The 'Great' Himalayas

The Himalayas, Asia

This spectacle of awesome dimensions …the 3000 kilometer long towering mountain range with tiers of rock, ranges upon ranges, sky scraping peaks and canyons, is the planet’s highest mountain system and includes the world’s highest peaks; Mount Everest and K2. It stretches through Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan. This is where earth meets the sky!

   

No plant life grows near the mountain’s peak due to powerful winds, extremely cold temperatures, and a lack of oxygen. Many adventurous people attempt to climb Everest every year. Strong winds and frigid temperatures make the climate even more rigorous. Clearly the peak of Mount Everest is a place for only the heartiest of people.

First Ascent: Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal)on May 29, 1953.

British surveyors named the peak for George Everest (properly pronounced “I-ver-ist”) a Surveyor General of India in the mid-nineteenth century.

75% of Nepal is covered by the Himalayas. Although the Himalayas is the highest mountain range in the world, it is also the youngest.

The Himalayas in Nepal contains over 250 beautiful peaks which all exceed 6,000 meters in height. Of the fifteen highest mountain peaks in the World, nine of them are contained within the Nepal Himalayas.

Another well known fact is that the Himalayas is the source of the Indus Basin, the Yangtze Basin and the Ganga-Brahmaputra which are three of the worlds primary river systems.

The Himlayas - the 'Great'

Here are some lesser known Himalayas facts:

o                                The Himalayan mountain system is believed to be one of the youngest mountain systems stretching across six different countries namely Bhutan, Tibet, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

o                                Geologists have performed tests over years to prove that The Himalayas are geologically alive. The mammoth mountain range is said to be moving approximately 20mm every year!

o                                Owing to this constant change and development of the Himalayan Mountains, the entire region is highly prone to landslides, earthquakes and tremors.

o                                 It is believed that around 70 million years ago, there was a massive collision between India and Asia resulting in globe changing repercussions. The Great Himalayas was one such creation, caused by the explosive collision of the two land masses.

o                                This huge mountain range, served as a natural barrier for thousands of years preventing early interactions between the nationals of India, China and Mongolia.

o                                This snow capped mountains were rightly named as Himalayas. This translates into ‘the abode of snow’.

o                                 Himalayas stretches over 75% of Nepal. Of the fifteen highest mountain peaks in the World, nine of them are contained within the Nepal Himalayas.

o                                The Nepalese prefer to call Mt. Everest as “Samgarmatha” which translates into ‘Goddess of the Universe’ or ‘Forehead of the Sky’.

o                                Tenzing, the first person to ascent to the summit along with Edmund, is said to have buried his daughter’s red and blue pencils on the top of Everest.

o                                Climbing up to the peak of Mount Everest on the Himalayas is every mountaineer’s ultimate test of endurance and stamina.  Everest has a death rate for climbers in the region of 9%. And it is recorded that approximately 150 people have died in their expedition of climbing up the Mount Everest so far.

o                                The three major rivers of the world, namely the Indus River, The Ganges and Brahmaputra and River Yangtze originate from the Himalayas range. And it is also believed that these Himalayan Rivers are older than the Himalayan peaks itself.