Indian Geography - How were the Himalayas formed? How was the North Indian Plains formed??
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The Himalayas are relatively young folded mountains. According the Theory of Continental Drift, there were several phases in the genesis history of the Himalayas:\n\nAbout 250 million years ago, there was a single super continent (Pangea) on Earth. It was surrounded by a large ocean.\n\nAbout 200 million years ago, the super continent (Pangea) started to split into different land masses and moved apart. An extensive sea (Tethys) stretched along the latitudinal area presently occupied by the Himalayas.\n\nThe two land masses, the Eurasian (Angara) and the Indian sub-continent (Gondwana) moved closer and closer,  then the collision happened and uplifted the highest & youngest mountain ranges on the Earth.\n\nMore Info. \nhttp://www.100gogo.com/hima.htm
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What type of mountains? The largest mountain chain in the world is the mid-oceanic ridge and it is created by upwelling mantle. Other types of mountains are created by the subduction of basalt under continental crust (e.g. the Andes Mountains). Still other types of mountains are created by continent-continent collision (e.g. the Alps). Still other types of mountains are created by hot spot vulcanism (e.g. The Hawaii Islands). Other types of mountains are created by trans-pression (e.g. The Coast Ranges of California). Be more specific as to which type of mountains you refer.
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this is a vague queston. But I believe i know what you are asking. Well He already believed that Pangea had formed and broken apart. Evidence from Glacial Striations and rock formations, not to mension an almost perfect mactch of shorelines. I guess it would have more support for his theory. He concluded that the continents were moving. What he could not prove was the mechinism for the movement. it is not actually the continents moving. They are hitching a ride on the techtonic plates.
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This is the Wilson Cycle, and it is driven by plate tectonics. \n\nContinents are composed of relatively light weight felsic igneous rocks such as granites and granodiorites. Ocean basins are composed of mafic igneous rocks like basalt and gabbro that are heavier than continental crust. Since the earth's mantle is plastic, these different masses of rock tend to 'float' at different levels. This is called isostacy.\n\nOceanic plate motion originates at the mid-ocean ridges, pushing oceanic plates outward towards the continents. This motion and force is far from being uniform from one ocean basin to another, and is not even consistent along the length of the mid-ocean spreading centers. \n\nWhere oceanic plates meet continental plates there is a convergent plate boundary and generally this leads to subduction of the oceanic plate. There is considerable force however, and the style of subduction does vary. Since the forces that are being applied, as well as the resistance of the continental plates all are varied, there are inequities that cause the continents to move in one direction. Eventually this motion results in a collision of continents called a supercontinent because continents will not subduct under one another. India and Asia, and the Himalayas are a great example of a continental convergent plate boundary. Eventually the convection forces that cause the supercontinent to form will begin rifting it apart again creating new smaller continents. \n\nHere is a model of the Wilson Cycle:\nhttp://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/vageol/vahist/wilsonsimp.html
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Climate in India\n\nThe Himalayas isolate South Asia from the rest of Asia. South of these mountains, the climate, like the terrain, is highly diverse, but some geographers give it an overall, one-word characterization--violent. What geographers have in mind is the abruptness of change and the intensity of effect when change occurs--the onset of the monsoon rains, sudden flooding, rapid erosion, extremes of temperature, tropical storms, and unpredictable fluctuations in rainfall. Broadly speaking, agriculture in India is constantly challenged by weather uncertainty.\n\nIndian seasons : It is possible to identify seasons, although these do not occur uniformly throughout South Asia. The Indian Meteorological Service divides the year into four seasons: the relatively dry, cool winter from December through February; the dry, hot summer from March through May; the southwest monsoon from June through September when the predominating southwest maritime winds bring rains to most of the country; and the northeast, or retreating, monsoon of October and November.\n\nThe southwest monsoon blows in from sea to land. The southwest monsoon usually breaks on the west coast early in June and reaches most of South Asia by the first week in July (see fig. 6). Because of the critical importance of monsoon rainfall to agricultural production, predictions of the monsoon's arrival date are eagerly watched by government planners and agronomists who need to determine the optimal dates for plantings.\n\nTheories about why monsoons occur vary. Conventionally, scientists have attributed monsoons to thermal changes in the Asian landmass. Contemporary theory cites other factors--the barrier of the Himalayas and the sun's northward tilt (which shifts the jet stream north). The hot air that rises over South Asia during April and May creates low-pressure areas into which the cooler, moisture-bearing winds from the Indian Ocean flow.These circumstances set off a rush of moisture-rich air from the southern seas over South Asia.\n\nThe southwest monsoon occurs in two branches. After breaking on the southern part of the Peninsula in early June, the branch known as the Arabian Sea monsoon reaches Bombay around June 10, and it has settled over most of South Asia by late June, bringing cooler but more humid weather. The other branch, known as the Bay of Bengal monsoon, moves northward in the Bay of Bengal and spreads over most of Assam by the first week of June. On encountering the barrier of the Great Himalayan Range, it is deflected westward along the Indo-Gangetic Plain toward New Delhi. Thereafter the two branches merge as a single current bringing rains to the remaining parts of North India in July.\n\nClimate India - The withdrawal of the monsoon is a far more gradual process than its onset. It usually withdraws from northwest India by the beginning of October and from the remaining parts of the country by the end of November. During this period, the northeast winds contribute to the formation of the northeast monsoon over the southern half of the Peninsula in October. It is also known as the retreating monsoon because it follows in the wake of the southwest monsoon. The states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala receive most of their rainfall from the northeast monsoon during November and December. However, 80 percent of the country receives most of its rainfall from the southwest monsoon from June to September.\n\nSouth Asia is subject to a wide range of climates--from the subfreezing Himalayan winters to the tropical climate of the Coromandel Coast and from the damp, rainy climate in the states of Assam and West Bengal to the arid Great Indian Desert. Based on precipitation and temperature, experts define seven climatic regions: the Himalayas, Assam and West Bengal, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Western Ghats and coast, the Deccan (the interior of the Peninsula south of the Narmada River), and the Eastern Ghats and coast (see fig. 7).\n\nIn the Hima
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A mountain is usually produced by the movement of lithospheric plates, either orogenic movement or epeirogenic movement. The compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upwards, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, a mountain. The absolute heights of features termed mountains and hills vary greatly according to an area's topography. The major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity. Mountain creation tends to occur in discrete periods, each referred to as an orogeny. The orogeny may last millions of years, and the uplifted region is being eroded away, producing valley-and-peak topography, even while the uplift is taking place. Two types of mountain are formed depending on how the rock reacts to the tectonic forces – block mountains or fold mountains.\n\nThe compressional forces in continental collisions may cause the compressed region to thicken, so the upper surface is forced upwards. In order to balance the weight, much of the compressed rock is forced downwards, producing deep "mountain roots". Mountains therefore form downwards as well as upwards (see isostasy). However, in some continental collisions part of one continent may simply override part of the other, crumpling in the process.\n\nSome isolated mountains were produced by volcanoes, including many apparently small islands that reach a great height above the ocean floor.\n\nBlock mountains are created when large areas are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements. The uplifted blocks are block mountains or horsts. The intervening dropped blocks are termed graben: these can be small or form extensive rift valley systems. This form of landscape can be seen in East Africa, the Vosges, the Basin and Range province of Western North America and the Rhine valley.\n\nWhere rock does not fault it folds, either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The upfolds are anticlines and the downfolds are synclines; in asymmetric folding there may also be recumbent and overturned folds. The Jura mountains are an example of folding. Over time, erosion can bring about an inversion of relief: the soft upthrust rock is worn away so the anticlines are actually lower than the tougher, more compressed rock of the synclines.
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The Earth's rocky outer crust solidified billions of years ago, soon after the Earth formed. This crust is not a solid shell; it is broken up into huge, thick plates that drift atop the soft, underlying mantle. \nThe plates are made of rock and drift all over the globe; they move both horizontally (sideways) and vertically (up and down). Over long periods of time, the plates also change in size as their margins are added to, crushed together, or pushed back into the Earth's mantle. These plates are from 50 to 250 miles (80 to 400 km) thick. \nThe map of the Earth is always changing; not only are the underlying plates moving, but the plates change in size. Also, the sea level changes over time (as the temperature on Earth varies and the poles melt or freeze to varied extents), covering or exposing different amounts of crust. \nThe current continental and oceanic plates include: the Eurasian plate, Australian-Indian plate, Philippine plate, Pacific plate, Juan de Fuca plate, Nazca plate, Cocos plate, North American plate, Caribbean plate, South American plate, African plate, Arabian plate, the Antarctic plate, and the Scotia plate.
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I think Stillkelsie and GruHairy have the best answers.  \n\nIf one (or both) of the colliding plates are oceanic plates (thinner and a bit denser), one will slide underneath the other and be pushed down.  You'll typically get a subsea trench where the two plates meet, such as the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.  After the sliding's gone on long enough, some of the "pushed-down" plate will melt, and the lighter melted rock will try to rise to the surface, where it can form volcanoes or cool underground as granites and such.\n\nIf two continental plates (thinner and less dense than oceanic plates) collide, they'll tend to mash each other and "pile up".  The Himalaya Mountains, earth's tallest, were formed when the Indian continental plate collided with Asia.\n\nYou get earthquakes associated with both types of collisions.
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yes it is close to the himlayas, as it is in kashmir, which is the state that is at the very North of the country. It doesnt have to be at the foothills of the himalayas to experience cold weather - it has a high altitude and the mountains add to its cold climate. it's NOT in the middle of india. maybe you should consult a map to get a clearer picture.
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I have heard stories about Indian Yogis(babaji) living in Himalayas for more than 1000 years or longer.I am interesting in visitng Himalayas and discover and meet such great people.Any one interested is welcome to join us in December month to visit himalayas and explore this subject in great detail.All suggestions are welcome.\nrishikeshfoundation@yahoo.com
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See my question about the age of the Appalachian Mountains.  And the similarities/ differences w/ Himalayans.  Oh yeah, Does hot water freeze faster than cold water?  If so, why?
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See in\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topography
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Him·a·la·ya Mountains (hĭm'ə-lā'ə, hĭ-mäl'yə) pronunciation or Him·a·la·yas (-əs, -yəs)\n\nA mountain system of south-central Asia extending about 2,414 km (1,500 mi) through Kashmir, northern India, southern Xizang (Tibet), Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan. The Himalayas include nine of the world's ten highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
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Mountains don't have any geographic functions because they are usually something thats formed when plates collide during tectonic movement or oceanic lithosphere is subducted undearneath continental lithosphere and magma boils to the surface. If you want to learn more about mountains, take an Earth Science class, or looking up plate tectonics online.
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You should take a look here to see the formation of the ocean basins: http://www.mos.org/oceans/planet/change.html\nand then the next page, to see one theory on where the water comees from:\nhttp://www.mos.org/oceans/planet/cycle.html\n\nPerhaps a better answer is here:\nhttp://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/oct99/941236464.Es.r.html\n\nFurther discussion on the origins of all the water is given here:\nhttp://www.oceansonline.com/ocean_form.htm\nand under the "Origin of the oceans" title here:\nhttp://www.seafriends.org.nz/oceano/oceans.htm
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Complicted question. They're both made of a variety of rocks. Both contain ophiolitic rocks (oceanic crust), both contain accretionary melanges, made up of sea-floor sediments thrust repeatedly over each other. Both have limestone in them (top of Everest is limestone I think) and both have a load of granites in. Not a complete answer, but that would take forever.\n\nOrogenic belts (Alps, Himalayas, Andes) are complicated regions of deformation. However they have many similarities in the types of rocks they contain.
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well I don't know how old it is but I'm pretty sure they formed from two tectonics plates crashing in a convergent matter causing reverse faults\n\nin other words two land plate crashed and all that pressure made the mountains