Regional Divisions of Himalayas

From west to East, Himalayas have been divided into six regions viz. Kashmir Himalayas, Himachal Himalayas, Kumaun Himalayas, Central & Sikkim Himalayas, Arunachal Himalayas and Purvachal Himalayas.

The Kashmir Himalayas

• The Kashmir Himalayas have the largest number of Glaciers in India. The Ladakh region of the Kashmir Himalayas is India’s Cold Desert Biosphere reserve.
• A special feature of the valleys of Kashmir Himalayas is the Karewa deposits which are made up of silt, clay and sand.
• The Karewas are known for saffron cultivation and have orchards of fruits and dry fruits such as apple, peach, almond, and walnut.
• The major characters of Kashmir Himalayas are Glaciers, snow peaks, deep valleys and High Mountain passes.
• The important passes are Pir-Panjal, Banihal, Zoji-La, Saser-La, Chang-La, Jara-La etc.

The Himachal Himalayas

• Himachal Himalayas are spread in Himachal Pradesh. The Rohtang, Bara-Lacha, Shipki-La are important passes joining India and China.
• The valleys of Kullu, Kangra, Manali, Lahaul, Spiti are known for orchards and tourist spots.

The Kumaun Himalayas / Central Himalayas / Garhwal Himalayas

• Kumaun Himalayas are located between the Sutlej and Kali rivers. They are home to India’s highest peak Nanda Devi.
• Other peaks located in Kumaun Himalayas are Kamet, Trishul, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Dunagiri, Gangotri etc. Gangotri and Pindar are important glaciers.

Garhwal Himalaya versus Kumaon Himalaya

• The western part of Kumaon Himalaya is known as Garhwal Himalayan while East as Kumaon. Geographically, Garhwal Himalaya lies between the lat. 29°31′ 9” N and 31°26′ 5″N and long. 77°33′ 5″E and 80°6′ 0″E with a total geographical area of 29,089 km.

 The Sikkim (Central) Himalayas

• Sikkim Himalayas are located beyond the Kali River up to the Teesta River. Most of them are located in Nepal and known as Central Himalayas. These Himalayas are home to highest peaks of Himalayas such as Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna
• It is characterized by very few passes. Two passes viz. Nathu La and Jelep-La are important as they connect India’s Sikkim to Tibet of China.

Eastern Himalayas & Purvanchal Hills

• The Eastern Himalayas occupy the Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. The important hills in this region are Aka Hills, Daphla Hills, Miri Hills, Mishmi Hills, Namcha Barwa The Dihang and Debang passes of Arunachal Pradesh are its parts.
• Passing from Arunachal Pradesh, there is an eastward extension of the Himalayas in the north-eastern region of India. This is known as Purvanchal Hills. Purvanchal Hills comprises the Patkai hills, the Manipur hills, Bairal range, the Mizo hills and the Naga hills. It is a densely forested area, mainly composed of strong sandstones.

Syntaxial bends in Himalayas

Himalaya is marked at the both the western and eastern ends by geological Syntaxial bends in rock structure wherein the tight, fault bounded, trapdoor or pop-up uplifts of Naga Parbat on the west and Namche Barwa at the east have occurred in past few million years. These mark the end of Himalayas at both end, more prominently at the western end.