Himalyas

Himalayas

The Himalayas are the highest mountain range in the world. Over 30 peaks in the Himalayas are over 24,000 ft/7315m high.

The Himalayas, literally translated as 'Land of Snow'Himalyas are called the king of mountains. The Himalyas has religious story also . People believe that Lord shiva lives in the HImalyas there is an interesting story also about it .
A story goes that there were once two sages, Nara and Narayana. They meditated for long years in the Himalayas. Lord Siva was impressed by their dedication, and after many years, came along to meet them. As the two sages sat awed by his very presence, the Lord said he was so happy that he would grant them a boon. The sages asked that the Lord might rest on these mountains forever. Since then the Jyotirlinga or the symbol of Saivite worship, installed itself at a place called Kedarnath and people from all over the world visit it to catch a glimpse of Shiva’s (also spelt as Shiv, Siva or Shiva) essence.

this is a believe that in old time saint rishis used to go to HImalyas for tapsya and to get salvation . It is also said that a person who goes to Himalyas and does meditation here gets the suprme knowledge and get rid of all the bond on earth . He gets the salvation and does not take the next birth

Some of the world's major rivers, the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Red River (Asia), Xunjiang, Chao Phraya, Irrawaddy River, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Tarim River and Yellow River, rise in the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 3 billion people (almost half of Earth's population) in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, People's Republic of China, India, Nepal, Burma, Cambodia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Pakistan.Principle Himalayan Rivers:-

The Ganges:- Ganges, the most pious Indian river rises in the western Himalayas, in Uttaranchal state. The 2510 km long Ganga river originates from Gangotri near Devprayag. It is one of the major river of India that flows in the east direction from the Gangetic plain of Northern India and later on enters into the Bangladesh through Sunderban delta and drains out into Bay of Bengal. The depth of the Ganges river varies from place to place. The maximum depth is of 100 feet and the average depth is of 52 feet. Most of the northern Indian cities are established on the bank of this mighty river such as Haridwar, Rishikesh, Allahabad, Kashi and Varanasi etc.

Brahmaputra River :- The Brahmaputra which literally means the “son of Lord Brahma” originates from the slopes of Kailash in western Tibet near the vicinity of the holy lake of Mansarovar. It enters into India through the North eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh after traversing across the high-altitude Tibetan plateau as Tsangpo river. In Auranchal Pradesh, it enters by the name of Dihong but later on it meets with Dibang and Lohit river just beyond Pasighat, and finally emerged as Brahmaputra river. In Assam, it flows in the southwest direction and enters into Bangladesh as Jamuna river. Here, it meets with the Ganges river and again splits as Hugli and Padma river. When it merges with the Ganges river it forms the world's largest delta as Sunderbans. The average depth of Brahmaputra river is 124 feet and its maximum depth is 380 feet. The 1800miles long route of Brahmaputra is the main source of irrigation and transportation in India.

Indus river:- This is another principle river that originates form the north of Lake Mansarovar, in the Tibetan plateau. It flows through the Ladakh district of Indian state Jammu and Kashmir before entering to Pakistan. It is regraded as the lifeline of Pakistan. It merges into the Arabian sea near Karachi, the Port city of Pakistan. The total length of Indus river is 3,180 kilometres (1,976 miles) and together with Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej and extinct Saraswati river, Indus creates Sapta Sindhu delta in Pakistan's Sindh province. The water level of this river diminishes in winter but increases during the monsoon time from July to September.

Secondary Himalayan Rivers:-

Jhelum river:- This river is one of the tributary of the Indus river and flows partly in India and partly in Pakistan. A spring at Verinag that is located at the foot of the Pir Panjal in the South eastern part of the Kashmir valley is the origin of the Jhelum river. In India, it flows through Srinagar and the Wular lake before entering into the Punjab province of Pakistan. It travels a route of 480 miles.

Chenab river:- Chenab river is the largest river in Himachal Pradesh in terms of volume of water and flows here for 122km. It is formed at Tandi at a height of 2,286 m due to the assemblage of Chandra and Bhaga rivers. Tandi is nestled in the Upper Himalayas of Lahaul- Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. At its initial stage, Chenab is also called as Chandra Bhaga. Although, Chenab originates in Himachal Pradesh, it also flows through the Jammu valley of Jammu and Kashmir and plains of Punjab before entering into Pakistan. Chenab river has a total length of 960 km, out of which 7,500 sq. km of catchment area lies in Himachal Pradesh. It meets some other Himalayan rivers during its journey such as Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas.

Ravi river:-Flowing through both India and Pakistan, river Ravi originates at Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh. At its starting phase, it flows through north-west direction and changes to south-west near Dalhousie after than it enters to the plains of Punjab state near Pathankot. After entering to Pakistan, it joins to the Chenab river. It has a total length of 720 km. The famous city of Pakistan, Lahore is located on the eastern bank of Ravi river.

Beas river:- River Beas starts its journey at the Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh and flows for 470km before merging with Sutlej river at Harike Pattan, in the Ferozpur district of Punjab in India. After than, it enters into Pakistan and falls into the Arabian sea. Beas river travels a total length of 460 km out of which 256 km in Himachal Pradesh only. Manali, one of the picturesque hill station of northern India situated on the right side of this river.

Satluj river:- Satluj river, often known as the Red river, is the longest river among the five rivers that flows through Punjab and Pakistan. It originates from the Lake Rakshastal in Tibet near Mount Kailas. It flows in west and south-west direction and enters into India through the Shipki La pass in Himachal Pradesh. It travels a route of 320km in Himachal Pradesh. Its tributaries are the Spiti, the Ropa, the Taiti, the Kashang, the Mulgaon, the Yula, the Wanger, the Throng and the Rupi as right bank tributaries, whereas the Tirung, the Gayathing, the Baspa, the Duling and the Soldang are left bank tributaries. It enters to Punjab state at Bhakhra where the famous Bhakhra dam is created. After entering to Pakistan it merges with the Indus river. The total length of Satluj river is 1,448km.

Yamuna river:- This is the major tributary river of Ganges. It originates from Yamunotri in the lap of Himalayas in Uttaranchal state. Yamuna river flows in a southerly direction through the Himalayan foothills. With a total length of 1, 370 km, it flows through Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh before mixing with the river Ganges at Allahabad. The major tributaries of Yamuna river are Tons, Chambal, Betwa and Kon. One of the finest monument of Mughal era, the Taj Mahal is located on the bank of River Yamuna.
Highest mountain peak in HimalyaMount Everest
Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world. It rises to a height of 8,850m (29,035) above sea level. It is one of the mountains in the Himalayan range. Covering the frontiers of Tibet and Nepal, north of India. The mountain is named after Sir George Everest, who was a British surveyor-general of India. It is known by different names in different regions like Sagarmatha in Nepal and Quomolongma in Tibet. The latitude of Mount Everest is 27 59 17 N and Longitude is 86 55 31 E. In Sanskrit Himalayas mean, "abode of snow". The mountain is totally covered with snow. The height of the mountain varies depending on the amount of snowfall on its peak.

Karakoram
K2 is also known as Austin Godwin, named after an English photographer who explored the region. Locally it is known as "Chogo Ri", meaning "The Great Mountain". It is the second highest mountain peak in the world with a height of 8,611m or 28,250ft.

Kanchenjunga
Kanchenjunga is the third highest mountain peak of the world. It covers around 7000 sq km on the Sikkim and Nepal border. The word Kanchenjunga means "The Five Treasures of the Snow" in the local language, referring to its five summits, which are all over 8,000 meters. It is located at Latitude 27° 42' 9'' and Longitude 88° 9' 1 '. Kanchenjunga has an altitude of 8, 586m or 28, 169 feet, making it the world's third highest peak. It has five peaks of which the highest peak is 8,586m or 28,169 feet. It has still remained unexplored in spite of several attempts. According to Sir John Hunt, who climbed the peak of Everest with Sir edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norkey, has said Kanchenjunga is a more dangerous and hard to explore, than the Mount Everest itself. It is also known by different names like "Kachendzonga", "Kangchen Dzö-nga", and "Kangchanfanga".

Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat or naked mountain is another important peak of the Himalayan range. According to sources it is the ninth highest mountain in the world. It is located in regions of Baldistan, Korakoram Range, Gilgit, Pakistan. Nanga Parbat has a height of 8,126m or 26,660 ft. The mountain has such sharp edges that it cannot hold much of snow. That's the reason the mountain peaks have an unclad appearance. It has three faces, the Rahikot, Diamir and rupal. It is considered a very dangerous mountain because of the tragedies, which took place earlier. It is located at Longitude 74.35 and Latitude 35.10.

Annapurna
Among the other famous peaks of the Himalayas the Annapurna range is a very important Himalayan range. It is located in central Nepal Himalayas with an altitude of 8,091m. It ranks 10th highest mountain in the world. The Annapurna range stretches from west to east consisting of the following major peaks of the range:

Annapurna South Face: altitude: 7,219m,
Gang: altitude: 7,647m,
Gangapurna: altitude: 7,455m,
Annapurna III: altitude: 7,555m,
Annapurna IV: altitude: 7,525m and
Annapurna II: altitude: 7,937m.
Annapurna I altitude: 8,091 m.

It is located to the east of a great gorge that cuts through the Himalayas by the Kali Gandaki river, on its western and northwestern slopes it has glaciers, which drain into this gorge. Annapurna has many high peaks but the two highest peaks are Annapurna I and Annapurna II, at the western and eastern ends.

Manaslu
Manaslu, is located in Nepal about forty miles east of Annapurna with an altitude of 8,156m. It is the 8th highest mountain in the world. Manaslu is the highest peak of the Gurkha plateau. The name Manaslu is taken from a Sanskrit word "Manasa" which means "Mountain of the Spirit". It is located at longitude 84.33 and latitude 28.33. Other than the Manaslu the other high peaks of the Gurkha plateau are as follows:

Manaslu North altitude: 7,154 m.
Dakura altitude: 7,837 m.
Himal Chuli altitude: 7,864 m.
Manaslu East altitude: 7,894 m.

Dhaulagiri Mountain
It is located in the Eastern Nepal, Nepal and Tibet border with an altitude of 8,201m, is the 7th highest mountain in the world. Dhaulagiri means "white mountain". It is the highest mountain located entirely within Nepal. The peak stretches for 30 miles consisting of sharp ridges, icefalls, and glaciers. Along the main peak, several other pyramid-shaped peaks rise. Four of these peaks, from east to west, rise above 25,000 feet. It is located at longitude 83.30 and latitude 28.42.

Lhotse
Lhotse is the fourth highest peak in the Himalayan range. It is located in the China and Nepal border with an altitude of 8,516m. The peak stretches from east to west, which is located south of Mount Everest. South Col, a vertical ridge connects the peaks of the two mountains, which is never below 8, 000m. Other than the main peak of the Lhotse there are two other peaks like Lhotse Shar, which is located east of the main peak, and Nuptse, which is on the mountain's west ridge. It is located at longitude 86.56.03 and latitude 27.57.45.