The Himalayas and the Northern Plains: Ranges, Peaks, Passes and Plain Belts

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How the Himalayas formed

The Himalayas are young fold mountains, raised when the Indian plate moved north and pressed against the Eurasian plate, folding up the sediments of the Tethys Sea that lay between them. They curve for about 2,400 km from the Indus in the west to the Brahmaputra in the east. They are about 400 km wide in Kashmir and about 150 km wide in Arunachal Pradesh, and the eastern half rises more steeply than the western. They shield India from the cold winds of Central Asia, make the monsoon winds shed their rain over the plains, and feed the perennial rivers with snow and glaciers.

The parallel ranges

The Trans-Himalaya, north of the main ranges, holds the Karakoram, Ladakh and Zaskar ranges and the Siachen glacier. K2 or Godwin-Austen (8,611 m), the world's second highest peak, stands in the Karakoram in Pakistan-occupied territory that India claims, so it is the highest peak of the territory India claims; Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) in Sikkim, the third highest in the world, is the highest peak in the area India administers. The Himadri or Greater Himalaya is the northernmost and most continuous range, about 6,000 m high on average, with a granite core and the great peaks: Kangchenjunga, Nanda Devi (7,816 m, Uttarakhand, the highest peak wholly within India) and Kamet. South of it the Himachal or Lesser Himalaya, 3,700 to 4,500 m high, holds the Pir Panjal (its longest and most important range), the Dhauladhar and the Mahabharat ranges, the valleys of Kashmir, Kangra and Kullu, and hill stations such as Shimla, Mussoorie and Nainital. The Shiwalik or Outer Himalaya, 900 to 1,100 m high and 10 to 50 km wide, is made of loose river sediments; the flat valleys between it and the Lesser Himalaya are called duns, such as Dehradun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun.

Regional divisions, west to east

The Himalayas are also divided by the rivers that cut across them. The Punjab Himalaya lies between the Indus and the Sutlej (locally the Kashmir and Himachal Himalaya), the Kumaon Himalaya between the Sutlej and the Kali, the Nepal Himalaya between the Kali and the Teesta, and the Assam Himalaya between the Teesta and the Dihang (Brahmaputra). Beyond the Dihang gorge the mountains bend south as the Purvanchal or eastern hills along the Myanmar border: the Patkai Bum, Naga hills, Manipur hills and Mizo (Lushai) hills. The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya look like part of this chain but are an extension of the Peninsular Plateau, cut off by the Garo-Rajmahal gap.

Passes by state

Exams pair each pass with its state. Ladakh has the Karakoram Pass towards Xinjiang, Khardung La between Leh and the Nubra valley, and Zoji La on the Srinagar-Leh road. Jammu and Kashmir has the Banihal pass on the Jammu-Srinagar route through the Pir Panjal, with the Jawahar Tunnel beneath it. Himachal Pradesh has Shipki La, where the Sutlej enters India, Rohtang between Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti, and Bara Lacha La on the Manali-Leh road. Uttarakhand has Lipulekh on the Kailash-Mansarovar route, Mana and Niti. Sikkim has Nathu La and Jelep La, old routes to Lhasa through the Chumbi valley. Arunachal Pradesh has Bomdi La, Diphu near the India-China-Myanmar tri-junction, and Pangsau on the Myanmar border, crossed by the Stilwell (Ledo) road.

The plain belts

The Northern Plains were built by the alluvium that the Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra and their tributaries laid in a vast depression south of the Himalayas. They cover about 7 lakh sq km, are about 2,400 km long and 240 to 320 km wide, and are among the most fertile and crowded regions of the world. From the hills southward the land changes in four belts. The Bhabar is a belt 8 to 16 km wide of pebbles and boulders at the foot of the Shiwaliks, where streams sink and disappear. The Terai, south of it, is a wet, marshy, once thickly forested belt where those streams re-emerge; much of it has been cleared for farming, and it still holds parks such as Dudhwa. The Bhangar is the older alluvium lying above flood level, with calcareous kankar nodules, and the Khadar is the newer, finer alluvium of the flood plains, renewed almost every year and the most fertile.

Divisions of the plains

The Punjab plains in the west are formed by the Indus and its tributaries; most of this plain lies in Pakistan, and it is made of doabs, the land between two rivers (do means two and ab means water), such as the Bist doab between the Beas and the Sutlej and the Bari doab between the Beas and the Ravi. The Ganga plains stretch from the Ghaggar to the Teesta across Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, part of Jharkhand and West Bengal, ending in the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta of the Sundarbans, the largest delta in the world. The Brahmaputra plains lie mostly in Assam, where the braided river holds Majuli, the largest inhabited river island in the world.

Key facts

Himalayas: young fold mountains from the Tethys Sea; about 2,400 km from the Indus to the Brahmaputra; about 400 km wide in Kashmir and 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.
Three ranges, north to south: Himadri (Greater, average 6,000 m), Himachal (Lesser, 3,700-4,500 m; Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar), Shiwalik (Outer, 900-1,100 m; duns).
Peaks: Kangchenjunga 8,586 m (Sikkim, highest in the area India administers), Nanda Devi 7,816 m (highest wholly within India, Uttarakhand), K2 8,611 m (Karakoram, in PoK).
Divisions: Punjab Himalaya (Indus-Sutlej), Kumaon Himalaya (Sutlej-Kali), Nepal Himalaya (Kali-Teesta), Assam Himalaya (Teesta-Dihang).
Passes: Karakoram, Khardung La, Zoji La (Ladakh); Banihal (J and K); Shipki La, Rohtang, Bara Lacha La (Himachal); Lipulekh, Mana, Niti (Uttarakhand); Nathu La, Jelep La (Sikkim); Bomdi La (Arunachal).
Purvanchal: Patkai Bum, Naga, Manipur and Mizo hills; the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya belong to the Peninsular Plateau.
Plain belts from the hills: Bhabar (8-16 km, pebbles, streams vanish), Terai (marshy, streams reappear), Bhangar (old alluvium, kankar), Khadar (new alluvium, most fertile).
Northern Plains: about 7 lakh sq km, 2,400 km long, 240-320 km wide; Punjab plains (doabs), Ganga plains (Ghaggar to Teesta), Brahmaputra plains (Assam).
Bist doab lies between the Beas and Sutlej, Bari doab between the Beas and Ravi; Majuli is the largest inhabited river island, the Sundarbans the largest delta.

Quick revision

Himalayas: young fold mountains, about 2,400 km; Himadri averages 6,000 m with Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) and Nanda Devi (7,816 m); Himachal has Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar; Shiwalik has duns like Dehradun; divisions Punjab, Kumaon, Nepal, Assam; passes Zoji La, Banihal, Shipki La, Rohtang, Lipulekh, Nathu La, Bomdi La; Meghalaya hills are peninsular; plain belts Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar, Khadar; Punjab, Ganga and Brahmaputra plains; Majuli largest inhabited river island.

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