Himalayas
The
Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains (play /ˌhɪməˈleɪ.ə/ or
/hɪˈmɑːləjə/; Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"),
usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range
immediately at the north of the Indian subcontinent. By extension, it is
also the name of a massive mountain system that includes the Karakoram,
the Hindu Kush, and other, lesser, ranges that extend out from the
Pamir Knot.
Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the world's highest, and home
to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include
Mount Everest and K2. To comprehend the enormous scale of this mountain
range, consider that Aconcagua, in the Andes, at 6,962 metres (22,841
ft) is the highest peak 
outside
Asia, whereas the Himalayan system includes over 100 mountains
exceeding 7,200 m (23,600 ft).[3] However the Alleghenian mountains,
formed during the formation of Pangaea, likely rivalled or exceeded the
Himalayas in height.The main Himalayan range runs west to east, from the
Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, forming an arc
2,400 km (1,500 mi) long, which varies in width from 400 km (250 mi) in
the western Kashmir-Xinjiang region to 150 km (93 mi) in the eastern
Tibet-Arunachal Pradesh region. The range consists of three coextensive
sub-ranges, with the northernmost, and highest, known as the Great or
Inner Himalayas. Some of the world's major river systems arise in the
Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 3 billion
people (almost half of Earth's population) in 18 countries. The
Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many
Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
Geologically, the origin of the Himalayas is the impact of the Indian
tectonic plate traveling northward at 15 cm per year to impact the
Eurasian continent, with first contact about 70 million years ago, and
with movement continuing today. The formation of the Himalayan arc peaks
eventually resulted from this, since the lighter rock of the seabeds of
that time were easily uplifted into mountains. An often-cited fact used
to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made
of marine limestone.
outside
Asia, whereas the Himalayan system includes over 100 mountains
exceeding 7,200 m (23,600 ft).[3] However the Alleghenian mountains,
formed during the formation of Pangaea, likely rivalled or exceeded the
Himalayas in height.The main Himalayan range runs west to east, from the
Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, forming an arc
2,400 km (1,500 mi) long, which varies in width from 400 km (250 mi) in
the western Kashmir-Xinjiang region to 150 km (93 mi) in the eastern
Tibet-Arunachal Pradesh region. The range consists of three coextensive
sub-ranges, with the northernmost, and highest, known as the Great or
Inner Himalayas. Some of the world's major river systems arise in the
Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 3 billion
people (almost half of Earth's population) in 18 countries. The
Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many
Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
Geologically, the origin of the Himalayas is the impact of the Indian
tectonic plate traveling northward at 15 cm per year to impact the
Eurasian continent, with first contact about 70 million years ago, and
with movement continuing today. The formation of the Himalayan arc peaks
eventually resulted from this, since the lighter rock of the seabeds of
that time were easily uplifted into mountains. An often-cited fact used
to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made
of marine limestone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas
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