Himalayas. Himalaya mountains on the world map, where in which countries are the Himalayas, the height of the Himalayas

The name Himalaya is derived from the spirit of the Sanskrit words: hima and alaja, which means "abode of snows." The highest mountains on earth occupy 80% of the area of Nepal. The average height of the Himalayas is 6,000 meters above sea level. The length of these high mountains is 2,500 km. But it is on the territory of Nepal that there are eight eight-thousanders - the highest mountain, whose height is more than 8,000 meters. Therefore, all climbers in the world dream of climbing the Himalayas at least once in their lives. Neither danger to life, nor cold, nor financial costs stop them. At the same time, the financial costs are quite significant. After all, if you want to conquer the peak, then in Nepal, just for the right to climb, you will have to pay a fairly serious amount, which is more than one thousand dollars. Here, this fee is called royalty. If you want to conquer Everest, then you will also have to stand in line, maybe even two years. With such a large number of people who want to conquer the Himalayas, there are peaks that are not popular.

For tourists eager to challenge the mountains, special routes have been laid at an altitude of 5.5 thousand meters. Those who manage to make the ascent will receive a well-deserved reward - landscapes of dangerous and deep gorges with lush vegetation and lush greenery or snow-capped rocky peaks of unforgettable beauty. The most popular among ordinary tourists without special training is the route around Annapurna. During the days of the journey, those who decide to undertake such a journey, in addition to the excellent landscapes of mountainous Nepal, can also observe the life of local residents.

The highest mountain in the Himalayas is Mount Everest (8848 meters). Every student knows about it. In Tibet, she is called Chomolungma, which means "Mother of the Gods", and in Nepal - Sagarmakhta. All climbers dream of conquering Everest, but only climbers of the highest class can conquer it.

The Himalayas arose during the period of orogeny - the Alpine tectonic cycle and, by the standards of geology, very young mountains. The Himalayas arose in the place where the Eurasian and Indian subcontinental plates collided. Mountain building continues here today. The average height of the mountains increases annually by an average of 7 mm. That is why earthquakes are so frequent here.

In the Himalayan mountains directed to the sky, it is quite common to find fossilized marine organisms. They are called saligrams. According to scientists, their age is about 130 million years. Saligrams are like messages from the Ice Age. They are the best proof that the Himalayas "grew" out of the water. The Nepalese consider them the earthly incarnation of their god Vishnu. For the Nepalese, saligrams are sacred. Their export from the territory of Nepal is prohibited.

Video: "Climbing the top of Tulagi in Nepal (7059 m.) in 2010."

Film: Road to the Himalayas

Also, you can watch the 1999 Nepalese film The Himalayas (dir. Eric Valli) and the 2010 film NANGA PARBAT.

In conclusion, a few more photos of the Himalayas:

The Himalayan mountains are the highest in the world. They are located on the territory of several Asian states and attract tens of thousands of tourists with their grandeur. The local population reveres every peak, so dozens of rituals and magical rituals are performed every year.

Travelers are attracted by the opportunity to climb one of the peaks, breathe clean air and admire the incredible beauty of nature.

Information about the Himalayas

Before you go on a trip, you need to carefully study all the available information about the Himalayan mountains. Thanks to it, you can better prepare for the trip, choose the shortest route, and also take into account the weather.

Geographic location

The Himalayas are a high mountain range located in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to their large length, they cover an area of more than 1 million square meters. km.

Other geographic features include:

total length - 2.3 thousand km;
the width of the mountains is 1.3 thousand km;
the average height of the ridges is 6 km;
time of formation - the Cretaceous period;
the age of the Himalayas is approximately 38 million years;
coordinates on the map - 28 degrees north latitude and 83 degrees east longitude;
countries in whose territory the Himalayas are located - the People's Republic of China, Nepal, India, the Kingdom of Bhutan, Pakistan, the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Himalayan mountains are located between the Indo-Gangetic plain in the south of Eurasia and the Tibetan Plateau in the north of the mainland. Because of this, they are a natural divider between southern and central Asia.

Climatic conditions and minerals

According to climatic conditions, the Himalayan mountains can be divided into 2 belts. Mountain folding of the southern part is under the constant influence of monsoons. Because of this, a large amount of precipitation falls in the form of rain or snow. The air temperature on the southern slopes ranges from -15 degrees in winter to +10 - in summer. With increasing altitude, temperatures drop sharply.

In the northern part of the Himalayas, a continental climate prevails, which is characterized by dry and cold weather. The air temperature in these areas rarely exceeds 0 degrees. Adding to the harsh conditions are hurricane-force winds that cause irreparable damage to wildlife and local residents.

The average height of the Himalayas above sea level is about 6 thousand meters. Because of this, most of the mountains are covered with glaciers, the area of which is 33 thousand square meters. km.

Among the most extended glaciers are:

Zema;
Gangotri;
Rongbuk.

As the temperature rises, these and other similar formations begin to melt. The water that was formed as a result flows down from the peaks and enters the largest rivers of the continent (Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra and others).

The Himalayas are considered one of the youngest mountains on earth. Their age is only 38 million years. According to this indicator, they are inferior even to the Alps, which were formed several million years earlier. Because of this, there are relatively few minerals in the Himalayas. Only copper, gold, gas and oil are mined here.

Flora and fauna

Wildlife explorers who frequent the Himalayan mountains have discovered many interesting features and facts. This is due to the fact that the tiered distribution of vegetation prevails in the Himalayas. It is characterized by the presence of swampy jungle at the foot and evergreen tropical forest - on the slopes. Closer to the peaks you can find coniferous and deciduous trees. Among the most interesting representatives of the flora are:

dhak tree;
sal trees;
tree ferns;
various types of palm trees;
magnolias;
rare varieties of maples;
chestnuts;
Himalayan cedars and pines.

Due to difficult climatic conditions, quite a few animals live in the Himalayan mountains. Most of them are concentrated on the southern slope and at its foot. This place has more favorable temperature conditions, so there is an opportunity to see several species of wild animals. The most common are:

Himalayan bear;
wild horses;
snow leopard;
Mountain goat;
several types of antelope;
poisonous reptiles;
pikas, hamsters and other rodents;
birds (ulars, eagles, vultures).

Main attractions

The Himalayan mountains are annually visited by tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world. Travelers go to these places to see the amazing mountain ranges, as well as get to know the culture of the locals. To spend an unforgettable vacation, you must definitely explore the most interesting sights of the Himalayas.

highest peaks

The Himalayas have become popular with tourists due to their highest peaks. Among them there are 14 peaks at once, the height of which exceeds 8 thousand meters. This is not in any other mountain system, so climbers from all over the planet come here.

Highest Peaks:

Chomolungma (8848 m). Another name for the most famous point in the Himalayas is Everest. This mountain peak is located on the border of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is part of the Sagarmatha National Park and is its main attraction. This place is considered the capital of mountaineering. The most famous and experienced climbers come here, but not every one of them conquers the famous peak.
Chogori (8611 m). This mountain is only a few hundred meters below Everest. Despite this, climbers often forget about it and give preference to Chomolungma. Chogori is located on the border of Kashmir (a disputed territory) and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, so climbers often have difficulty getting into the territory of these regions. It was possible to conquer the summit only in summer. All attempts during the cold season ended in serious health problems or death.
Kanchenjunga (8586 m). This mountain range is located on the border of Nepal and the state of Sikkiim (India). It includes 5 high peaks, most of which reach a height of 8 thousand meters. Kanchenjunga is the main natural object of the national park of the same name, which is visited annually by several tens of thousands of tourists. Climbing one of the peaks is considered very dangerous and in every fifth case leads to the death of the climber.
Lhotse (8516 m). This mountain is located just a few kilometers from Everest. One part of it is located on the territory of Nepal, and the other - in Tibet. The peak is considered one of the most difficult to climb, therefore it is the absolute leader (among eight-thousanders) in terms of the number of unsuccessful attempts.

Notable natural features

Himalayan mountains are popular among tourists. Every traveler has the opportunity to go on a tour of numerous national parks and see natural attractions:

Lake Prashar. The famous alpine reservoir is located in the state of Himachal Pradesh (India). It got its name in honor of the ancient sage, who, after meditation, could perform miracles. There is a small floating island in the center of the lake, and an old temple on the shore. The reservoir is considered holy, so only a few people have access to it. A tourist can take a picture of the object and wash himself with water specially brought by the clergy.
Lake Pangong Tso. This is one of the largest and most beautiful salt reservoirs of the Asian continent. There are dense forests around it, where you can find several species of rare plants, as well as see many animals (kiangs, marmots, gulls, mountain geese, Brahmin ducks). Famous Indian films are often filmed here, so every traveler has the opportunity to meet popular Bollywood actors.
Indus river. One of the main water arteries of Asia originates in the Himalayas. The river delta is considered the largest in the world. Each tourist has the opportunity to go fishing, admire the beautiful scenery, and meet representatives of the local fauna. A rare species of dolphins lives in the river, which is listed in the Red Book. Due to climate change and the lack of a large amount of rainfall, the river is gradually shallowing, which causes irreparable harm to the entire ecosystem.
The Kullu Valley (Himachal Pralesh, India) is located at an altitude of 1280 m above sea level, so it has all the conditions for a comfortable life for mammals and reptiles. The river Beas flows through the valley, on the banks of which there are several settlements. Local residents are engaged in agriculture, growing fruits and vegetables. Numerous ancient temples and other architectural structures can attract the attention of tourists.
Valley of Flowers National Park. This protected area is located in one of the highest regions of the western Himalayas. In a small valley, which is quite difficult to reach, hundreds of species of flowers grow. Some of them cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Since 1988, the national park has been included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Architectural monuments

The first people appeared in the Himalayas several thousand years ago. They began to build temples and architectural objects that attract the attention of travelers:

Peace pagoda. This building was built several centuries ago on top of one of the hills located high in the Himalayas. The religious building serves as a place for prayers and meditations of the followers of Buddhism. A beautiful staircase leads to the object, raising people to a rather high height. Tourists have the opportunity to see the city of Leh from a bird's eye view and admire the surrounding forests.
Pemayangze Monastery was built in the 17th century and was intended only for monks of the highest rank. Anyone can visit this building. Despite the not very attractive facade, the interior decoration is striking in luxury. Here you can see unique contour frescoes, columns, as well as figures of gods and demons.
Gkhum Monastery was built at the foot of the Himalayas, on the border of India and Nepal. Travelers will love the exterior of the building, which is a colorful three-tier structure. Inside there is a statue of Buddha sitting on the ground. This monastery is inhabited by several people who perform their sacred duties daily.
The sacred city of Manikaran is located in the Parvati Valley, located at an altitude of about 1.7 thousand meters above sea level. The main attraction of the open-air museum is the Gurudwara Sikh temple. Any foreigner can enter it, but for this you will need to take off your shoes and cover your head.
Dr. Graham House is a large educational complex that was built in the early years of the 20th century. In those days, its owner was John Graham, who taught children free of charge in writing, religion and love of nature. The main feature of this institution was that boys and girls were not divided into groups, but were given the opportunity to study together. In the 21st century, the complex became a museum. Having visited it, you can see the classes in which the children were engaged, recreation rooms, as well as a church for worship.

The Himalayas are a special mountain system that attracts the attention of tourists and lovers of extreme sports. Here there is an opportunity to get an adrenaline rush, test your strength, meet one on one with wildlife.

Himalayas

There are no higher mountains on Earth than the Himalayas and the Karakorum, and in no other mountain there are such sharp contrasts of nature as in the Himalayas.

It should be noted that the Himalayas are still very little explored and even in our time they keep a lot of unknown and unexplored. This is explained not so much by the vast territory occupied by this mountain system, but by the difficulty of penetrating into it due to the complexity of the terrain and the lack of roads.

The inaccessibility of the territory played a favorable role in preserving the unique mountain landscapes of the Himalayas. Despite the significant agricultural development of the low mountains and basins, intensive grazing on the mountain slopes and the ever-increasing influx of climbers from around the world, the Himalayas remain a refuge for valuable plant and animal species.

The Himalayas are not only one of the most beautiful places created by nature. This is a sacred land, a place where, according to legend, Buddhist and Hindu deities live. Once these mountains were an insurmountable barrier between the states located to the south of them, and the fabulously rich cities lying to the north, on the Great Silk Road - Samarkand, Bukhara, Kashgar and Kotan.

Geographic location of the Himalayan mountains

From the French Alps to South Vietnam, the longest mountain belt on Earth stretches across Eurasia. There are no more mountains on Earth like those of Central Asia. Six mountain systems meet here. The largest and highest mountain system of the six is the Himalayas. Translated from Sanskrit, this word means "abode of snows."

The Himalayas border the Hindu Kush in the northwest and the Sino-Tibetan Mountains in the southeast. The total length of the mountain system is more than 2400 km, the width is 200-350 km, and the area is about 650 thousand km2. The Himalayas are part of China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan. The Himalayas are the most important geomorphological, climatic and floristic frontier. The physical-geographical and geomorphological boundaries of the mountain system itself are clearly expressed. In the north, these are the longitudinal intermountain valleys of the Indus and Brahmaputra, in the south - the edge of the Indo-Gangetic plain, in the northwest and southeast - the transverse valleys of the Indus and Brahmaputra.

Geologists associate the formation of the Himalayan mountainous country with the split of a single southern continent - Gondwana into several plates. One of them, the Indian one, began to move north and collided with the Eurasian plate. At the point of collision, the earth's crust shrunk and formed a giant fold - the Himalayas.

The fossilized skeletons of fish and other marine animals found in the Himalayas testify that these gigantic mountains were once marine sediments. Between 570 and 65 million years ago they were the bottom of the ancient Tethys Ocean. When the Indian tectonic plate, drifting north, collided with the Asian mainland, the Himalayan mountain range shot up. The growth process of the Himalayas took many millions of years, and not a single mountain system in the world can compare with them in terms of the number of peaks - “seven-thousanders” and “eight-thousanders”.

Geologists have established that the emergence of the Himalayan mountains took place in at least three stages. The Great Himalayas were the first to form, about 38 million years ago. Then, between 26 and 7 million years ago, the Lesser Himalayas arose. At the third stage, about 7 million years ago, the Sivalik Mountains appeared. Movement at the junction of two tectonic plates is a continuous process. Over the past one and a half million years, mountains have grown by 1370 m.

The uplift of the Himalayas has not ended even now, as evidenced by frequent earthquakes and the high position of the Early Quaternary deposits above sea level. Every year, the Himalayas grow three to ten millimeters higher.

Geological structure and relief of the Himalayas

The structure of the mountains involves crystalline, metamorphic, sedimentary and volcanic rocks of various ages, from Archean to Quaternary, crumpled into intense folds, complicated in the central parts by powerful thrusts and splits.

Features of the geological structure - the predominance of Precambrian rocks similar to the complexes of the Indian Platform, a very limited distribution of marine sedimentary strata and the presence of continental sediments close to Gondwanan - give reason to consider the Himalayas as a mountain system that arose on the site of the outskirts of the Indian Platform, which underwent tectonic activation in the Neogene-Quaternary time in connection with the attachment of the Hindustan plate to the rest of Eurasia and the closure of Tethys. The Himalayas do not form ridges stretched over long distances, but break up into separate massifs separated from one another by deep transverse river valleys. This is due to the fact that the valleys of the largest rivers - the Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra - were laid down before the start of the general grandiose uplift of the mountains. The uplift was accompanied by the incision of rivers and the formation of epigenetic valleys of the Himalayas.

In its form, the Himalayas resemble a grandiose petrified wave, which to the south, towards the Indo-Gangetic lowland, falls in three successively decreasing steep ledges, and to the north, towards Tibet, only one more gentle one. The foothills of the Himalayas are composed of young deposits, collected in folds in the middle of the Quaternary. They are collectively known as the Sivalik Mountains; their height in Nepal is about 1000 m. In some places they are pressed close to the ridges of the Himalayas proper, in others they are separated by a strip of wide tectonic valleys - duns. The Sivalik Mountains drop steeply to the north and south. The width of this step varies along its length and varies from 10 to 50 km. The Sivalik Mountains consist of parallel folds, transformed in separate areas due to the erosive activity of mountain rivers into a chain of hills. This applies especially to the interfluve of the Ganges and the Beas. The Sivalik mountains make up the Dundva, Chouriagati and Solya-Singi ranges, as well as the highlands - the Potvar plateau, Kala Chitta and Margala. Their average height does not exceed 600 m. Only Chouriagati reaches an average height of 900 m.

The next highest step in the Himalayas is the Lesser Himalayas; they are composed of crystalline Precambrian rocks, as well as highly metamorphosed sedimentary deposits of the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Paleogene. This band is characterized by intense folding, faults and volcanism. The height of the ridges reaches an average of 3500-4500 m, and individual peaks rise to 6000 m. In the northwest, the Pir-Panjal ridge stretches over 6000 m high, further to the southeast it is replaced by the Small Himalayas proper, which merge with the Big Himalayas (Main Himalayas). Himalayan range) high-mountainous powerful massif Dhaulagiri (8221 m). Further to the east, the entire system of the Himalayas narrows, the zone of the Lesser Himalayas presses against the Main Range, forming the medium-altitude Mahabharat Mountains, and even to the east, the high and heavily dissected Duara Mountains.

Between the Lesser and Greater Himalayas stretches a strip of tectonic basins, which in the recent past were occupied by lakes and processed by glaciers. The most famous in the west is the Kashmir Basin at an altitude of 1600 m, with the main city of Kashmir, Srinagar. The existence of a lake, which used to fill the basin, is evidenced by terraces well expressed on the slopes. Several residual lakes have been preserved on the surface of the flat bottom. The second large basin of the central part of the Himalayas - Kathmandu in Nepal - is located at an altitude of about 1400 m; most of the population of this mountainous country is concentrated in it. Snow-capped mountain peaks, deep rocky gorges, turbulent waterfall rivers and blue lakes surrounded by picturesque forests make these valleys the most beautiful corners of the globe.

To the north of the basins rise the Great Himalayas, reaching an average height of 6000 m. The Great Himalayas are the basis of the entire system. They reach their maximum height in Nepal. There, in a small space, there are 9 of the 14 highest peaks. This is a well-defined alpine ridge. At the western end of the Main Range, this is the grandiose Nanga Parbat massif (8126 m), then there is a series of peaks exceeding 6000 and 7000 m, then eight thousandth giants covered with snow and ice rise: Dhaulagiri (8167), Kutang (8126 m), Annapurna (8078 m ), Gosaintan (8013 m), and others. Among them, the highest peak in the world, Everest, with a height of 8848 m7, does not even stand out. Nepal is called Sagarmatha - "Lord of the sky", and in Tibet they call Chomolungma - "Goddess - mother of the world"). Gorgeous and majestic, only slightly inferior to her Kanchenjunga (8598 m). Four more "eight-thousanders" are located in the north-western continuation of the Himalayas - the Karakorum ridge.

The northern slope of the Greater Himalayas is flatter and more accessible than the southern one. Along it stretches the Ladakh Range up to 7728 m high. Many rivers originate on its slopes, then crossing the Main Range. To the north of Ladakh, behind the wide longitudinal valleys of the Indus and the Brahmaputra, the outlying ranges of the Tibetan Plateau (Trans-Himalayas) rise.

The Himalayas are rich in minerals. In the axial crystalline zone there are deposits of copper ore, alluvial gold, arsenic and chromium ores. Oil, combustible gases, brown coal, potash and rock salts occur in the foothills and intermountain basins.

Now in the Himalayas there are 75 peaks more than seven kilometers "growth". Dozens of peaks reach 7000 m, 11 peaks exceed 8000 m, the passes are on average at an altitude of 5000 m, which exceeds the maximum height of the Alps.

Climate, glaciation and water resources of the Himalayan mountains

The Himalayas are the largest climate divide in Asia. To the north of them, continental air of temperate latitudes prevails, to the south - tropical air masses. Up to the southern slope of the Himalayas, the summer equatorial monsoon penetrates. The winds there are so strong that it is difficult to climb the highest peaks. Therefore, you can climb Chomolungma only in spring, during a short period of calm before the start of the summer monsoon. On the northern slope throughout the year, the winds of the northern or western rhumbs blow, coming from the continent supercooled in winter or very warm in summer, but always dry. From the northwest to the southeast, the Himalayas stretch approximately between 35 and 28 ° N. sh., and the summer monsoon almost does not penetrate into the northwestern sector of the mountain system. All this creates great climatic differences within the Himalayas. Most precipitation falls in the eastern part of the southern slope (from 2000 to 3000 mm). In the west, their annual amounts do not exceed 1000 mm. Less than 1000 mm falls in the band of internal tectonic basins and in internal river valleys. On the northern slope, especially in the valleys, the amount of precipitation decreases sharply. In some places, annual amounts are less than 100 mm. Above 1800 m, winter precipitation falls in the form of snow, and above 4500 m, snow occurs throughout the year.

On the southern slopes up to a height of 2000 m, the average temperature in January is 6-7 °С, in July 18-19 °С; up to a height of 3000 m, the average temperature of the winter months does not fall below 0 ° C, and only above 4500 m does the average July temperature become negative. The snow limit in the eastern part of the Himalayas passes at an altitude of 4500 m, in the western, less humid, - 5100-5300 m. On the northern slopes, the height of the nival belt is 700-1000 m higher than on the southern ones. There is little precipitation on the northern slopes (about 100 mm), and temperature differences during one day can be 45 degrees.

High altitude and abundant rainfall contribute to the formation of powerful glaciers and a dense river network. Glaciers and snow cover all the high peaks of the Himalayas, but the ends of the glacial tongues have a significant absolute height. Most of the Himalayan glaciers belong to the valley type and reach no more than 5 km in length. But the farther to the east and more precipitation, the longer and lower the glaciers go down the slopes. On Chomolungma and Kanchenjunga, the most powerful glaciation, the largest glaciers of the Himalayas are formed.

These are dendritic type glaciers with several feeding areas and one main shaft. The Zemu glacier on Kangchenjunga reaches 25 km in length and ends at an altitude of about 4000 m. from it originates one of the sources of the Ganges. The total area of glaciers here is 33 thousand km².

The Himalayan glaciers differ from the glaciers of other mountain systems in terms of surface structure and ice properties. At high altitudes the snow is very dry. Sharp temperature changes often contribute to the formation of the thinnest crust of ice on the surface of the snow cover. Under it, active sublimation of snow occurs (the transition of a substance from a solid state to a gaseous state without first turning into a liquid), in which the snow evaporates and water vapor settles on the lower surface of the ice crust, thickening it and forming a crust. And under it the emptiness grows. As a result, the adhesion of the snow layer to the slope is broken and the snow cover is actually held on it only due to the strength of this crust (frost). Any disturbance of this crust (damage by a falling stone, etc.) is enough to create a favorable condition for the formation of snow avalanches, which are very characteristic of the Himalayas.

At lower altitudes, the influence of high daytime temperatures leads to a rapid process of firnization of snow and further transformation of firn into ice. At the same time, another process is also taking place - the rapid evaporation of snow from the surface (especially on the northern slopes) due to the great dryness of the air. This causes the fragility of fresh snow cover in the valleys and on the lower slopes. As a result, glaciers are almost always open; snow or firn cover is rare on them. The movement of people on such a surface is not difficult. Only during periods of heavy snowfalls can mountain slopes and glaciers be covered with a significant layer of fresh dry snow, and then the passage of snow-covered slopes and glaciers requires great care.

The Himalayas are characterized by powerful glaciation, which has not yet been fully determined, despite the large number of scientific and mountaineering expeditions. But there are no huge valley glaciers here, as, for example, in the Karakorum. To some extent, this is due to the greater straightness of the Himalayan ranges and the absence of side spurs that extend over long distances.

Glaciers of the Turkestan type are characterized by a very limited supply basin. They are formed mainly due to snow avalanches from the surrounding steep slopes, ice, landslides from the higher-lying hanging glaciers and only partially due to snow masses that fall or are blown by winds from the surrounding slopes. An example of such glaciers in the Himalayas is the Annapurna South Glacier.

Especially many rivers flow down from the southern slope of the mountains. They start in the glaciers of the Greater Himalayas and, crossing the Lesser Himalayas and the foothill zone, come out onto the plain. Some large rivers originate from the northern slope and, heading towards the Indo-Gangetic plain, cut through the Himalayas with deep through valleys. This is the Indus, its tributary Sutlej and Brahmaputra (Tsangpo).

The Himalayan rivers are fed by rain, ice and snow, so the main flow maximum occurs in summer. In the eastern part, the role of monsoon rains in nutrition is great, in the west - snow and ice of the high-mountain zone. The narrow gorges or canyon-shaped valleys of the Himalayas abound with waterfalls and rapids. From May, when the most rapid snowmelt begins, and until October, when the action of the summer monsoon ends, rivers rush down from the mountains in violent streams, carrying away the masses of detrital material that they deposit as they leave the Himalayan foothills. Often monsoon rains cause severe floods on mountain rivers, during which bridges are washed away, roads are destroyed and landslides occur.

There are many lakes in the Himalayas, but among them there are none that could be compared with the Alpine ones in size and beauty. Some lakes, for example in the Kashmir Basin, occupy only a part of those tectonic depressions that were previously filled entirely. The Pir-Panjal ridge is known for numerous glacial lakes, formed in ancient crater funnels or in river valleys as a result of their damming by moraine. Many of the lakes are located at high altitudes (up to 3500 m). The Srinagar (Kashmir) valley once served as the bottom of a huge lake that existed here. At present, the remains of this lake are scattered over the lowest parts of the valley in the form of small lakes - Vular, Anchar, Dal and others. Of interest on these lakes are floating islands formed from dense thickets of aquatic plants.

In the vast mountain valley of Kathmandu, as well as in Srinagar, there are many lakes and even more residual lake valleys, which the locals call "tal".

Researchers of the Himalayas explain their formation in this way. In former times, there were many dammed lakes on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Stormy mountain streams and rivers gradually applied to them the products of the destruction of rocks. Gradually accumulating, the water broke through the dam, rushing down in a mighty stream, washing away everything in its path.

So, for example, as a result of the earthquake of 1841, a large collapse blocked the Indus River in the Ramgat region. The height of the blockage reached several hundred meters. Above it, a huge dammed lake was formed.

Soon the Indus broke through the dam. Masses of water, gushing through the gorge, washed away many villages, tore off not only vegetation, but also soil from the slopes. Water destroyed the roads passing through the gorge. The local population suffered huge material damage.

Altitudinal zonality, flora and fauna of the Himalayas

On the abundantly moistened southern slope of the Himalayas, altitudinal belts from tropical forests to high mountain tundra are exceptionally pronounced. At the same time, the southern slope is characterized by significant differences in the vegetation cover of the humid and hot eastern part and the drier and colder western part. Forests approach the foot of the mountains only in the Eastern Himalayas. Along the foot of the mountains from their eastern extremity to the course of the Jamna River stretches a kind of marshy strip with black silty soils, called terai. Terai are characterized by jungles - typical tropical rainforests - dense tree and shrub thickets, in places almost impassable due to vines and consisting of ferns, teak, soapwood, mimosa, bananas, undersized palms, bamboos. Among the Terai, there are cleared and drained areas that are used for the cultivation of various tropical crops. This is the kingdom of tigers and wild elephants, snakes and monkeys. Zoologists believe that it is here that the highest density of the elephant population in the world. Animals feel completely safe in the jungle, even more so than in African reserves. After all, according to Buddhist laws, killing any living being is a mortal sin.

Above the terai, on the wet slopes of the mountains and along the river valleys, up to a height of 1000-1200 m, evergreen tropical forests grow from tall palms, laurels, tree ferns and gigantic bamboos, with many lianas (including rattan palm) and epiphytes. The drier areas are dominated by less dense forests of sal tree, which lose their leaves during the dry period, with rich undergrowth and grass cover.

At altitudes of more than 1000 m, subtropical species of evergreen and deciduous trees begin to mix with the heat-loving forms of the tropical forest: pines, evergreen oaks, magnolias, maples, chestnuts, birches. At an altitude of 2000 m, subtropical forests are replaced by temperate forests of deciduous and coniferous trees, among which only occasionally representatives of subtropical flora, such as magnificently flowering magnolias, come across. At the upper border of the forest, conifers dominate, including silver fir, larch, and juniper. The undergrowth is formed by dense thickets of tree-like rhododendrons. Lots of mosses and lichens covering the soil and tree trunks. The subalpine belt that replaces forests consists of tall grass meadows and thickets of shrubs, the vegetation of which gradually becomes lower and more sparse when moving to the alpine zone. The alpine meadow vegetation of the Himalayas is unusually rich in species, including primroses, edelweiss, anemones, poppies and other brightly flowering perennial herbs. The upper limit of the Alpine belt in the east reaches a height of about 5000 m, but individual plants are found much higher. When climbing Chomolungma, plants were found at an altitude of 6218 m. And, finally, from a height of five and a half kilometers, the realm of snow begins.

In the western part of the southern slope of the Himalayas, due to less humidity, there is no such richness and diversity of vegetation, the flora is much poorer than in the east. There is absolutely no strip of terai there, the lower parts of the slopes of the mountains are covered with sparse xerophytic forests and thickets of shrubs. Only on the slopes of the foothills do rare groups of dry-loving plants appear, such as oleander or tree-like milkweed, very similar to a cactus from a distance. And only from a height of a thousand meters do luxurious pine forests begin with an undergrowth of prickly jasmine. Higher, in the zone from 1800 to 2500 meters, there are some subtropical Mediterranean species such as the evergreen holm oak and golden olive, even higher dominated by coniferous forests of pines and the magnificent Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara), a brother of the Lebanese cedar known since biblical times. The shrub undergrowth in these forests is poorer than in the east, but the alpine meadow vegetation is more diverse. And having risen to a height of two and a half kilometers, you find yourself in the zone of spruce forests. Only these shrubs, and ivy entwining tree trunks, together with climbing roses, remind us of the subtropics. Spruce forests are replaced with height by a real mountain desert, where even stunted grass comes across only in places. And all this is crowned, as always in the Himalayas, by snow and glaciers.

The landscapes of the northern ranges of the Himalayas, facing towards Tibet, are approaching the desert mountain landscapes of Central Asia. The change in vegetation with height is less pronounced than on the southern slopes. From the bottoms of the large river valleys up to the snow-covered peaks, sparse thickets of dry grasses and xerophytic shrubs spread. Woody vegetation is found only in some river valleys in the form of thickets of low-growing poplars.

The landscape differences of the Himalayas are also reflected in the composition of the wild fauna. The diverse and rich fauna of the southern slopes has a pronounced tropical character. In the forests of the lower parts of the slopes and in the Terai, many large mammals, reptiles, and insects are common. There are still elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, wild boars, antelopes. The jungle is literally teeming with various monkeys. Macaques and thin-bodied are especially characteristic. Of the predators, the most dangerous for the population are tigers and leopards - spotted and black (black panthers). Among birds, peacocks, pheasants, parrots, wild chickens stand out for their beauty and brightness of plumage.

In the upper belt of mountains and on the northern slopes, the fauna is close in composition to the Tibetan. The black Himalayan bear, wild goats and rams, yaks live there. Especially a lot of rodents.

Most of the population is concentrated in the middle belt of the southern slope and in intramountain tectonic basins. There is a lot of cultivated land there. Rice is sown on the irrigated flat bottoms of the basins, and tea bushes, citrus fruits, and vines are grown on terraced slopes. Alpine pastures are used for grazing sheep, yaks and other livestock.

Due to the high height of the passes in the Himalayas, communication between the countries of the northern and southern slopes is significantly complicated. Dirt roads or caravan trails pass through some passes, there are very few highways in the Himalayas. The passes are only accessible during the summer. In winter, they are covered with snow and completely impassable.

Himalayas as a center of cultural and natural heritage and a center of pilgrimage

The parks were created to help the rare animals of the Himalayas survive in the face of an ever-increasing influx of tourists, including many poachers. Deforestation by the local population harms the animals even more. Already, only twenty-five wild elephants have survived in all of Nepal. Just a few dozen left here tigers and rhinos. Live on protected lands and such rare animals as the snow leopard and the Himalayan black bear, the musk deer and the inhabitant of bamboo forests - the red panda.

This beast (also called a cat bear) is probably the most charming inhabitant of the Himalayan forests. During the day, he sleeps, wrapping his round, eared head with a fluffy tail, and at night he grazes in bamboo thickets, eating young shoots, as well as berries and acorns that have fallen to the ground.

To truly appreciate the beauty of the nature of the Himalayas, one must overcome the temptation to get by air directly to Kathmandu or another city in the depths of the mountains. It is better to climb to the snowy ridges by car along winding mountain roads through Sivalik and Mahabharat. Only then can one appreciate all the diversity of the Himalayas, all the charm of its forests and meadows, rocky gorges and mountain lakes, the blinding whiteness of the snowy slopes and the jade transparency of glacial cliffs.

The Himalayas are one of the centers of pilgrimage in the world, especially for adherents of Buddhism and Hinduism. In most cases, in the holy Himalayan places there are temples to the glory of the deities, with whose deeds this or that place is associated. So, the temple of Sri Kedarnath Mandir is dedicated to the god Shiva, and in the south of the Himalayas, at the source of the Jamuna River, in the 19th century. A temple was built in honor of the goddess Yamuna (Jamuna). Many are attracted to the Himalayas by the diversity and uniqueness of their natural features. One of the most important and at the same time the most difficult to pass is the Sagarmatha National Park. Everest is located on its territory. In the western region of the Himalayas, the possessions of the Nanda Devi reserve stretch, which since 2005 has included the Valley of Flowers, which enchants with a natural palette of colors and shades. It is kept by vast meadows full of delicate alpine flowers. Among this splendor, far from human eyes, rare species of predators live, including snow leopards (no more than 7,500 individuals of these animals remain in the wild), Himalayan and brown bears.

High impregnable mountains have long evoked two feelings in people: fear and reverence. The Hindus called this area Deviabhuni - "the land of the gods." Here, in their opinion, was the center of the Earth, marked by the sacred mountain Meru, around which the Sun, Moon and stars revolve. Meru in India was identified with Mount Kailash in the Tibetan Trans-Himalayas. Next to it, at the sacred lake Manasarovar, as the locals believe, lives the main of the three supreme gods of the Hindu pantheon - Indra, the thunderer, who gives rain and fertility to the fields. At the top of Gaurishankar lived the great god Shiva with his wife Devi, the daughter of Himavat, who himself is the personification of the Himalayas. Shiva is one of the supreme gods included in the divine triad, the "master of animals." Therefore, it is quite logical that from his dwelling, located among the eternal snows of the Himalayas, the life-giving waters of the three great rivers of Asia - the Indus, the Brahmaputra and the Ganges - flow. And only Rama settled closer to the people, in the valley.

The founder of another powerful religion - Buddhism, Prince Gautama himself (the future Buddha) was also born here, in Nepal, 2500 years ago. Therefore, many pilgrims come every year here, to the shrine of Buddhism, the Muktinath temple, where an eternal flame burns in memory of the birth of a deity.

Thus, the Himalayas are not only one of the most beautiful places created by nature. This is a sacred land, a place where, according to legend, Buddhist and Hindu deities live. Once these mountains were an insurmountable barrier between the states located to the south of them, and the fabulously rich cities lying to the north, on the Great Silk Road - Samarkand, Bukhara, Kashgar and Kotan.

The history of the exploration and assault of the Himalayan mountains

The first Himalayan traveler mentioned in the chronicles, the Chinese monk Fa Xian, came here in 400 AD. e. in search of religious truth. The oldest accurate map of these places was compiled in the 30s of the 18th century by the French geographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Arville, who, however, could not correctly determine the height of many mountain peaks. At the beginning of the 19th century, the British, hunters of large animals, went here from India in search of tigers and bears.Returning from the Himalayas, they recounted local legends about strange footprints in the snow.This was the first hint of the existence of a Bigfoot.

Already in the 7th century, the first trade routes appeared in the rugged Himalayas, connecting China and India. Some of these routes still play an important role in the trade of these two countries (of course, these days we are not talking about multi-day foot crossings, but about road transport). In the 30s. 20th century there was a plan to make transport links more convenient, for which it is necessary to lay a railway through the Himalayas, but the project was never implemented.

However, serious exploration of the Himalayan mountains began only in the period of the 18th-19th centuries. The work was extremely difficult, and the results left much to be desired: for a long time topographers could neither determine the height of the main peaks, nor draw up accurate topographic maps. But the ordeal only fueled the interest and enthusiasm of European scientists and researchers. In the middle of the 19th century, attempts began to conquer the highest peak in the world - Everest (Chomolungma). But the great mountain, towering 8848 meters above the earth, could give victory only to the strongest.

In the 1950s, the highest peak in the world was known in the West simply as Peak XV. It was not until 1852 that English topographers established the exact height of Peak XV. The Indians called it Sagarmatha - "heavenly peak", and for the Tibetans it was Chomolungma - "mother-goddess of the earth." Everest was named by the British in 1862 in honor of Major Sir George Everest, Governor General of India, who had led an expedition to map the Himalayan Mountains six years earlier. So the highest mountain in the world lives now under three names.

It is clear that the climbers of the late XIX - early XX century, who have already managed to conquer the Matterhorn in the Alps (in 1865), Chimborazo and Aconcagua in the Andes (in 1880 and 1897), McKinley in Alaska (in 1913) and Kilimanjaro in Africa (in 1889), were eager to climb Chomolungma. But the Tibetan and Nepalese authorities until 1921 did not allow foreigners to disturb the peace of the sacred mountains.

By the end of the 19th century, Tibet and Nepal closed their borders to Europeans. And although in 1921 the Dalai Lama allowed one expedition to visit the country, she had only enough time to get to the foot of Everest and map its lower slopes. The famous English climber George Mallory was a member of this expedition.

In 1921-1924, Mallory made three expeditions to the transcendental peak, hoping to become its winner. In his last attempt, in 1924, he and his companion Andrew Irwin apparently reached the highest point on the planet. The members of their expedition who remained below noticed the brave deuce through binoculars just two hundred meters from the top, after which they were hidden by fog. No one else saw the pioneers of Chomolungma alive. They did not return back. And only seventy-five years later, in 1999, Mallory's body was found in the snow not far from the summit. In all likelihood, on the descent, the climbers got into a snowstorm and froze. The first reliable conquest of Everest was carried out by a British expedition led by John Hunt 30 years later. After countless unsuccessful expeditions, on May 29, 1953, man finally managed to reach the summit of Everest.

The last assault was made by the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Nepalese Sherpa Norgay Tenzing. Hillary later wrote of what he thought as he stood where no one was known to have stood before him: for success. I looked at Tenzing... and he couldn't hide his infectious, enthusiastic smile."

Thus, the "high-altitude pole" of our planet turned out to be the toughest nut to crack from all the cherished and hard-to-reach points of the earth's land, taken by storm in the 20th century. Recall that the North and South Poles were conquered by man more than forty years earlier, and the Arctic Pole of Inaccessibility five years before Chomolungma.

The attraction of Everest for climbers is undeniable, and the climbing season is short; unless, of course, they want to avoid low temperatures, gale-force winds and deep snow. Many attempts to reach the summit ended in failure, and sometimes the death of expedition members, but nothing stops climbers. In recent years, climbers from all over the world have managed to make successful ascents.

Climbers continue to storm the highest peak, but so far only about four hundred of them have managed to stand on the "roof of the world." The Himalayas in general, and Everest in particular, carefully guard their secrets. Even today they remain the only snow kingdom of its kind - the abode of the gods.

In general, the history of the assault on the Himalayan "eight-thousanders" is a whole epic that lasted fifteen years, starting in 1950, when the brave Frenchmen Erzog and Lachenal climbed the first of them - Annapurna, and ending with a successful ascent to the most difficult of these peaks - Mount Shisha Pangma - Chinese expedition in 1964. Many tragic pages are inscribed in the history of Himalayan ascents. Dozens of climbers remained forever on the slopes of the Abode of Snows. And yet every year new high-altitude expeditions go to the Himalayas. And to the question of what drives them to this most difficult and dangerous business, Mallory answered wonderfully. When asked why he was so eager to climb Everest, he simply said: “Because he is!”

There are peaks in the Himalayas that are more difficult than Chomolungma. Such, for example, is impregnable Kanchenjunga, the easternmost and second highest of the Himalayan "eight-thousanders", which rises to 8585 meters at the very border of Nepal and India. This most difficult peak for climbers gave up only by the fifth expedition, which stormed it in 1955. In the same year, the fifth highest peak in the world, Makalu (8470 meters), was also conquered. Its name translates as "Black Giant". Indeed, Makalu is so steep that ice and snow practically do not linger on the black slopes of this giant rock pyramid. Therefore, its black and gray silhouette stands out sharply against the background of the rest of the Himalayan peaks, wrapped in snow-white cloaks and covered with glacier caps.

And twenty-five kilometers northwest of Makalu there are four eight-kilometer peaks at once, like a guard of honor surrounding their ruler - Chomolungma. This gigantic mountain range resembles a frozen foamy surf of grandiose stone shafts rushing towards the sky. Moreover, the “smaller” mountains in this massif sometimes pose the most difficult tasks for climbers. So, at Mount Rapakosi, 7788 meters high, the steepest slope in the world. It rises six thousand meters above the Hunza valley, and the length of its slope is about ten kilometers. It is easy to calculate that the angle of elevation in this case is thirty-one degrees.

In the very north of Nepal, between the eight-kilometer massifs of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri, there is the high-altitude Mustang Valley - the most important ancient caravan route from India and Nepal to transcendental Tibet. Through a giant gap between the mountains, as if into a wind tunnel, a strong wind rushes in from the north, from the Brahmaputra valley. The “draft” begins like clockwork every day at noon and ends after sunset, when the air temperature from the south and north sides of Mustang is equal. Living in a constant wind, of course, creates terrible discomfort for the inhabitants of the valley. They have to build houses with very narrow windows, and even these are covered with oiled paper from the inside for warmth. And on the north side of the houses there are no windows at all, otherwise it is impossible to keep the heat in the rooms.

Conclusion

The study of the physical and geographical characteristics of the Himalayas made it possible to draw the following conclusions:

1. The Himalayas are located between the Tibetan Plateau in the north and the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the south of Eurasia and stretch for 2,400 km.

3. The relief is represented by a system of ridges and intermontane depressions (hollows). The mountains have steep slopes and pointed or ridge-shaped peaks, covered with eternal snow and glaciers. The total area of glaciers here is 33 thousand km². The highest peak of the Himalayas is Mount Everest (8848 m), the highest mountain in the world. It was first conquered in 1953.

4. Most of the Himalayan mountains are located in a subequatorial climate. Climate formation occurs here under the condition of positive temperatures, but with a rather noticeable difference in the height of the sun according to the seasons. Summer and spring are hot here (up to 35°C). At this time of the year, monsoon winds come here, which bring an abundance of precipitation from the Indian Ocean, they fall mainly on the southern slopes of the mountains (more than 3000 mm). The air temperature near the northern slopes of the Himalayas is lower in winter, since precipitation from the Indian Ocean does not penetrate here, which has a softening effect.

5. Most of the rivers flowing from the Himalayan mountains are tributaries of the Indus and the Ganges. Their food is ice-rain. The flood is in the summer.

one). At the foot and in the foothills of the Himalayas are swampy jungles - terai. They are very rich in vegetation: grasses up to 5 m high, fan and coconut palms, bamboo.

2). At an altitude of 400 to 1500 m, there is a belt of subequatorial humid forests. This belt is characterized by magnolias, citrus fruits, camphor laurel.

3). Above, humid subequatorial forests are replaced up to 2000 m by evergreen subtropical forests, represented by mimosa thickets.

4). From altitudes of 2000 to 2500 m, evergreen forests begin to give way to deciduous forests dominated by maple, bird cherry, chestnuts, oaks, and cherries.

5). Above 2500 m, coniferous forests begin to predominate, which are located up to a height of 3500-4000 m.

6). Approximately from a height of 3500 m, woody vegetation begins to disappear, giving way to meadow vegetation with large herbs.

Through the mountains to the sea with a light backpack. Route 30 passes through the famous Fisht - this is one of the most grandiose and significant natural monuments in Russia, the highest mountains closest to Moscow. Tourists travel lightly through all the landscape and climatic zones of the country from the foothills to the subtropics, spending the night in shelters.

There is no such density of tourist facilities as in the Bakhchisarai region anywhere in the world! Mountains and the sea, rare landscapes and cave cities, lakes and waterfalls, secrets of nature and mysteries of history. Discoveries and the spirit of adventure... Mountain tourism here is not complicated at all, but any trail pleases with clean springs and lakes.

Adygea, Crimea. Mountains, waterfalls, herbs of alpine meadows, healing mountain air, absolute silence, snowfields in the middle of summer, the murmur of mountain streams and rivers, stunning landscapes, songs around the fires, the spirit of romance and adventure, the wind of freedom are waiting for you! And at the end of the route, the gentle waves of the Black Sea.

Himalayas - a mountain system, is considered the highest in the world.

"Only mountains can be better than mountains." Ever since school, everyone knows that the highest mountains in the world, as well as the most picturesque and mysterious, are the Himalayas.

The mythical Shambhala, the mysterious and formidable Bigfoot - this is only a small part of the myths and legends, hidden from us by the eternal white ice of the mountain peaks.

Geographical location and characteristics

The highest mountain system on the planet - the Himalayas, which in Sanskrit means "the abode of snows" is spread over the vast territory of Central Asia. They are located in the following countries:

People's Republic of China (Tibet region);
Nepal;
India;
Pakistan;
Bangladesh (a small part of it).

The mountain range, which stretches for almost 2400 km, was formed approximately 50-70 million years ago as a result of the movement and collision of the Eurasian and Indo-American tectonic plates. But, despite such an ancient age in terms of earthly years, these mountains are still young by geological standards. The growth process of the Himalayas continues to this day, for example, the highest point on the planet - Mount Chomolungma (Everest) is growing by about 6 cm per year.

The mountain peaks of the Himalayas, sharp as peaks, rise on the Indo-Gangetic valley and consist of three steps:

The Great Himalayas is the highest part of the mountain range, rising above sea level by 4 km and above. By the way, in the Himalayas there are 10 out of 14 "eight-thousanders" - mountain peaks whose height exceeds 8 km, as well as the highest point in the world - Mount Chomolungma, as the locals call it Everest, by the name of geodesist George Everest, who in the middle of the 19th century determined the exact height of the peak. It amounted to as much as 8848 m.

A little lower, at an altitude of 2-4 km above sea level, there are fertile valleys, for example, Kathmandu and Kashmir, alternating with mountain ranges. These are the so-called Lesser Himalayas. The Himalayas, the second name is Sivalik. These are the youngest and lowest hills in the mountain system, their height does not exceed 2 km.

The area of the ice sheet, located mainly on the slopes of high mountains, is 33 thousand square kilometers. The largest glacier is Gangotri (has a length of 26 km), it gives rise to the Ganges - the sacred river of the Hindus. There are also many picturesque alpine lakes in the Himalayas, for example, Lake Tilicho is located at an altitude of 4919 meters!

Himalayas on the map

Rivers

From the Himalayas, such largest rivers of the planet as the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra originate and carry their turbulent waters.

Climate

Monsoons, carrying warm air from the Indian Ocean, supply the southern slopes of the mountains with life-giving moisture for most of the year. The same cannot be said about the northern slopes of the Himalayas. Warm southern air is not able to overcome the mountain heights, so there is an arid continental climate.

The air temperature in the mountains reaches -40 degrees Celsius in winter, and the wind speed is sometimes as much as 150 km/h. The Himalayas rank third on the planet in terms of the amount of snow and ice after the Arctic and Antarctic.

Flora and fauna of the Himalayas

The diversity of the flora of the Himalayas is directly proportional to the height. At the southern foothills of the mountains there are real jungles, which here are called "terai", a little higher they are replaced by tropical forests, then mixed, coniferous, and finally - alpine meadows.

meadows in the Himalayas photo

On the drier and desolate northern slopes, semi-deserts, steppes and mixed forests replace each other. Very valuable species of trees sprout in the Himalayas, for example, dhak, sal tree. The boundaries of the ice sheet are approximately at an altitude of 6 km on the north side and 4.5 km on the south. Above 4 km, vegetation of the tundra type is already found - mosses, dwarf shrubs, rhododendrons.

Sigarmatha National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in Nepal. Here is the highest peak in the world, the well-known Mount Everest, and two eight-thousander peaks, as well as such endemics (rare and endangered species of animals and plants) as the irbis (snow leopard), Tibetan fox, black Himalayan bear and others.

Himalayan sheep photo

Rhinos, tigers, leopards live and feel very comfortable on the south side. Bears, antelopes, yaks, wild horses and mountain goats live in the north.

Population

It is worth saying a little about the population of this mountainous region, because it is quite diverse. As early as 8000 BC, these mountains were inhabited by tribes. Ancient Aryans lived in the south, Persian and Turkic peoples in the west, Tibetan tribes in the east. They lived in isolated valleys, where they created their state formations and closed ethnic groups.

In the 19th century, the Himalayas were the possessions of the British Empire, and in 1947 - a zone of military conflict due to the separation of India and Pakistan. The population is still engaged in subsistence farming. Cereal crops are grown on the southern damp slopes, while distant pastures are practiced in drier and less fertile regions.

Development and interesting facts

Among all the eight-thousanders, Chomolungma has always been of particular interest. Local tribes did not climb its peaks for a long time, considering the mountain sacred. Everest was first conquered in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpas (Sherpas are people living in Eastern Nepal) Tenzing Norgay.

The first Soviet expedition took place in 1982. Since 1953, Everest has been conquered more than 3,700 times, however, there is another, more sad statistics - about 570 people died during the ascent. In addition to Everest, the Annapurna mountain range is considered the most dangerous "eight-thousander", the mortality rate among climbers since the first ascent is as much as 41%! True, according to statistics for 1990-2008, Kanchenjunga (8586 meters above sea level) began to be considered the most dangerous peak, the mortality rate over these years was 22%.

flora Himalaya photo

The Himalayas are becoming more and more "inhabited" region of the planet every year. The flow of tourists from season to season increases, which entails the development of infrastructure and the entire tourism system as a whole. Not so long ago, the authorities of China and Nepal agreed to develop transport links between their countries through the construction of a railway tunnel. It is expected that it will pass under the highest peak of the planet - Everest! Preparatory work on this project is already underway.

In 2011, a dinner party was held in the Himalayas at an altitude of 6805 meters! Climbers in the amount of seven people climbed to a record height, taking with them a table, chairs, appliances and food. Dinner still took place, despite the cold and strong wind. Initially, the climbing group wanted to dine at an altitude of 7045 meters, but the hurricane wind did not allow it.

The Himalayan mountains stretch for about 2500 km through several Asian countries. Here are nine of the ten highest peaks in the world, including Everest. The word "Himalayas" in Sanskrit means "abode of snow." Many large rivers of Asia originate here. The Himalayas are the third largest deposit of ice and snow. In addition, it is a habitat for a large number of plants, birds and animals.

Description of the Himalayas

Probably the most popular reason people travel to Tibet and Nepal has to do with the desire to see the highest and most impressive mountain range in the world. No trip to these countries is complete without visiting the Himalayas, especially Mount Everest.

For centuries, a unique culture has developed here, which unites nature and people into one whole. This region is the birthplace of the Buddha. It is full of sacred natural places such as secret valleys and high mountain lakes.

The Himalayas, where various natural areas are located, face many problems, and governments are forced to provide for their people and protect their natural heritage. Protected areas become isolated hotspots, and many poachers kill rare wildlife, filling the illegal market. The effects of global climate change are melting glaciers at a rate faster than ever recorded in human history, jeopardizing the vital source of fresh water for billions of people in Asia.

Geomorphotectonic characteristics

The Himalayas are a crescent-shaped mountain range stretching from the southern Indus Valley beyond Nanga Parbat in the west to Namjagbarwa in the east. Its width varies from 350 km in the west to 150 km in the east. The majestic mountain range stands like a wall that bounds the entire northern edge of the Indian subcontinent.

Geomorphologically, the most unique feature is their height. The Himalayas are known for having 10 out of 14 peaks above 8000 meters.

An important geomorphotectonic feature is the sharp bending of the Himalayas and their associated mountain ranges, which join the Suleiman and Kirtara ranges in the west. A similar sharp bend is observed at the eastern end, where the mountain range joins the northeastern Indo-Myanmar range represented by the Naga and Arakan Yoma mountains. These two sharp bends on either side are known as the "syntactic bends" of the Himalayan range. The highest peaks are located in different parts of the mountains, but most of them are concentrated in the central part.

Geophysical characteristics

They are as unique as the geomorphotectonic features of the mountain range. The most distinctive feature is the thickness of the earth's crust, which increases from about 35 to 40 km in the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra plains to 65-80 km over the Greater Himalayas. The thickness of the continental crust underlying the mountains is reflected in the pattern of negative gravity anomalies between > -150 and > -350 mGal along the entire length of the mountain belt.

Himalayan geomorphology reflects various aspects of structural and geomorphological features that have arisen in response to the action of orogenic forces (related to the final stage of the development of tectonically mobile zones of the earth's crust), which occurred during the relatively recent history of erosion. The mountain range is divided in the axial direction into several units, each of which has a distinct lithotectonic and geomorphological character and evolutionary history.

Division into zones

They are divided axially into the following five units. Each of them has distinctive lithotectonic characteristics and evolutionary history:

Sub-Himalayas, where there is a belt of late Tertiary molasse deposits 10-50 km wide, which form the Sivalik group. This belt also includes the older Murri formations and their equivalent, Dharamshalas.
Small Himalayas, where there is a belt 60-80 km wide, which consists mainly of low-grade metamorphic rocks of the Proterozoic period. It is overlain by layers of granite and metamorphic rocks.
The Great Himalayas, where there is a belt of predominantly Precambrian metamorphic rocks. And younger (Cenozoic), 10-15 km thick. This is also the zone of greatest uplift.
Transhimalaya: A belt of predominantly shelf (usually fossil) late Proterozoic and Cretaceous deposits bounded by the Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ), a relatively narrow belt of ophiolites and associated deposits. This is the junction of the Indian continental block with the Tibetan block. North of the ITSZ is a belt of 40-100 Ma granitoids known as the trans-Himalayan batholithic granites.

Peaks

Mount Shisha Pangma is the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the highest mountain that lies entirely within the Himalayas of Tibet. Shisha Pangma is easy to get to. A good view of the summit opens from the Thong La Pass along the Friendship Highway. The Thong La pass rises to a height of 5150 meters and on a clear day offers a magnificent view of the mountains.

Cho Oyu is the sixth highest peak on the planet and rises to 8201 meters. It is located along the border of Tibet and Nepal. A beautiful view of Cho Oyu can be seen from Gokyo, a small village in the Nepalese Himalayas, which can only be reached by one of the most beautiful trekking routes. It starts and ends in Lukla and takes about 12 days.

The city of Old Tingri in Tibet also offers a beautiful view of this giant peak. From Old Tingri, it takes 3 hours to get to the base camp, from where expeditions to the mountain begin. Of the 14 peaks on the planet that rise above 8,000 meters, Cho Oyu is considered the least difficult to climb. For the first time this peak was conquered in October 1954.

Makalu is one of the most beautiful of the 14 eight-thousanders. It is located 19 km from Mount Everest along the Tibet-Nepal border at an altitude of 8485 meters. It was first conquered in 1955.

There are other famous peaks as well. These are Karakoru, Kailash, Kanchenjunga, Nanga Parbat, Annapurnu and Manasklu.

The biggest mountain in the world

Everest - the highest point of the Himalayas ( 8848 meters). This is the highest peak on the planet. It can be viewed from both Nepal and Tibet. The Himalayas on both sides look amazing. The small mountain Kala Patthar in Nepal offers stunning views of Everest. To get to Kala Patthara, you need to set off from the small village of Lukla. From Lukla it will take about 7 or 8 days to go to Gorak Shep, the closest base camp to Kala Pattara on Everest on the Nepal side. From Gorak Shep, the steep climb takes 90 minutes to 2 hours to Kala Patthar, which is 5545 meters high. However, Everest itself cannot be seen from the base camp on the Nepal side, although there are magnificent views from nearby Kala Patthara.

The Nepalese and Sherpas call this mountain Sagarmatha, and the Tibetans call it Chomolungma (Chomolungma). Since the 1920s, many of the world's best climbers have attempted to climb Mount Everest, and on May 29, 1953, the first successful ascent by Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) and Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) was celebrated.

Geography and ecology

They extend across the northeastern part of India. The question of which country the Himalayas are in cannot be answered unequivocally: they pass through India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. They are stretched for about 2400 km. The Himalayan range consists of three parallel ranges, often referred to as the Greater, Lesser, and Outer Himalayas.

Two peaks, Everest and 2K (Chogori, labeled as the second peak of the Karakoram), tend to dominate the perception of the region. The Himalayas are rich in biodiversity. The climate varies from tropical at the foot of the mountains to perennial snow and glaciers at the highest altitudes.

Nature

Here you can find several natural areas. They are reviewed below.

Mountain meadows and shrubs: they can be found at an altitude of three to five thousand meters. These areas typically experience cold winters and mild summers, which encourage plant growth. The rhododendrons rise above the bushes, while the alpine meadows immediately above them are rich in flora during the warmer months. Snow leopard, Himalayan tahr, musk deer live here.
Temperate Coniferous Forests: In the northeast, temperate subalpine coniferous forests range from 2.5 to 4200 meters. Situated in an inland valley, these forests are protected from harsh monsoonal conditions by the surrounding mountain ranges. Mostly pine, hemlock, spruce and fir grow here. The animal world is represented by red pandas, takins and musk deer.
Moderately broad-leaved and mixed forests. At medium altitudes, from two to three thousand meters, in the eastern region there are broad-leaved and coniferous forests. These forests receive almost 200 cm of annual rainfall, mostly during the monsoon season. In addition to oaks and maples, orchids, lichens and ferns grow here. In the cold season, you can meet more than 500 species of birds that stop here during the migration period. Golden monkeys - langurs - also live here.
Tropical and subtropical deciduous forests. They are located at an altitude of the Himalayas from 500 to 1000 meters along a narrow strip of the Main Himalayan Range. Due to the varied topography, soil types and rainfall levels, a large number of plants grow here. Here you can find subtropical dry evergreen, northern dry mixed deciduous forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, subtropical broadleaf forests, northern tropical semi-evergreen forests and northern tropical moist evergreen forests. Wildlife includes many critically endangered species, including tigers and Asian elephants. Over 340 different bird species can be found in this region.

Rivers and glaciers

In the Himalayas, the Indus, the Yangtze, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra originate. All of them are the main river systems in Asia. The main ones in the Himalayas are the Ganges, Indus, Yarlung, Yangtze, Mekong and Nujiang.

The Himalayas are the third largest deposit of ice and snow in the world after Antarctica and the Arctic. There are about 15,000 glaciers throughout the territory. The length of the Himalayan Syahen is 72 km. It is the largest glacier outside the poles. Other famous glaciers located in the Himalayas are Baltoro, Biafo, Nubru and Hispur.

What can be added to the description of the mountains? Pay attention to some interesting facts.

The Himalayas were created by the movement of tectonic plates that pushed India into Tibet.
Due to the large number of tectonic movements still taking place here, there are a lot of earthquakes and tremors in the mountains.
This is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet.
Mountains influence the air and water circulation systems and, accordingly, the weather conditions in the region.
They cover approximately 75% of the territory of Nepal.
Serving as a natural barrier for tens of thousands of years, they prevented early interaction between the inhabitants of India and the peoples of China and Mongolia.
Everest was named after Colonel Sir George Everest, a British surveyor who lived in India in the early to mid-nineteenth century.
The Nepalese name of Everest "Samgarmatha" translates as "Goddess of the Universe" or "Forehead of Heaven".

So, in this article, the highest and most impressive mountain range in the world was considered. This is the Himalayan range.