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Continent- Continent Collision and Formation of Himalayas:

 Continent- Continent Collision: In this type of collision, as both of the plates are lighter in nature, subduction
will not take place. The plate which will have higher velocity would slide beneath the other plate and lift it
upwards.
 Hence, in this region, doubling of earth’s crust takes place. This does not allow volcanic magma to come
out but earthquakes are associated with these collisions. C-C Collision gives rise to fold mountains having
no volcanic activities.
 Example: Himalayas, Atlas mountains and Alps mountains.
 Karakoram means black rocks. The official name of Karakoram Mountains is Krishna Giri Mountains.
 The rocks of this range is black in colour because when the oceanic plate of the Tethys Sea will get
subducted below the continental plate, it will lead to the development of volcanic activities.
 The magma that will ooze out which will be deposited over these mountains and these mountains will
have greater heights.
 During this period, the Himalayas were not formed yet. But before the formation of the Himalayas,
the Tethys Sea was going to get subducted below the continental plate of Asia which will result in the
formation of fold mountains and they will be associated with volcanic activities. Karakoram, Zaskar,
Ladakh ranges were formed as a result of the subduction of the Tethys Sea.

 The western part of the Indian Plate first collided with the Asian Plate. The collision happened so fast that a
portion of the Indian plate broke off and the intense collision also led to the formation of the Himalayas.
Formation of Himalayas:
 Himalayas are the youngest and the highest fold mountains that originated due to collision of the Indian Plate
with the Eurasian Plate. These two plates were separated by a narrow and shallow Tethys Sea.
 Indian Plate after separating from the Gondwanaland drifted northwards and travelled over the reunion hotspot
resulting in the formation of Deccan Lava Plateau.

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 Initially, the floor of the Tethys Sea was subducted below the Eurasian Plate which finally gave rise to
mountains immediately north of the Himalayas known as the Trans Himalayas.
 The western and Eastern arms of the Indian Plate consisted of Aravallis and Mikir-Regma Hills have
maximum push to the Asian Plate leading to the formation of a syntexial bend.
 Around 30 million years ago, the first phase of collision was completed as western part of the Indian Plate
collided first therefore the western Himalayas are older than the eastern part.
 These Himalayas have the presence of one Syntexial Bend on the western part (Nanga Parbat).
 The collision was so intense that the Indian Plate completely pushed the Asian plate backwards (latitudinally)
and a crack developed.
 Once it hit the Asian plate, the Indian Plate started hanging like a hinge and moved in an anticlockwise direction
and due to its movement, second collision will occur and will also create a syntexial bend because the eastern
part of the Indian plate is also strong and the part in the between the Western and Eastern part of the Indian
Plate will be pushed back by the Asian Plate and that is why Himalayas have a convexo-concave shape.
Significance pertaining to the location of the eastern and Western Part of Himalayas:
 Eastern part of the Himalayas is younger than the Western part of Himalayas and the former is closer to the
Tropic of Cancer whereas the latter is far away from the Tropic of Cancer because the first push was very
powerful.
 The Eastern Part of himalayas is also not very cold because it is very close to water bodies and thereby it has
widespread vegetation.

Significance of Syntaxial bends:

 The major reason behind Brahmaputra entering India is the rivers (one running in the west and other running
in the east) originating out of the glaciers of the
Mansarovar Lake are encountering with the syntexial bend
of himalayas.
 If there hadn't been syntexial bend, the river would have
straight away ran off which coming inside the Indian
territory.
 Same bend is applicable for River Indus which makes it
flow from Jammu.

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Proof behind Indian Peninsula being slightly tilted towards the East: All the rivers originating from the
Western Ghats instead of draining into the Arabian Sea, they travel all the way and fall into the Bay of Bengal.

Himalayan Rivers:
 Himalayas Rivers being formed out of the glaciers are perennial in nature unlike the Peninsular Rivers which
are rain fed.
 This is where the interlinking of rivers becomes very important. It means to replenish the deficit of water
in the peninsular water bodies with the water from the Himalayan rivers.
 This is an anthropogenic idea but this is not a good idea because marine biodiversity would be disastrous.
 Also, topographically, the process would be very complicated and economically it is not very viable.
 Whenever two rivers would be connected, canals would cross through national parks and sanctuaries
which would ultimately lead to displacement of people and animals (social cost).
 Himalayas are still rising at the rate of 5-10 cm per year because the Indian plate is still sliding below the
Eurasian Plate.
 The rise of Himalayas is one of the chief
evidences of C-C Collision.
 With the Convergent Plate boundary and the rise
of the Himalayas, there is equivalent sea-floor
spreading in the Indian Ocean.
 Presence of marine sediments and fossils in
Himalayas are also indicating that Himalayas
can be extremely rich in petroleum deposits.
 Presence of saline lakes at very high altitude (very less evaporation) indicates the presence of Tethys Sea in
the past. Tso Kar Complex has a highly saline lake.
Divisions of the Himalayas:
Great Himalayas:
 Highest mountain ranges of the world also known as Great/Inner Himalaya, Central Himalaya or Himadri
(throughout the year covered with snow).
 Average elevation of 6,100 m above sea level
 These are continuous mountains starting from Nanga Parbat in the west and Namcha Barwa in the East.
 Mostly covered in snow, hence sources of various rivers because of the presence of various glaciers.
 Central part of the Himalayas has greater height than the western and eastern part. This is termed as hogback
appearance. Hence, the Kumaon and Nepal Himalayas are at greater heights than the Punjab himalayas.
 Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, is in the Great Himalayas.
 Because the Himalayas run from west to east, it acts as a barrier and blocks the cold wind from Siberia, thereby
acting as a climatic divider.
 Himalayas also act as a drainage divide and protect the Indian subcontinent from the attacks of foreigners.
 They are also one of the major cultural divides from India because of the ecological value of the mountains
(Kedarnath, Badrinath and asylum to Tibetans).

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Middle or Lesser Himalayas:

 Lower in height and are situated in between the Shiwaliks in
the south and the Greater Himalayas in the north therefore
known as Lesser or Middle Himalayas.
 In between the Greater Himalayas and the Middle Himalayas,
there is the valley of Kashmir and because of continuous
deposition of river and glacial sediments (fluvio-glacial
sediments→ Karewas), making the land extremely fertile.
 Glaciers originating from the Great Himalayas carried large
amounts of sediments such as glacial tilite when the middle
himalayas started rising.
 These deposits are contained between Great and Middle Himalayas which led to the formation of very
fertile soil known as karewas in Kashmir.
 It is important for most temperate crops such as apple, saffron (zafran), peach, etc.
 Dhauladhar, Pirpanjal, Nagatibba, Mussoorie, and Mahabharat ranges are significant ranges.
 The Middle Himalayas are not continuous and are known by different names- Pir Panjal in J and K, Dhauladhar
in Himachal Pradesh and Mussoorie in Uttarakhand.
Shivaliks:
 Doons are the fertile plains located between Shivaliks and /middle Himalayas.
 During the upliftment of the third range of Himalayas, many rivers stopped forming temporary lakes.
 These rivers deposited the sediments at the bottom over the period of time the river could cut through the
Shivaliks, therefore, water drained off leaving behind fertile soil known as doons in the west and duars in
the east (Sikkim and Assam).
 Some of the water remained in the depression forming lakes known as Taals like Nainital, Bhimtaal, etc
Fact from the lecture:
Jhelum is forced to meander due to deposition between the Great and Middle Himalayas. This deposition has
resulted in formation of local base level causing river Jhelum to meander even in its youthful stage.

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