| It was due to the powerful
movement of the earth that massifs
as majestic as the Himalayas were
created. The towering ranges that
stretch along the northern fringes
of the Indian subcontinent exude an
appealing charm, having been casting
an spell on one and all for
centuries. Rising sharply from the
Gangetic plain, the mighty
Himalayas, with its tropical
deciduous forests, an interesting
wildlife, snowy peaks and verdant
valleys exert an inescapable pull on
travellers, vacationers and
adventure freaks alike. There are a
plethora of adventure options
including trekking, mountaineering,
skiing, rock climbing, camping and
mountain biking among others. River
rafting in the Himalayan rivers is
yet another adrenaline pumping
option. Once in the lap of the
Himalayas, tourists and adrenaline
junkies will find themselves spoilt
for choices. Himalayan Mountain
stretches from India, Nepal, Bhutan,
and Tibet. It has 10 highest peaks
of the world, out of which 8 are the
part of Nepalese Himalayas. Five
major mountains that form the main
chunk of the Himalayan Mountains are
K2 (Austin Godwin), Nanga Parbat
Peak, Mount Everest, Annapurna and
Kanchenjunga.
Majestic Mountains
Mount Everest is mainly located in
Nepal and Tibet and in Nepal it is
known as Sagarmatha & as Chomolangma
in Tibet. From sea level, it
measures uptill 8,850 m (29,035 ft).
It lies between 86º55'40" E
Longitude to 27º59'16" N, Latitude.
Mount Everest is just one of over 30
peaks in the Himalayas that are over
24,000 feet high.
Himalaya is a Sanskrit word meaning,
"abode of snow", which is so true.
The snowfields which dominate many
of the peaks in the Himalayas are
permanent. Yes, they never melt (not
even in the summer). That means
there are glaciers in the Himalayas
- lots of them. Mount Everest is
permanently covered in a layer of
ice, topped with snow. The "top" of
the mountain at which the elevation
was measured can vary as much as
twenty feet or more, depending on
how much snow has fallen on its
peak.
The Birth of a Mountain
Mountains aren't just big piles of
dirt, they're made of solid rock.
Believe it or not, the rocks that
make up the Himalayan mountains used
to be an ancient sea floor. Over
millions of years, rivers washed
rocks and soil from existing
mountains on the Indian subcontinent
and nearby Asia into a shallow sea
where the sediment was deposited on
the floor. Layer upon layer of
sediment built up over millions of
years until the pressure and weight
of the overlying sediment caused the
stuff way down deep to turn into
rock. Then about 40 million years
ago, in a process called
"uplifting", the sea floor began to
be forced upward forming mountains.
Vegetation
In the mountainous region around
Mount Everest, there are four main
climatic zones. The lowest is a
forested area, with trees that
include birch, juniper, blue pines,
firs and bamboo. Higher up is a zone
of alpine scrub, where plants must
remain small and scraggly to survive
the harsh wind and cold. Above that
is the upper alpine zone, in which
only lichens and mosses thrive.
Finally, above 5,750 m (18,690 ft)
is the Arctic zone, where no
vegetation can grow.
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