Indian Sub-continent is bestowed with
tremendous natural beauty and abundance of all beautiful creations of Nature.
Mountain Ranges are a group of mountains closely connected, and separated by
passes or rivers. These mountain ranges are a source of various rivers in
India. The North Indian Sub-continent is defined by Himalayas, Hindu, Kush and
Patkai ranges. Some of these ranges include extremely tall mountains that are
even tallest in the world. Apart form being the source of natural rivers these
mountains act as a barrier against the cold Polar Winds and also facilitate
monsoon Winds both of which are strong factors affecting the climate of India.
Most of the rivers that originate from these ranges flow towards the
Indo-Gangetic plains.
There are eight Mountain Ranges in
India, namely the Himalayas, The Karakoram, The Patkai, Vindhya, Satpura,
Aravalli, Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats.
The Himalayas
The Himalayan Mountain Range or
Himalayas literally means “Abode of Snow”. It is the youngest Mountain range
with a cluster of Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks. The origin of Himalayas is
traced back to the Tectonic Plate collisions. About 50-55 Million years back,
when the Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate to join the Asian
Continent the impact Plate collision led to the formation of Himalayas and
Tibetan Plateau.
This is the reason behind Himalayas
being called as “Fold Mountains”. It is
considered to be the world’s highest mountain Range, with its highest peak
being “Mount Everest”, which lies along Nepal-China Border. The highest Peak of
Himalyan Range in India is the Kanchenjunga.
The Satpura Range
The Satpura Range starts from the
state of Gujarat and extends across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh
and Maharashtra. It is triangular in shape, with its apex at Ratnapuri and the
two sides being parallel to the Tapti and Narmada rivers.
The Vindhya Range lies to its north
with both ranges running parallel to each other. These two ranges actually
separate the Indo-Gangetic plain from the Deccan Plateau. The Tapti River
drains the Southern areas of the Range. The Godavari and Mahanadi Rivers
draining the Mountain Range finally flows into the Bay of Bengal. Although
initially the range was totally covered with dense forests but presently many
ecological disturbances and human interventions have disturbed them.
The Vindhya Range offers to be a good
holiday destination with numerous reserves and sanctuaries.
The Karakoram Range
The Karakoram Range is a large Range
spanning across the borders of India, Pakistan and China. In India it is
situated in the disputed land of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one ofthe largest Mountain Ranges in
Asia. Although it is not technically connected to Himalayas, yet for various
studies it is considered along with Himalayas.
Apart from the Polar Regions, The
Karakoram range is the most glaciated part of the world, with a length of
approx. 500m. The Range contains numerous Mountains, with the Second Largest
Mountain the World K2, which is just a few meters shorter than Mount Everest.
The Siachen Glacier at 70 km (43 mi) and the Biafo Glacier at 63 km (39 mi)
rankas the world's second and third-longest glaciers outside the Polar Regions
the Tiben Plateau, Wakhan Corridor, and the Pamir Mountains all surround the
Range.
Most of the rivers originating from
the range converge finally in Pakistan. Although an extremely wide range, it is
comparatively less inhabited than the Himalayas due to its ruggedness. There is
a particular portion within the Range that is disputed between India and
Pakistan. Similar to Himalayas in its formation due to Tectonic forces, the
range reveals great phenomenas related to Plate Tectonics.
The Patkai or Purvanchal Range
The Purvanchal Range lies along the
Eastern border of India with Myanmar. The formation of this range was in a
similar manner as in case of Himalayas by the collision of Tectonic Plates.
Some of the prominent features of the Range include steep slopes, conical peaks
and deep valleys. The Patkai Ranges itself includes three ranges the
Patkai–Bum, the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia and the Lushai hills. The entire area is
densely forested mainly consisting of Sandstones.The peaks in the range are not
too high and neither is rugged. It is the Pangsau Pass that provides a perfect
route to the range.
The Vindhya Range
The Vindhya Range geographically
separates the Northern India from the Southern India as it runs across the
Central India. The origin of Vindhya Range is believed to be from the wastes
produced due to the weathering of Aravalli Range.
The Range extends from Gujarat in the
West (almost along its border with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh) moving
eastwards towards the Ganges in Mirzapur. The area of North and South portions
of the mountain is arid and inhospitable.
The southern slopes of the range are
drained by the Narmada River, which then moves westwards towards the Arabian
Sea. Apart from Narmada, Ganges also drains many parts of the Range. The famous
Ranthambore National park is also formed amidst this range of mountains. The
range has always been known for its great reserves of wildlife.
The Western Ghats
As the name suggests the Western
Ghats or the Sahyadri Range are located in theWestern region of India. The
range separates the Deccan Plateau from the narrow coastal plain near Arabian
Sea. The range starts near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of the
River Tapti, and runs approximately 1600 km through the states ofMaharashtra,
Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern
tip of India. About sixty percent of the Western Ghats are located in the state
of Karnataka. There is a great variety and diversity of vegetation found on
these ghats ranging from Shrubs, Forests etc. The region credits to contain
India’s one-third varieties of flowers. Some of the most popular National parks
in this region are Borivali National Park, Nagarhole National Park.
The Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous
Mountain ranges stretching parallel to Bay of Bengal. The four major rivers
flowing across the ghats are Mahanadi, Krishna, Kaveri, Godaveri. The Nilgiri
hills in Tamil Nadu lie at the junction of Eastern and Western Ghats. These
major rivers cut the Eastern Ghats into various discontinuous hills. They are
separated from the Bay of Bengal by the coastal plains. The elevation of the
Eastern Ghats is comparatively lower than the Western Ghats mountain ranges.
They have an average height of 450 metres and rarely exceed 1200 metres.
The Ghats start from West-Bengal and
finally end at Tamil-Nadu passing through the states of Orissa and Andhra
Pradesh. The mountains contained in the range are eroded and cut-through. The
hills in the Southern areas of the range are famous for coffee plantations. The
maximum elevations are found towards the Northern and Southern ends.
