The Himalayas, or Himalaya (/ˌhɪməˈleɪə, hɪˈmɑːləjə/), (Sanskrit: himá (हिम, "snow") and ā-

laya (आलय, "receptacle, dwelling")), is a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of

the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has many of Earth's highest peaks,
including the highest, Mount Everest (Nepal/China). The Himalayas include over fifty
mountains exceeding 7,200 m (23,600 ft) in elevation, including ten of the fourteen 8,000-metre
peaks. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia (Aconcagua, in the Andes) is 6,961 m
(22,838 ft) tall.[1]
Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate, the Himalayan
mountain range runs west-northwest to east-southeast in an arc 2,400 km (1,500 mi) long.[2] Its
western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of the Indus river. Its
eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the great bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo
River (upper stream of the Brahmaputra River). The Himalayan range is bordered on the
northwest by the Karakoram and the Hindu Kush ranges. To the north, the chain is separated
from the Tibetan Plateau by a 50–60 km (31–37 mi) wide tectonic valley called the Indus-
Tsangpo Suture.[3] Towards the south the arc of the Himalaya is ringed by the very low Indo-
Gangetic Plain.[4] The range varies in width from 350 km (220 mi) in the west (Pakistan) to
150 km (93 mi) in the east (Arunachal Pradesh).[5] The Himalayas are distinct from the other great
ranges of central Asia, although sometimes the term 'Himalaya' (or 'Greater Himalayas') is
loosely used to include the Karakoram and some of the other ranges.
The Himalayas are inhabited by 52.7 million people,[5] and are spread across five
countries: Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The Hindu Kush range
in Afghanistan[6] and Hkakabo Razi in Myanmar are normally not included, but they are both (with
the addition of Bangladesh) part of the greater Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) river system;[7][full citation
needed]
 some of the world's major rivers – the Indus, the Ganges and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra –
rise in the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to roughly 600 million people.
The Himalayas have a profound effect on the climate of the region, helping to keep the monsoon
rains on the Indian plain and limiting rainfall on the Tibetan plateau. The Himalayas have
profoundly shaped the cultures of the Indian subcontinent, with many Himalayan peaks
considered sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

Contents

 1Name
 2Geography and key features
 3Geology
 4Hydrology
o 4.1Glaciers
o 4.2Lakes
 5Climate
 6Ecology
 7Culture
o 7.1Religions
 8Resources
 9See also
 10References
 11Further reading
 12External links

 The name of the range derives from the Sanskrit Himālaya (हिमालय, "Abode of the

Snow"), from himá (हिम, "snow") and ā-laya (आलय, "receptacle, dwelling").[8] They are
 now known as the "Himalaya Mountains", usually shortened to the "Himalayas".
Formerly, they were described in the singular as the Himalaya and rendered as Himavan
in older writings. This was also previously transcribed as Himmaleh, as in Emily
Dickinson's poetry[9][10] and Henry David Thoreau's essays.[11]

 The mountains are known as the Himālaya in Nepali and Hindi (both written हिमालय),

the Himalaya (ཧི་མ་ལ་ཡ་) or 'The Land of Snow' (གངས་ཅན་ལྗོངས་) in Tibetan, the Himāliya Mountain
Range (Urdu: ‫ )سلسلہ کوہ ہمالیہ‬in Urdu and the Ximalaya Mountain Range (Chinese: 喜马拉
雅山脉; pinyin: Xǐmǎlāyǎ Shānmài) in Chinese.

 Geography and key features[edit]

 See also: List of Himalayan peaks and passes


 A satellite image showing the arc of the Himalayas


 Marsyangdi valley with Annapurna II

 The Himalayas consist of parallel mountain ranges: the Sivalik Hills on the south;

the Lower Himalayan Range; the Great Himalayas, which is the highest and central
range; and the Tibetan Himalayas on the north.[12] The Karakoram are generally
considered separate from the Himalayas.
 In the middle of the great curve of the Himalayan mountains lie the 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
peaks of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna in Nepal, separated by the Kali Gandaki Gorge. The
gorge splits the Himalayas into Western and Eastern sections both ecologically and
orographically – the pass at the head of the Kali Gandaki the Kora La is the lowest point
on the ridgeline between Everest and K2 (the highest peak of the Karakoram range and
of Pakistan). To the east of Annapurna are the 8,000 m (5.0 mi) peaks of Manaslu and
across the border in Tibet, Shishapangma. To the south of these lies Kathmandu, the
capital of Nepal and the largest city in the Himalayas. East of the Kathmandu Valley lies
valley of the Bhote/Sun Kosi river which rises in Tibet and provides the main overland
route between Nepal and China – the Araniko Highway/China National Highway 318.
Further east is the Mahalangur Himal with four of the world's six highest mountains,
including the highest: Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu. The Khumbu region,
popular for trekking, is found here on the south-western approaches to Everest. The Arun
river drains the northern slopes of these mountains, before turning south and flowing to
the range to the east of Makalu.
 In the far east of Nepal, the Himalayas rise to the Kanchenjunga massif on the border
with India, the third highest mountain in the world, the most easterly 8,000 m (26,000 ft)
summit and the highest point of India. The eastern side of Kanchenjunga is in the Indian
 state of Sikkim. Formerly an independent Kingdom, it lies on the main route from India
to Lhasa, Tibet, which passes over the Nathu La pass into the Tibet. East of Sikkim lies
the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan. The highest mountain in Bhutan is Gangkhar
Puensum, which is also a strong candidate for the highest unclimbed mountain in the
world. The Himalayas here are becoming increasingly rugged with heavily forested steep
valleys. The Himalayas continue, turning slightly northeast, through the Indian State
of Arunachal Pradesh as well as Tibet, before reaching their easterly conclusion in the
peak of Namche Barwa, situated in Tibet inside the great bend of the Yarlang
Tsangpo river. On the other side of the Tsangpo, to the east, are the Kangri
Garpo mountains. The high mountains to the north of the Tsangpo including Gyala Peri,
however, are also sometimes also included in the Himalayas.
 Going west from Dhaulagiri, Western Nepal is somewhat remote and lacks major high
mountains, but is home to Rara Lake, the largest lake in Nepal. The Karnali River rises in
Tibet but cuts through the center of the region. Further west, the border with India follows
the Sarda River and provides a trade route into China, where on the Tibetan plateau lies
the high peak of Gurla Mandhata. Just across Lake Manasarovar from this lies the
sacred Mount Kailash, which stands close to the source of the four main rivers of
Himalayas and is revered in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, Jainism, and Bonpo. In the
newly created Indian state of Uttarkhand, the Himalayas rise again as the Kumaon
Himalayas with the high peaks of Nanda Devi and Kamet. The state is also an important
pilgrimage destination, with the source of the Ganges at Gangotri and the Yamuna
at Yamunotri, and the temples at Badrinath and Kedarnath.
 The next Himalayan Indian state, Himachal Pradesh, it is noted for its hill stations,
particularly Shimla, the summer capital of the British Raj, and Dharmasala, the centre of
the Tibetan community in exile in India. This area marks the start of the Punjab Himalaya
and the Sutlej river, the most easterly of the five tributaries of the Indus, cuts through the
range here. Further west, the Himalayas form most of the southern portion of the Indian
administered Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The twin peaks of Nun
Kun are the only mountains over 7,000 m (4.3 mi) in this part of the Himalayas. Beyond
lies the renown Kashmir Valley and the town and lakes of Srinagar. Finally, the
Himalayas reach their western end in the dramatic 8000 m peak of Nanga Parbat, which
rises over 8,000 m (26,000 ft) above the Indus valley and is the most westerly of the
8000 m summits. The western end terminates at a magnificent point near Nanga Parbat
(killer mountain ) where Karakoram, Himalayas and Hindu Kush ranges intersects. It's
situated in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.