A portion of land surface, which could be small or big, rising above 900

metres is regarded as ‘Mountains’ and those which are below this are

referred to as ‘Hills’

It has a conical peak and steep slope

Eg Himalayas, Rockies and Andes mountains etc

Hills

Height - 300-900 metre

Dome shaped

Formed by sedimentation

Fold mountains originate as a result of tectonic plates converging at a plate boundary.

So, any material, be it rocks, which was previously present convergent area will get compressed by the force experienced sides and will rise up to form some disoriented layered

Block Mountains

When the earth's crust cracks, faulting takes place. Block Mountains are upliftment or subsidence at regional level due to endogenetic forces

e.g. Vosges mountain in Europe, Mountain ranges of Satpura and Sierra Nevada Block Mountains in North America, Harz Block

Volcanic Mountains

Volcanic Mountains Formed due to volcanic activity

e.g. Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt. Fuji in Japan

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram

Kailash

Ladakh

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram

Ladakh

Kailash

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram Range

It is longest and highest among all the trans-Himalayan ranges.

Origin - Pamir Knot, highest plateau of the world and is also known as the “Roof of the World”.

It is a knot formed by convergence of Hindukush Mountains, Suleiman Mountains, Karakoram Mountainsand Kunlun Mountains.

• Highest peak - Godwin Austin or Qogir or K2 (8611m)

• Second highest peak of the world after Mt. Everest.

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram Range

Siachen Glacier – Highest glacier in India and longest in India (76km)

Nubra River originates from Siachen Glacier which is a tributary of Shyok River which in turn is atributary of Indus River.

The Baltoro Glacier - Located in Gilgit-Baltistan (63 km long)

The glacier gives rise to the Shigar River, which is a tributary of the Indus River.

Biafo Glacier – 70 km – 2nd Longest in India

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram

Ladakh

Kailash

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Ladakh Range

Ladakh range lie to the south-east of the Karakoram ranges.

It is separated by Shyok River from Karakoram and by Indus River from Zanskar Range in the south.

Khardung La Pass (India's highest motorable road)

Chang La Pass

These ranges extend into China where they are known as the Kailash ranges. They include Mt. Kailash and Mansarovar Lake.

Pangong Tso (largest saline lake between India and China)

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Ladakh

Highest point - Stok Kangri

The peak is located in Hemis National Park, It is the only national park in India north of the Himalayas

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Karakoram

Ladakh

Kailash

Trans-Himalayan Ranges

Kailash Range

Highest point – Mount Kailash (6,638 m)

The mountain is located near Lake Manasarovar

Source of some of the longest Asian rivers

Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali also known as Ghaghara (a tributary of the Ganges)

Himalayas – Zanskar (Greater Himalayas in Kashmir)

Zanskar range

It lies south of the Ladakh range Cut across by the Zanskar river

These ranges extend into Uttarakhand. They contain some prominent peaks like Mt. Kamet, Nanda Devi (a biosphere

reserve), Kedarnath etc.

Lipu Lekh Pass that leads to Mansarovar is a part of these ranges. Spiti Valley, Lahaul Valley, and Kinnaur Valley are also a part of these ranges.

Himalayas

1. Greater Himalayas / Himadri

2. Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalays

3. Outer Himalayas / Shivalik

4. North-Eastern Hills / Purvanchal

Greater Himalayas / Himadri

It is called Himadri because it is permanently snow-capped

Passes of Greater Himalayas

This is the northernmost of all the Himalayan ranges.

Average elevation - 6100 m above sea level

Length of 2400 km from Nanga Parbat in Kashmir to Namcha Barua in Tibet

Mt. Everest (Highest), Mt. Kanchenjunga (3rd highest) , Mt. Makalu (5th highest) etc. are a part of these ranges.

Greater Himalayas / Himadri

Ladakh - Zoji La

Himachal Pradesh - Bara Lacha La, Shipki La

Uttarakhand - Thaga La, Niti Pass, Lipu Lekh

Sikkim - Nathu La, Jelep La

Arunachal Pradesh – Bomdi La

It is mainly formed of the central crystalline rocks (granites and gneisses) overlain by metamorphosed sediments.

Greater Himalayas / Himadri

The Greater Himalayas are almost a contiguous range.

The Greater Himalayas receive less rainfall as compared to the Lesser Himalayas and the Shiwaliks.

Himalayas

Greater Himalayas / Himadri

Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas

Outer Himalayas / Shivalik

North-Eastern Hills / Purvanchal

Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas

Less in height and discontinuous

Elevations vary from 3,700 to 4,500 m above sea level.

The important ranges included are

Pir Panjal (Kashmir)

Dhauladhar (Himachal Pradesh)

Mussoorie Range (Uttarakhand)

Mahabharat (Nepal)

Darjeeling Hills (West Bengal)

Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas

The flat valleys between the Lesser Himalaya and the Shiwalik range are called ‘doons’ or ‘Duns’ of which Dehra Dun is the most famous.

Pir Panjal range - longest range of the middle Himalayas.

It is cut across by the Jhelum river & Chenab river.

Famous passes of this range include - Pir Panjal Pass, Banihal Pass (connects Jammu and Srinagar)

Dhauladhar ranges are the extension of Pir Panjal into Himachal Pradesh. They are cut across by the river Ravi.

Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas

This range consists of the famous valley of Kashmir, the Kangra and Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh

Majority of the Himalayan hill stations like Shimla, Mussoorie, Dalhousie, Ranikhet, Nainital, Almora and Darjeeling, etc. are located here.

Himalayas

Greater Himalayas / Himadri

Middle Himalayas / Lesser Himalayas

Outer Himalayas / Shivalik

North-Eastern Hills / Purvanchal

Outer Himalayas / Shivalik

The outer most range of the Himalayas is called the Shivaliks.

The Shiwaliks extend from Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir State to Assam.

Altitude varies between 900 and 1100 metres.

These ranges are composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by rivers from the main Himalayan ranges located farther north. These valleys are covered with thick gravel

and alluvium.

Outer Himalayas / Shivalik

Jammu Region - Jammu Hills

Arunachal Pradesh - Dafla, Miri, Abor and Mishmi Hills

Uttarakhand - Dhang Range, Dundwa Range

Nepal - Churia Ghat Hills

Hills of North East

Made of sedimentary rocks

Dafla, Mishmi, Abor, Miri and Patkai hills - Arunachal Pradesh Mikir hills - Assam

Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills - Meghalaya

Naga hills – Nagaland (Saramati (3,826 m) is the highest peak)

Mizo or Lushai hills - Mizoram The highest point is the Blue Mountain (2,157 m)

Aravali Hills

Oldest fold mountains of the world

Starts from Delhi, then passes through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ends in Gujarat.

800 km from Delhi to Palanpur in Gujarat

Average Height - 400-600 m

Highest Peak – 1722 m

(Gurusikhar peak in Mount Abu)

Vindhya Range

It runs east-west direction from South Gujarat to Sasaram in Bihar for a distance of over 1,200 km.

Average elevation - 300 to 650 m

The Vindhyas are continued eastwards as the Bharner and Kaimur hills.

In Bihar, the Vindhayas are known as Kaimur hills.

The highest point of the Vindhyas is the Sad-bhawna Shikhar ("Goodwill Peak"), which lies 2,467 feet (752 m) above the sea level

Satpura Range

Satpura range is a series of seven mountains

It runs in an east-west direction south of the Vindhyas and in between the Narmada and the Tapi.

Commencing from the Rajpipla Hills in the west, through the Mahadev Hills to the Maikala Range, it stretches for a distance of about 900 km.

Dhupgarh (1,350 m) near Pachmarhi on Mahadev Hills is the highest peak.

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats are called

Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka

Nilgiri hills in Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Cardamom Hills in Kerala

Anamalai Hills in Kerala

Western Ghats

Anaimudi (2,695 m) is the highest peak in Western Ghats and the whole of Peninsular India.

Anaimudi is a knot of 3 hills which are the Anaimalai from the north, the Palni from the north-east and the Cardamom Hills from the south.

DodaBetta (2,637 m) is the second highest peak of the Western Ghats and the whole of Peninsular India.

Western Ghats

The Nilgiri Hills marks the junction of the Western Ghats with Eastern Ghats.

Western Ghats are a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Thal ghat and Bhor ghat are important passes in the Sahyadri Range which provide passage by road and rail between the Konkan Plains in the west and the Deccan Plateau in

the east.

Western Ghats

Thal ghat (Kasara ghat) connects Mumbai with Nasik and Bhor ghat connects Mumbai with Pune.

The southern part of the Western Ghats is separated from the main Sahyadri range by Pal ghat Gap which presents a sudden break in the continuity of this mountain range.

Pal ghat gap (Palakkad gap) connects Kochi with Coimbatore.

Western Ghats

Konkan coast - Maharashtra coast and Goa coast

Kanara Coast - Karnataka

Malabar Coast - Kerala and Karnataka coast

The major river systems originating in the Western Ghats include Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna and Tungabhadra.

Eastern Ghats

In striking contrast to the continuous eminence of the Western Ghats, it is a chain of highly broken and dissected hills starting from the Mahanadi in Orissa to the Vaigai in Tamil Nadu.

These dissected hills are known as

Nalla Malai and Palkonda in Andhra Pradesh

Javadi and Shavaroy in Tamil Nadu

Arma Konda (1680 m) is the tallest peak of Eastern Ghats, it is in Andhra Pradesh

Eastern Ghats

The Northern Circars lies between Mahanadi and Krishna rivers in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

The second part of the eastern coastal plain called as Coromandal Coast lies between Krishna and Kaveri region. It lies in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Others

Gawilgarh Hills – Maharashtra

Harischandra Range - Maharashtra

Rajmahal Hills – Jharkhand

Garhjat Hills – Odisha

Sirumalai Hills – Tamil Nadu

Seshachalam Hills – Andhra Pradesh

Varusanadu Hills - Tamil Nadu