Himalayas Facts

Himalayas Facts: The Himalayas are the youngest of the mountains in the world, which was created some 50 million years ago by the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian plates. The impact was so profound that the mountains stretched out to 2400 kilometers and now encompasses countries namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. The majority of the central and tallest Himalayas fall in Nepal; 8 out of the 14 highest 8000-meter mountains fall in Nepal. The northwestern section of the Himalayas is known as the Karakoram and Hindu Kush and comprises of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the east, it stretches out till the Brahmaputra in Tibet.

Himalayas facts- the Central Himalayas falls in Nepal, it is the home of the highest mountains of the world, towering up to 8,848.86 meters in height. The Himalayas in Nepal acts like the border in between the Tibetan plateau and is home to Everest 8,848.86m (ranked 1st), Kanchenjunga 8,586m (ranked 3rd), Lhotse 8516m (ranked 4th), Makalu 8481m (ranked 5th), Cho Oyu 8201 (ranked 6th), Dhaulagiri I 8167m (ranked 7th), Manaslu 8156m (ranked 8th), Annapurna I 8091m (ranked 10th) and many other mountains above 7000 meters and hundreds above 6000m.

The western edge of the Himalayas prolongs to the Indus River and the Nanga Parvat which is the highest mountain in the western flank of the Himalayas, and the 9th highest in the world. The northwestern section of the Himalayas are known as Karakoram and the Hindu Kush and in total both of these ranges cover more than 1300 kilometers. The Karakoram Range is in itself 500km in length and it is one of the heavily glaciated places outside the polar region. It is also the home of K2 8611m which is the 2nd highest mountain in the world and the home of many unranked 8000 meter mountains.

Hindu Kush spreads out from central Afghanistan to the northern Pakistan and it is the western sub region of the Himalayas. The highest point of Hindu Kush is the peak of the Terichmir 7708m. Namcha Barwa marks the end of Himalayas in the East and is by the Brahmaputra River. Namcha towers up to 7782m and lies in the very remotest part of the Tibet and is much unfrequented.

The Himalayas are very sacred to the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon and Jain. The Himalayas of Nepal is known as the home of the Himvat, father of goddess of Parvati and Ganga, where as Kailash in the Tibet is known as the home of Buddhist messengers, Hindu gods and the root of Jain and Bon religion. The glacial deposits on these highlands we know as lakes are beyond lakes and carry a very important significance in the religion.

Himalayas facts- the Himalayas have one of the largest ice accumulations in the world after the Polar Regions. The Himalayas have around 15000 glaciers and hold 3000 cubic miles of fresh water and is the source of one of the biggest tributaries in the world. Indus, Jhelum, Chenav, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yamuna, Yarlung Tsangpo, Ayerwadi, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and Huang He are some of the major tributaries which roots to the glacier deposits on the Himalayas.

Some of the Himalayas Facts:

• Nepal has more than 200 mountains over 6000 meter height.
• Nepal is known as a Himalayan Country.
• The Himalayas lie across west to east 1550 miles or 2500 kilometers in length. They are divided into three zones, Western Himalayas, Central Himalayas and Eastern Himalayas.
• Journey to Himalayas or mountains begins from Nepal as it is the central location of the Himalayas.
• Himalaya is the King of Mountains. It has tallest mountain than any other regions of the planet.
• Himalaya has glaciers up to 43 miles (70 kilometers) long.
• Himalaya is the source of major rivers of Nepal and India.
• Himalayas continue to rise 1 cm every year – a growth rate of 10 km in a million years (Source: U.S. Geological Survey).
• If Global Warming increases, Himalayan glaciers will start shrinking, rivers will evaporate, and drinking and irrigation water will disappear, affecting hundreds of millions of people (Source : Environmentalists Against War).
• Asian Mountains and Lands cover almost one third of the entire earth. About 55% of the Asia is covered by Mountains. The Himalaya Mountain range is the world’s highest mountain range.
• About 1 out of 10 people on this planet live in a mountain.
• Nearly one third of the Earth’s space is covered by Mountainous.
• Any land that humans have landed has been polluted. Himalaya has remained the less visited part of the Earth; it makes the most pure part of the earth after Antarctica.
• Many medicinal herbs found at the foothills of Himalayas are considered to be the purest of all.
• After Antarctica and Arctic, the Himalayan ranges are the home to third-largest accumulation of snow and ice on this planet.
• Mount Everest of Himalayas is the highest peak in this world above from the sea level. It situated tall at 8,848.86 meters or 29,032 feet.
• The Great Himalayas zone of the Himalayan range is where the Mount Everest situated. The Great Himalayas remain covered by snow constantly. It means there the snow never melts.
• The Himalayas is the home of some most exotic wildlife in the world including Snow leopard, Musk deer, Tibetan sheep, Wild goat and Red Panda etc. Other notable exotic birds are grey bush chat, brown rock chat, verditer flycatcher, Himalayan bulbul, common hill partridge and black-rumped flameback.
• Himalayas is known for extremely unpredictable climates. At higher altitudes, it is cold, which keeps getting colder with increase in altitude. At lower altitudes, it is wetter. Summers are respectable but winters are bone-chilling with too much snowfall.
• Himalayas has so unique multiple ecological systems. At low altitudes we can find tropical rainforests. At mid altitudes we can find sub-tropical forests with broad-leaved trees. At higher altitudes there are conifers forests and grasslands. Higher than that, there are no signs of vegetation because of terrific cold and high speed winds.
• The name Himalaya is combination word in Sanskrit. It is created of the words from Hima and Alaya. Hima means Snow and Alaya means Adobe. So, the name “Himalaya” literally translates into Adobe of Snow. It is a perfect name Himalayas.
• 16% of Nepal is covered by Himalayas. Mount Everest Nepalese name is “Sagarmatha” also means ‘Forehead of the Sky’.
• The Himalayas is said to be the home of the mythological Yeti.