million years ago- Shiwalik
• Late Cretaceous - Eocene – Middle Miocene- Pliocene-
lower Pliocene- Upper Pleistocene to recent
 Geographical Divisions of Himalaya
i) The Himalayan Ranges: a) The Shiwalik Range
b) The Lesser Himalaya
c) The Great Himalaya
ii) The Trans Himalaya
iii) The Eastern Hills
 a) The Shiwalik Range/Outer Himalaya
1. Covers 2400 km distance from West to East, from
Potwar plateau to Brahmaputra valley
2. Width varies regionally (50 km in Himachal Pradesh to
less than 15 km in Arunachal Pradesh)
3. Altitude varies from 600-1500 mt
4. Formed of Mio-Pleistocene sands, gravels and
conglomerates in Middle Miocene to Lower Pleistocene
ages.
5. Local names, such as, Jammu hills in Jammu &
Kashmir; Dafla, Miri, Abor and Mishmi hills in
Arunachal Pradesh; Dhang Range, Dundwa Range in
Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand and Churia Ghat Hills in
Nepal
 Doons –Duars and Chos
•Shiwalik obstructed the courses of rivers..
•Formed temporary lakes..
•The debris of the rivers were deposited in the lakes.
•Rivers cut their courses through Shiwalik Range
• The lakes were drained away leaving behind plains
• known as ‘Duns’ or ‘Doons’ in the west and ‘Duars’ in the east.
• The southern slopes of Shiwalik are devoid of forest cover in
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and are highly dissected by several
seasonal streams locally ‘Chos’.
 The Lesser Himalaya/ lower Himalaya
or Himachal
• 60-80 km wide, elevations varying from 3500-4500 m.
• Important ranges- the Pir Panjal, the Dhaola dhar, The
Mussoorie range, The Nag Tiba and The Mahabharat
Range.
• Pir panjal is the longest range in Kashmir
• Important Passes: Pir Panjal pass, The Bidli pass,
Golabghar pass and Banihal pass
• Kashmir valley, Kangra valley, Kulu Valley
• Various hill resorts are located here: Mussoorie,
Nainital, Chakrata, Almora, Darjeeling and Ranikhet
etc.
 The Great Himalaya/Inner Himalaya/ Central
Himalaya/Himadri
• Avg elevation 6100m, width 25 km.
• Formed of central crystallines (granites and gneiss)
overlain by metamorphosed sediments.
• Folds are assymetrical with steep south slope and
gentle north slope.
• This mountain arc is convex to south and terminates
abruptly from West Nanga Parbat to North east
Namcha barwa.
• Imp peaks: Mt. Everest, Kanchenjungha, Lhotse,
Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Cho Oyu, Nanga parbat,
Annapurna, Gosaithan or Shisha Pangma.
• 40 peaks having altitude more than 7000mtr.
 Important Passes of Himalayan
Mountain System
Important passes State
1. Burzil pass, Zoji La pass Jammu and Kashmir
2. Bara Lacha La, Shipki La HImachal Pradesh
3. Thaga la, Niti Pass, Lipu Uttaranchal
Lekh pass
4. Nathu La, Jelep La Sikkim
 The Trans Himalaya /Tibet Himalaya
• Stretches 1000 km in East-west direction, avg elevation 3000mt,
avg width 40 km in East and West and 225 km in Central part.
• The Zaskar, the Ladakh, the Kailas and Karakoram are the main
ranges of Trans Himalayan system.
• The Ladakh plateau lies northeast to Karakoram Range. Avg
elevation more than 5000 mtr, dissected into a number of plains and
mountains (Soda Plain, Aksai Chin, Lingzi Tang, Depsang Plains
and Chang Chenmo)

• The Trans Himalayas are geologically distinct from the other

Himalayan ranges. They were probably formed by subduction of
sediments from the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. A
consensus of different dating methods suggests that the older parts
of this range formed in the upper Cretaceous (82-113 Mya), while
the younger regions formed in the Eocene (40-60 Mya)
 Ranges of Trans Himalayan System
Ranges Peaks Glaciers Plains
Karakoram K2, Gasherbrum I& Siachen, Baltaro,
II, Broad Peak Biafo, Hisper, Rimu
Zaskar
Ladakh Rakaposhi, Gurla, Soda Plain, Aksai
Mandhata Chin, Lingzi Tang,
Depsang Plain And
Chang Chenmo
Kailas Mount. Kailash
 The Eastern Hills or Purvanchal
• Mishmi hills-highest range of Purvanchal, many summits
are above 5000mt
• Patkai boom-avg elevation 2000-3000mt. it is synclinal
range made up of sandstones
• Naga hills-highest peak Saramati (3826 m)
• Kohima hills- range and valley type topography, highest
peak Japvo,made up of sandstone and slate
• Manipur hills-ridge and valley topography, elevation less
than 2500mt.
• Mizo hills or Lushai hills -elevation less than 1500 mt.,
ranges are cuesta types, slope is steeper in the west than
East.
• Tripura hills - long ranges alternate with valleys
 Specific Geomorphic and Geologic
characters of Himalayan region
• Mountain ranges, Ice capped peaks, Glaciers
• Central axis of crystallines and meta-sedimentary rocks
• Ophiolites –ultra-basic rocks
• Molassic sediments- thick association of continental
and marine clastic sedimentary rocks that consists
mainly of sandstones and shales formed as shore
deposits. The depositional environments involved
include beaches, lagoons, river channels, and
backwater swamps.
• Intermontanne basin, Valleys, duns, Bhabars, Duars,
Karewas
Thrust
 Thrust Zone in Himalayan Region
• The Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), also known as the Himalayan Frontal
Thrust (HFT), is a geological fault in the Himalayas that defines the
boundary between the Himalayan foothills and Indo-Gangetic Plain.
• The Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) is another major thrust fault in the
Himalaya orogenic wedge that was active in the Cenozoic. It runs parallel
to the MFT with a spacing distance of about 20 km.
• Main Himalayan Thrust: The Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is
a décollement under the Himalaya Range. This thrust fault follows a NW-
SE strike, reminiscent of an arc, and gently dips about 10 degrees towards
the north, beneath the region. It is the largest active continental megathrust
fault in the world.
• The Main Central Thrust is a major geological fault where the Indian
Plate has pushed under the Eurasian Plate along the Himalaya. The fault
slopes down to the north and is exposed on the surface in a NW-SE
direction (strike). It is a thrust fault that continues along 2900 km of the
Himalaya mountain belt
Regional Division of Himalaya by Prof. S.P. Chatterjee (1964,1973)

From west to east Extension Sub division

divisions
The Western Himalaya: from Indus river in the west to a) Kashmir Himalaya
Kali river in the East
b)Himachal Himalaya

c)Kumaon Himalaya

The Central Himalayas from Kali river in the West to

teesta river in the East
The Eastern Himalaya: Teesta river in the West to sikkim-Darjeeling
Brahmaputra river in the East Himalaya
Bhutan Himalaya
Assam Himalaya
 Western Himalaya
Regional states Averag Highest Important Regional characteristics
division e altitude Regions
elevati
on
Kashmir Jammu & 3000 K2 ladakh plateau & snow covered peak, deep
Himalaya Kashmir mt kahmir plain valleys, interlocked spurs
and high mountain passes

Himachal Himachal some peaks greater Himalaya- southern slopes are

Himalaya Pradesh having more Jaskar Range; rugged & forested,northen
than 6000 mt lesser Himalaya- slopes are bare, plain with
Pir Panjal, lakes;kulu, kangla, lahul ,
Dhauladhar; spiti valley
outer himalaya-
shiwalik

Kumaoun Uttarakhand nanda devi, Mussourie and doon, Thaya La, Muling
Himalaya kamet, Naga tibba La, Mana, Niti, Marhi
Trishul, range(Lesser La, Darma etc. passes
 Central Himalaya
• i. stretch for a distance of about 80 km from
Kali river in thewest to Teesta river in the East.
• ii. Greater Himalaya- Mnt. Everest,
kanchenjunga, Makalu, Annapurna, Gosaithan
and Dhaulagiri,
• iii. Lesser Himalaya- Mahabharat Lekh
• iv. lacustrine deposits are found in Kathmandu
and Pokhra valley.
 Eastern Himalaya
Region Important Peaks Important passes Landforms
sikkim -Darjeeling Kanchenjunga, nathula laa, jelep peri glacial
Himalaya Pounhari, Long laa (pass), Changu landform
song, pyramid lake
Bhutan Himalaya Gankhar Pensum, peri glacial
kulakangri, landform
Chemolahari,
Assam Himalaya namchabarwa
north east hilly mishmi hill, naga north to south imphal valley,
area/ purbanchal hill,patkai boom, extension loktak lake;
mizo hill, manipur highest peak -
hill, tripura hill, Saramati of naga
kohima hill, Barail hills
range