Facts about the Himalayas

 

Facts about the Himalayas:

1. The word ‘Himalaya” in Sanskrit means abode of snow.

2. The geological age of the Himalaya is approximately 70 million years. It is the youngest Mountain Range in the world.

3. According to Hindu mythology, God Shiva resides in the Himalaya.

4. Nameha Barwa peak is the easternmost and Nanga Parbat is the westernmost peak of the Himalaya.

5. Kumbhakarna is the new name of mount Jannu (7,710 m).

6. Gosainthan (8046 m) is the Nepali name for Shisha Pangma.

7. The ideal height gain per day for mountaineers is 1,000 ft above 10,000 ft.

8. The Himalayas are the source for rivers such as the Indus, the Yangtze and the Ganga-Brahmaputra. All three are the major river systems of the continent of Asia.

9. The Himalayas are the third largest deposit of ice and snow in the world, after Antarctica and the Arctic. There are approximately 15,000 glaciers located throughout the range.

10. The Himalayas are alive geographically! 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.