How did the Himalayas get the name Himalaya?
Since ancient times the vast glaciated heights have attracted the attention of the pilgrim mountaineers of India, who coined the Sanskrit name Himalaya—from hima (“snow”) and alaya (“abode”)—for that great mountain system. In contemporary times the Himalayas have offered the greatest attraction and the greatest challenge…
Which is the highest mountain range in the Himalayas?
Map of the Himalayas (including the Hindu Kush) The Himalayas consist of parallel mountain ranges: the Sivalik Hills on the south; the Lower Himalayan Range; the Great Himalayas, which is the highest and central range; and the Tibetan Himalayas on the north. The Karakoram are generally considered separate from the Himalayas.
What are the two countries that border the Himalayas?
Between those western and eastern extremities lie the two Himalayan countries of Nepal and Bhutan. The Himalayas are bordered to the northwest by the mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram and to the north by the high and vast Plateau of Tibet.
Why is the Himalaya an abode of snow?
The Himalaya yes is the “abode of snow”. As such they act as reservoir of water in which many large perennial rivers and their tributaries have their sources. These perennial rivers provide water for irrigation throughout the year.
Which is the highest mountain in the Himalayas?
The Himalayan mountain range includes Mt. Everest, the highest mountain on earth. The lofty Himalayas are among the most dramatic and visible creations of plate-tectonic forces. The Himalayas and Tibetan plateau trend east-west and stretch 2,900 km along the border between India and Tibet.
Why are the Himalayas important to South Asia?
The mountains’ high peaks rise into the zone of perpetual snow. The Himalayan mountain ranges.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For thousands of years the Himalayas have held a profound significance for the peoples of South Asia, as their literature, mythologies, and religions reflect.