Question

Name the southernmost range of the Himalayas. Mention any features of this range.

Answer 1

Hint “Feature” is a distinct attribute of something, which may give it a unique identity. Many mountains and hills arranged in a line form a mountain range.
The southernmost range of the Himalayas starts from the Potwar Plateau in the west to the Brahmaputra river in the east.

Complete answer:
The Himalayas are the greatest mountain range in the world. The highest peaks in the world are found in this mountain range. They are young fold mountains formed by the collision of Indo-Australian plate with the Eurasian plate.
The Himalayas are divided into five ranges. They are:

> Trans-Himalayas (northern-most)
> Greater Himalayas (Himadri)
> Middle Himalayas (lesser Himalayas)
> Shivaliks (southern-most)
> Purvanchal (north-eastern)

Shivaliks are the southernmost range of the Himalayas. It starts from the Potwar Plateau in the west to the Brahmaputra river in the east.

Features of the Shivaliks
This range is approximately 2500km long and 40km wide. It is only 1200metres in height and is the lowest range of the Himalayas. It is also the youngest part of the range, which means that it is the most recently formed part of the Himalayas.

Since this range was formed after the rest of the mountain range, it obstructed the course of the rivers flowing from the higher lands. These rivers reached the Shivaliks and formed temporary lakes.

But over time, the river cut through the Shivaliks by eroding it and formed a course for themselves. They formed narrow clefts called ‘gorges’ between the mountains. These are known as ‘duns’. For e.g. Dehradun, Kotli Dun, Patli Dun etc. These gorges are covered with thick gravel and alluvium.

The rivers flow from higher mountains at a very great speed and hence, erode anything that comes in their way. As the rivers reach the Shivaliks, the velocity of the water flow decreases.

As the velocity decreases, the river starts depositing all the rocks and soil that is eroded from the higher lands. Therefore, this mountain range is composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by the rivers from the main Himalayan range.

Note:
It is also called the outermost Himalaya because it is towards the ocean.
The Himachal and Himadri are called the inner Himalayas as they are away from the ocean and towards the land.
They are called as Jammu hills in Jammu region, Churia Hills in Nepal, and Dafla, Miri, Abhor in Arunachal Pradesh.