- Himalayas
image_caption=The north face ofMount Everest as seen from the path to the base camp inTibet
country=Bhutan| country1=Tibet (invaded by PRC) | country2=India| country3=Nepal| country4=Pakistan| country5 = Burma | country6=Afghanistan
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highest=Mount Everest
highest_elevation=8874
highest_lat_d=27|highest_lat_m=59|highest_lat_s=17|highest_lat_NS=N
highest_long_d=86|highest_long_m=55|highest_long_s=31|highest_long_EW=E
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map_caption=.(".Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks: the
Eight-thousander s, includingMount Everest (Nepal /Tibet ) andK2 (Northern Areas ). To comprehend the enormous scale of this mountain range consider thatAconcagua , in theAndes , at 6,962 m, is the highest peak outside Asia, while the Himalayan system includes over 100 mountains exceeding 7,200 meters. [cite web
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4q_XoMACOxkC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA23&dq=%22South+Tibet+Valley%22&output=html&sig=cplbaHyY4CGV0ogUvw0NT8o0EfM
title=Himalayan Mountain System
publisher=
accessdate=2007-08-07]The Himalayan system, which includes outlying subranges, stretches across six countries:
Bhutan ,Tibet ,India ,Nepal ,Pakistan andAfghanistan . They are the source of three of the world's majorriver systems, the Indus, the Ganga-Brahmaputra, and the Yangtze. Approximately 1.3 billion people live in thedrainage basin of the Himalayan rivers.The range proper runs west to east, from the Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, thereby forming an arc 2,400 km long, which varies in width from 400 km in the western Kashmir-
Xinjiang region to 150 km in the eastern Tibet-Arunachal Pradesh region. The Himalaya chain consists of three parallel ranges, with the northern-most range known as the Great or Inner Himalayas.Location
The Himalayas separate the
Indo-Gangetic plain from theTibetan plateau . The bulk of the mountain range lies inNepal ,Bhutan and the states ofJammu and Kashmir (parts of which are disputed between Pakistan and India),Himachal Pradesh ,Uttarakhand ,Sikkim andArunachal Pradesh inIndia cite web
title=Biodiversity Hotspots-Himalaya- Overview
work=Conservation International
publisher=Conservation International
date=2007
url=http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/himalaya/Pages/default.aspx
accessdate=2008-07-12] . The outlying parts of the range lie inTibet ,Pakistan (some in disputed territories) andBurma cite web
title=Biodiversity Hotspots-Himalaya-Overview
work=Conservation International
publisher=Conservation International
date=2007
url=http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/himalaya/Pages/default.aspx
accessdate=2008-07-12] .Ecology
The flora and fauna of the Himalayas varies with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice and snow at the highest elevations. The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the front of the range. This diversity of climate, altitude, rainfall and soil conditions generates a variety of distinct plant and animal communities.
Lowland forests
On the
Indo-Gangetic plain at the base of the mountains, analluvial plain drained by the Indus and Ganga-Brahmaputra river systems, vegetation varies from west to east with rainfall. The xericNorthwestern thorn scrub forests occupy the plains of Pakistan and the Indian Punjab. Further east lie theUpper Gangetic plains moist deciduous forests ofUttarakhand andUttar Pradesh andLower Gangetic plains moist deciduous forests ofBihar andWest Bengal . These are monsoon forests, with drought-deciduous trees that lose their leaves during the dry season. The moisterBrahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests occupy the plains ofAssam .The Terai belt
Above the alluvial plain lies the
Terai strip, a seasonally marshy zone of sand and clay soils. The Terai has higher rainfall than the plains, and the downward-rushing rivers of the Himalaya slow down and spread out in the flatter Terai zone, depositing fertile silt during the monsoon season and receding in the dry season. The Terai has a high water table due to groundwater percolating down from the adjacent zone. The central part of the Terai belt is occupied by theTerai-Duar savanna and grasslands , a mosaic of grasslands, savannas, deciduous and evergreen forests that includes some of the world's tallest grasslands. The grasslands of the Terai belt are home to theIndian Rhinoceros "(Rhinoceros unicornis)".Bhabhar belt
Above the Terai belt is an upland zone known as the Bhabhar, a zone of porous and rocky soils, made up of debris washed down from the higher ranges. The Bhabhar and the lower Shiwalik ranges have a subtropical climate. The
Himalayan subtropical pine forests occupy the western end of the subtropical belt, with forests dominated byChir Pine "(Pinus roxburghii)". The central part of the range is home to theHimalayan subtropical broadleaf forests , dominated bysal "(Shorea robusta)".hiwalik Hills
Also called Churia or Margalla Hills. Intermittent outermost range of foothills extending across Himalayan region through
Pakistan ,India ,Nepal andBhutan . Consists of many sub-ranges. Summits generally 600 to 1,200 meters. Steeper southern slopes form along a fault zone called Main Frontal Thrust; northern slopes are gentler. Permeable conglomerates and other rocks allow rainwater to percolate downslope into the Bhabhar and Terai, supporting only scrubby forests upslope.Inner Terai or Dun Valleys
The Inner Terai valleys are open valleys north of Shiwalik Hills or nestled between Shiwalik subranges. Examples include
Dehra Dun in India andChitwan in Nepal.Lesser Himalaya
Prominent range 2,000 to 3,000 meters high forming along the Main Boundary Thrust fault zone with a steep southern face and gentler northern slopes. Nearly continuous except for river gorges. Rivers gather in candelabra form to the north to break through this range in relatively few places.
Midlands
'Hilly' region averaging about 1,000 meters immediately north of the Mahabharat Range, rising over about 100 km to about 4,000 meters at the Main Frontal Thrust fault zone where the Greater Himalaya begin.
* Montane forests - At the middle elevations of the range, the subtropical forests yield to a belt of
temperate broadleaf and mixed forests , with theWestern Himalayan broadleaf forests at the western end of the range, and theEastern Himalayan broadleaf forests in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Above the broadleaf forests are the Western andEastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests .Alpine shrub and grasslands
Above the tree line are the Northwestern, Western, and
Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows , which yield totundra in the higher Himalayan range. The alpine meadows are the summer habitat of the endangeredSnow Leopard "(Uncia uncia)".Origins and growth
The Himalayas are among the youngest mountain ranges on the planet. According to the modern theory of
plate tectonics , their formation is a result of acontinental collision ororogeny along theconvergent boundary between theIndo-Australian Plate and theEurasian Plate . This is called a fold mountain. The collision began in the Upper Cretaceous period about 70 million years ago, when the north-moving Indo-Australian Plate, moving at about 15 cm per year, collided with the Eurasian Plate. About 50 million years ago this fast moving Indo-Australian plate had completely closed theTethys Ocean , the existence of which has been determined bysedimentary rock s settled on the ocean floor and thevolcano es that fringed its edges. Since these sediments were light, they crumpled into mountain ranges rather than sinking to the floor. The Indo-Australian plate continues to be driven horizontally below theTibetan plateau , which forces the plateau to move upwards. TheArakan Yoma highlands inMyanmar and theAndaman and Nicobar Islands in theBay of Bengal were also formed as a result of this collision.The Indo-Australian plate is still moving at 67 mm per year, and over the next 10 million years it will travel about 1,500 km into Asia. About 20 mm per year of the India-Asia convergence is absorbed by thrusting along the Himalaya southern front. This leads to the Himalayas rising by about 5 mm per year, making them geologically active. The movement of the Indian plate into the Asian plate also makes this region
seismic ally active, leading toearthquake s from time to time.Glaciers and river systems
The Himalayan range encompasses about 15,000
glacier s, which store about 12,000 km3 of freshwater. The 70 km longSiachen Glacier at the India-Pakistan border is the second longest glacier in the world outside the polar region. Some of the other more famous glaciers include the Gangotri andYamunotri (Uttarakhand ), Nubra, Biafo and Baltoro (Karakoram region), Zemu (Sikkim ) andKhumbu glaciers (Mount Everest region).The higher regions of the Himalayas are snowbound throughout the year in spite of their proximity to the
tropics , and they form the sources for several large perennial rivers, most of which combine into two large river systems:*The western rivers combine into the "Indus Basin", of which the
Indus River is the largest. The Indus begins in Tibet at the confluence of Sengge and Gar rivers and flows southwest throughPakistan to theArabian Sea . It is fed by the Jhelum, theChenab , the Ravi, the Beas, and theSutlej rivers, among others.*Most of the other Himalayan rivers drain the "Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin". Its two main rivers are the Ganga and the
Brahma and theYamuna among other tributaries. The Brahmaputra originates as the Yarlung Tsangpo River in western Tibet, and flows east throughTibet and west through the plains ofAssam . The Ganga and the Brahmaputra meet inBangladesh , and drain into theBay of Bengal through the world's largestriver delta .The eastern-most Himalayan rivers feed the
Ayeyarwady River , which originates in eastern Tibet and flows south throughMyanmar to drain into theAndaman Sea .The
Salween ,Mekong , the Yangtze and theHuang He (Yellow River) all originate from parts of theTibetan plateau that are geologically distinct from the Himalaya mountains, and are therefore not considered true Himalayan rivers. Some geologists refer to all the rivers collectively as the "circum-Himalayan rivers".cite journal
quotes =
last=Gaillardet
first=J
coauthors = Métivier, Lemarchand, Dupré, Allégre, Li, Zhao
date=
year=2003
month =
title=Geochemistry of the Suspended Sediments of Circum-Himalayan Rivers and Weathering Budgets over the Last 50 Myrs
journal = Geophysical Research Abstracts
volume = 5
issue = 13617
url=http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EAE03/13617/EAE03-J-13617.pdf
format=PDF
accessdate=2006-11-04] In recent years scientists have monitored a notable increase in the rate of glacier retreat across the region as a result of globalclimate change . [ [http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/42387/story.htm Vanishing Himalayan Glaciers Threaten a Billion] ] Although the effect of this won't be known for many years it potentially could mean disaster for the hundreds of millions of people who rely on theglacier s to feed the rivers of northernIndia during the dry seasons. [ [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90781/90879/6222327.html Glaciers melting at alarming speed] ]According to a UN climate report, the Himalayan glaciers that are the sources of
Asia 's biggest rivers could disappear by 2035 as temperatures rise [ [http://www.peopleandplanet.net/pdoc.php?id=3024 Big melt threatens millions, says UN] ] andIndia ,Tibet ,Pakistan ,Bangladesh ,Nepal andMyanmar could experience floods followed bydroughts in coming decades.Lakes
The Himalaya region is dotted with hundreds of lakes. Most lakes are found at altitudes of less than 5,000 m, with the size of the lakes diminishing with altitude. The largest lake is the
Pangong Tso , which is spread across the border between India and Tibet. It is situated at an altitude of 4,600 m, and is 8 km wide and nearly 134 km long. A notable high (but not the highest) lake is theGurudogmar inNorth Sikkim at an altitude of 5,148 m (16,890 ft) (altitude source:SRTM ). Other major lakes include theTsongmo lake , near the Indo-Tibet border in Sikkim, andTilicho lake in Nepal in the Annapurna massif, a large lake in an area that was closed to tourists until recently.The mountain lakes are known to geographers as "tarns" if they are caused by glacial activity. Tarns are found mostly in the upper reaches of the Himalaya, above 5,500 metres. For more information about these, see [http://www.highestlake.com/highest-lake-world.html here] .
Impact on climate
The Himalayas have a profound effect on the
climate of theIndian subcontinent and theTibetan plateau . They prevent frigid, dryArctic winds from blowing south into the subcontinent, which keepsSouth Asia much warmer than correspondingtemperate regions in the other continents. It also forms a barrier for themonsoon winds, keeping them from traveling northwards, and causing heavy rainfall in theTerai region. The Himalayas are also believed to play an important part in the formation ofCentral Asia n deserts such as theTaklamakan andGobi deserts .The mountain ranges also prevent western winter disturbances from
Iran from traveling further, resulting in snow inKashmir and rainfall for parts of Punjab and northern India. Despite being a barrier to the cold northernly winter winds, the Brahmaputra valley receives part of the frigid winds, thus lowering the temperature in the northeast Indian states andBangladesh . These winds also cause the North East monsoon during this season for these parts.In turn, the
jet stream affects our image of Himalayan peaks. The strong stream of winds from the west pass through Everest, creating a familiar plume of snows blowing from the summit, and visible from a great distance.Mountain passes
The rugged terrain of the Himalaya makes few routes through the mountains possible. Some of these routes include:
*Gangtok inSikkim toLhasa in Tibet, via the Nathula Pass andJelepla Pass es (offshoots of the ancientSilk Road ).
*Bhadgaon in Nepal toNyalam in Tibet.
*Rohtang Pass inHimachal Pradesh ,India .
* The road fromSrinagar inKashmir viaLeh to Tibet. This pass is now less used because of regional troubles. Many people are affected.
*Mohan Pass is the principal pass in theSiwalik Hills , the southern most and geologically youngest foothills running parallel to the main Himalayas in Sikkim.Impact on politics and culture
It should be noted that almost half of the humans and
livestock of India live on one-third of the landscape within 500km of the Himalayan range.( [http://dahd.nic.in/stat_files/BAHS2006%20web%20web.pdf pdf,3mb] )The Himalayas, due to their large size and expanse, have been a natural barrier to the movement of people for tens of thousands of years. In particular, this has prevented intermingling of people from the
Indian subcontinent with people fromChina andMongolia , causing significantly different languages and customs between these regions. The Himalayas have also hindered trade routes and prevented military expeditions across its expanse. For instance,Genghis Khan could not expand his empire south of the Himalayas into the subcontinent.Himalaya
Himalaya is made up of two Sanskrit words - "Him" which means snow and "alaya" means house, together meaning the abode of snow.
Him also means Nepalese "snow-covered mountain" and is used to name the various mountains of the Himalayas. In Nepal, these are as follows:
* Sagarmatha Himal
* Annapurna Himal
* Ganesh Himal
* Langtang Himal
* Manaslu Himal
*Rolwaling Himal
* Jugal Himal
* Gauri Sankar Himal
* Kanjirowa Himal
* Khumbu Himal
* Dhaulagiri HimalNotable Peaks of the Himalayan System (includes outlying ranges)
Notable Himalayan mountaineers
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2004 photo mosaic the Himalayas withMakalu andMount Everest from the International Space Station, Expedition 8.*
George Mallory (1886–1924) Attempt atfirst ascent ofMount Everest ; died on North Face.
*Noel Odell (1890–1987) British. First ascent, in 1936, ofNanda Devi , which remained the highest summited peak until 1950.
*Bill Tilman (1898–1977) British. First ascent of Nanda Devi in 1936. In 1934, first person to penetrateNanda Devi sanctuary
*Frank Smythe (1900–1949) British. Mount Blank, Kamet, and early attempt on Kangchenjunga.
*Eric Shipton (1907–1977) British. With Bill Tillman, first to penetrate Nanda Devi sanctuary. Discovered route to Everest overKhumbu Glacier .
*John Hunt (1910–1998) British. Leader of 1953 expedition of Mount Everest.
*Tenzing Norgay (1914–1986) NepaleseSherpa mountaineer. First man on Everest's summit along with Edmund Hillary.
*Maurice Herzog (b. 1919) First person to summit an Eight-thousander,Annapurna , in 1950. Lost all toes and most fingers due to frostbite. Peak not climbed again until 1970.
*SirEdmund Hillary (1919–2008) New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, the first man on Everest's summit along with Tenzing Norgay.
*Tom Bourdillon (1924–1956) member of British Everest expeditions 1951, 1952, and 1953, reached convert|300|ft|m|-1 from summit of Everest three days beforeEdmund Hillary andTenzing Norgay finally conquered it.
*Hermann Buhl (1924–1957) First ascent ofNanga Parbat in 1953 (feat accomplished solo and without oxygen). First ascent ofBroad Peak . Died in fall onChogolisa , body never found.
*Willi Unsoeld (1926–1979) United States. First ascent of Everest from West Face and first majortraverse of a Himalayan peak, 1963. Daughter Nanda Devi Unsoeld killed duringNanda Devi expedition 1976. Died during avalanche onMount Rainier , 1979.
*Chris Bonington (b. 1934) First ascent ofAnnapurna (South Face), 4 ascents of Everest.
*Nawang Gombu (b. 1936) Indian mountaineer. First person to climb Everest twice: 1963 and 1965.
*Jim Whittaker (b. 1936) United States. First American to summit Everest.
*Reinhold Messner (born 1944) Italian mountaineer. First man to climb all fourteeneight-thousanders .
*Jerzy Kukuczka (1948–1989) Polish mountaineer. Ascended all fourteeneight-thousanders faster than anybody else, establishing ten new routes.
*Nazir Sabir Pakistani mountaineer. First ascent of "two" eight thousanders (Broad Peak & Gasherbrum II) in a single attempt.
*Swami Sundaranand (b. 1926 India) Climbed 25 mountains with little or no equipment from 1950-1990 to experience open eyedSamadhi using the ancient techniques of the Himalayan Yogis. Noted also for his extensive photography of the Indian Himalayas. [United Nations, May 2007, Our Planet magazine] [Personal Time with Swami-ji, 157 mins Film, The Center for Healing Arts [http://thecenterforhealingarts.com/swamiji.php] ] [Himalaya: Through the Lens of a Sudu Published August 2001 ISBN 81-901326-0-1 ] Land has been secured inGangotri , India, for a museum dedicated to his rare Himalayan photos and documentation of the Himalayan Glaciers with a special emphasis on environmental protection of the region.
*Jaime Viñals First Central American person to climb Mount Everest. [cite web|url=http://www.iadb.org/idbamerica/index.cfm?thisid=629 |title=Faith that moves mountains |author=Neira, Claudia|month= July |year=2002|publisher=IDBAmerica Online]
*Casey Mackins An English mountaineer who climbed Mt Everest by a new route without oxygen from Tibet in 1984 and then again from Nepal in 1990 during his famous Sea to Summit expedition where he became the first person to climb Everest starting from sea level
*José Antonio Delgado Sucre (1965–2006) was the first Venezuelan mountaineer to reach the summit of five eight-thousanders. He was one of the most experienced climbers in Latin America. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela.
*Ed Viesturs (b. June 22, 1959) is the first American, and 12th person overall, to summit all fourteen mountains over 8000 meters (collectively known as the eight-thousanders), and the sixth climber to do it without bottled oxygen.
*Pemba Dorjie (born c. 1977) a Sherpa who currently holds the world record for the quickest climb to the summit of Mount Everest from camp. On May 21, 2004 Dorjie set that record, with a total time of 8 hours and 10 minutes.
*Appa Sherpa (born c. 1960) On May 16, 2007, successfully summited Mt. Everest for the 18th time, breaking his own record for most successful ascents.
*Krzysztof Wielicki (born 1950) Polish mountaineer, the fifth man to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders. Three of them (Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse) he ascended as the first man ever to do it in winter.Religion
Several places in the Himalaya are of religious significance in
Hinduism andBuddhism . In Hinduism, the Himalaya have also been personified as the god "Himavat", the father ofShiva 's consort,Parvati .*
Haridwar , the place where the riverGanga enters theplain s.
*Badrinath , a temple dedicated toVishnu .
*Kedarnath , where one of the 12Jyotirlinga s is located.
*Gaumukh , the source of theBhagirathi (and hence, by extension, theGanga ), located a few miles above the town ofGangotri .
*Deoprayag, where theAlaknanda andBhagirathi merge to form theGanga .
*Rishikesh , has a temple ofLakshmana .
*Mount Kailash , a 6,638 m high peak which is the abode of theHindu GodsShiva and Uma and is also venerated byBuddhist s. The peak is forbidden to climb, it is so sacred it is circled at its base. Lake Manasarowar lies at the base of Mount Kailash, and is the source of theBrahmaputra .
*Amarnath , has a naturalShiva linga of ice which forms for a few weeks each year. Thousands of people visit this cave during these few weeks.
*TheVaishno Devi is a popular shrine amongDurga devotees.
*A number of Tibetan Buddhist sites are situated in the Himalaya, including the residence of theDalai Lama .
*TheYeti is one of the most famous creatures incryptozoology . It is a largeprimate -like creature that is supposed to live in the Himalaya. Most mainstream scientists and experts consider current evidence of the Yeti's existence unpersuasive, and the result of hoaxes, legend or misidentification of mundane creatures.
*Shambhala is a mystical city with various legends associated with it, it is one of twenty-four Himalayan hidden realms, orbeyul , inVajrayana Buddhism. [cite book|last=Levine|first=Norma|title=Blessing Power of the Buddhas: Sacred Objects, Secret Lands|publisher=Element Books|date=1993|pages=p. 132|isbn=1-85230-305-0] While some legends consider it to be a real city where secret Buddhist doctrines are being preserved, other legends believe that the city does not physically exist and can only be reached in the mental realm.
*Sri Hemkund Sahib - Sikh gurudwara where Guru Gobind Singh is claimed to have meditated and achieved enlightenment in a previous incarnation.The Himalayas in fiction
*
Shangri-La is a fictionalutopia situated somewhere in the Himalayas, based on the legendaryShambhala . It is described in the novel "Lost Horizon", written by the British writerJames Hilton in 1933.
* "Tintin in Tibet " is one of the series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by trytruyBelgian writer and illustratorHergé , featuring the young reporter Tintin investigating a plane crash in theGosain Than massif in the Himalayas. (1960)
* TheHollywood movie "Vertical Limit " (2000), is set in theK2 peak of the Himalayas, inPakistan .
* Several levels ofTomb Raider 2 and one level in of the Tomb Raider series are situated in the Himalayas.
* The "Inheritance of Loss" written byKiran Desai is partly set in the Himalaya Mountains. It won theMan Booker Prize in 2006.
*Rumer Godden 's novel "Black Narcissus " (1939) is about an order of nuns who set up a convent in the Himalayas. The film, released in 1947 byPowell and Pressburger and starringDeborah Kerr , was not actually shot in the Himalayas and relied primarily onmatte paintings to evoke the mountains.
*Isabel Allende 's novel,Kingdom of the Golden Dragon takes place mostly in the Forbidden Kingdom, a fictional country in the Himalayas.
* "Dragon Rider (novel) " is authored byCornelia Funke and tells the story of an epic journey that a small boy, abrownie , and a dragon take to the "Rim of Heaven," a place in the Himalayas where dragons reside.ee also
*American Himalayan Foundation
*Baltistan
*Eastern Himalaya
*Indian Himalayan Region
*Eight-thousander - a list of peaks over 8,000 metres
*Geography of China
*Geography of India
*Himalayan Towers
*Karakoram (mountain range)
*Karakoram Highway
*Ladakh
*List of highest mountains - all mountains over 7,200 metres
*List of mountains in Pakistan
*Mountain ranges of Pakistan
*Trekking peak References
The Himalayan Journal published by [http://www.himalayanclub.com Himalayan Club]
Further reading
*
Swami Sundaranand "Himalaya: Through the Lens of a Sudu" Published by Tapovan Kuti Prakashan (August 2001). ISBN 81-901326-0-1
*Michael Palin , "", Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated (2004). ISBN 0-297-84371-0
* Augusto Gansser,Andreas Gruschke , Blanche C. Olschak: "Himalayas. Growing Mountains, Living Myths, Migrating Peoples", New York, Oxford: Facts On File 1987. ISBN 0816019940 and New Delhi: Bookwise 1987.
*John Hunt , "Ascent of Everest", Hodder & Stoughton (1956). ISBN 0-89886-361-9
* "Everest", theIMAX movie (1998). ISBN 0-7888-1493-1
* SwamiTapovan Maharaj "Wanderings in the Himalayas", English Edition, Pulished by Chinmaya Publication Trust, Madras-3 (1960) translated by T.N. Kesava Pillai, M.A.
* Nandy, S.N., Dhyani, P.P. and Samal, P.K., "Resource Information Database of the Indian Himalaya", GBPIHED, Almora (2006) [http://gbpihed.gov.in/envis/HTML/monograph3/Contents.html]
*Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver, "Fallen Giants: The History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes" (Yale University Press, 2008). ISBN 978-0300115017External links
* [http://www.himalaya-info.org A German language page with comprehensive information about the mountains of the Himalaya. Has links to good images.]
* [http://www.myhimalayas.com Maps, pictures and travelogues from various regions of the Himalayas]
* [http://comp1.geol.unibas.ch/~zanskar/CHAPITRE2/page23.html The making of the Himalaya and major tectonic subdivisions]
* [http://oak.ucc.nau.edu/wittke/Tibet/Himalaya.html Geology of the Himalayan mountains]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/earth/birth.html Birth of the Himalaya]
* [http://snobear.colorado.edu/Markw/Mountains/03/week11.html Some notes on the formation of the Himalaya]
* [http://www.metacafe.co.il/watch/383729/the_annapurna_trek_in_5_minutes/ Pictures from a trek in Annapurna (film by Ori Liber)]
* [http://www.ranjan.net.np/geologyofnepal.htm Geology of Nepal Himalaya]Image Gallery
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