Question

Write briefly three features of the Shiwalik range which affect human life negatively.

Answer 1

Hint: Shiwalik, a sub-Himalayan range in northern India, is also listed by the Siwalik Range, also known as the Shivalik Hills or Outer Himalayas. It extends more than 600 miles [1,000 km] west-northwest from the Tista River in Sikkim, northeast India, across Nepal, northwestern India, and northern Pakistan.

Complete answer:
Three aspects of the Shiwalik range have a negative impact on human life:
i) Landslides are very common due to the formation of loose rock material.
(ii) It is earthquake-prone, as shown by earthquakes in Chamoli and Uttarkashi.
(iii) Soil erosion has the greatest effect.

Shivalik ranges are weak in nature since they are made up of unconsolidated sediments of gravel and alluvium. They are vulnerable to earthquakes and landslides since they are located at the point where the Eurasian and indo-Australian plates collide.

It is said that disturbances in the natural stability of a slope trigger landslides. Actually it is said to be that they can occur in conjunction with heavy rains or as a result of droughts, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. Connecting with this, Mudslides occur when water accumulates quickly in the ground, causing a flood of water-soaked rock, earth, and debris.

The southern hills of the Assam Himalayas, extending east 400 miles through southern Bhutan to the Brahmaputra River, are often considered part of the Siwalik. The Shiwaliks are the Himalayas' most remote mountain range.

They have a diameter of 10 to 50 kilometres and a height of 900 to 1100 metres. These parts are made up of uncoordinated rivers that flow south from the main Himalayas. The alluvium rocks that cover these valleys are thick. The Duns, also known as Dehradun, Kotli Dun, and Patli Dun, are a long valley that lies between the small Himalayas and the Shiwaliks.

Note: It comprises alluvial sediments carried in by rivers flowing from the Himalayas' upper reaches. Since they are situated at the convergent tectonic plates of the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates, the Shivalik ranges are more vulnerable to landslides and earthquakes.