Maarg Manthan · Topic 13.5

Himalayan Ranges – Shiwaliks, Lesser, Greater and Trans-Himalaya

Geography › India: Location, Geology and the Himalayas · Topic 13.5

The Himalayas are a series of parallel ranges about 2,400 km long: the Shiwaliks or Outer Himalaya in the south, the Lesser Himalaya or Himachal in the middle, the Greater Himalaya or Himadri in the north, the Trans-Himalaya beyond them in Tibet and Ladakh, and the Purvanchal in the east. They differ in height, rock, age and slope, and are separated by great thrust faults.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · India: Location, Geology and the Himalayas

At a Glance

Shiwaliks 600 to 1,500 m; youngest
Lesser Himalaya 3,500 to 4,500 m; hill resorts
Greater Himalaya Average about 6,100 m; Everest
Trans-Himalaya Zanskar, Ladakh, Kailas, Karakoram
Purvanchal Eastern hills from the Dihang bend southward
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: India: Location, Geology and the Himalayas

Where Does It Fit?

This is the fifth topic of the macro on India’s location, geology and the Himalayas. The previous topic covered the younger rock systems, and this one describes the Himalayan ranges built of them. The next topic gives the regional divisions of the Himalayas. Previous topic: Dravidian and Aryan Rock Systems of India. Next topic: Regional Divisions of the Himalayas.

How Are the Himalayan Ranges Arranged?

In short: the Himalayas rise in three steps from the plains, from the low Shiwaliks to the Lesser Himalaya to the great snow-covered Himadri, with the Trans-Himalaya behind them.

Range	Height and size	Features
Shiwaliks (Outer Himalaya)	600 to 1,500 m; about 2,400 km from the Potwar plateau to the Brahmaputra valley; width from 50 km in Himachal Pradesh to under 15 km in Arunachal Pradesh	The youngest range, 2 to 20 million years old; made of unconsolidated sand, gravel and conglomerate carried by rivers and folded by the northward push of the plate; southern slopes steep, northern slopes gentle; heavily cut by seasonal streams called chos; forested in the east, almost bare in the west; duns lie between them and the Lesser Himalaya
Lesser Himalaya (Himachal, Middle Himalaya)	3,500 to 4,500 m, with peaks above 5,000 m; 60 to 80 km wide	Metamorphic rocks and granites; steep bare southern slopes and gentler forested northern slopes; Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar, Mussoorie and Nag Tibba, Mahabharat Lekh in Nepal; hill stations such as Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital and Darjeeling
Greater Himalaya (Himadri)	Average height about 6,100 m, width about 25 km	Granite and gneiss core with metamorphosed sediments; snow-covered all year; highest peaks; asymmetric folds with steep south slope and gentle north slope, a hogback; source of the great glaciers; passes above 4,500 m
Trans-Himalaya (Tibetan Himalaya)	Average about 3,000 m; about 1,000 km east-west; 40 km wide at the ends and 225 km in the middle	Zanskar, Ladakh, Kailas and Karakoram ranges; dry, cold, high-altitude desert; Indus rises north of the Kailas range
Purvanchal (Eastern Hills)	Mostly 1,500 to 3,800 m	The Himalaya turns south at the Dihang gorge; Patkai Bum, Naga Hills, Manipur Hills and Mizo Hills; the watershed between India and Myanmar

The ranges are separated by major thrust faults: the Main Frontal Thrust between the Shiwaliks and the plains, the Main Boundary Thrust between the Shiwaliks and the Lesser Himalaya, and the Main Central Thrust between the Lesser and Greater Himalaya. They are the surfaces along which the plates are still moving, which is the reason for the seismic hazard, as in Earthquakes – Causes, Focus and Richter Scale.

What Are the Duns and the Syntaxial Bends?

Duns or Doons: flat valleys between the Lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks, formed when rivers were blocked by conglomerate and temporary lakes formed, which later filled with sediment. Dehradun, about 75 km long and 15 to 20 km wide, is the best known; Kotli, Patli Dun and Udhampur are others. In the east the equivalent are the duars.
Syntaxial bends: the Himalayas end at sharp southward bends at the Indus gorge in the west, near Nanga Parbat, and at the Brahmaputra or Dihang gorge in the east, near Namcha Barwa. The ranges bend because of the shape of the Indian plate’s edge, and the rivers cut deep gorges there.

What Are the Highest Peaks and the Trans-Himalayan Ranges?

Peak or range	Notes
Mount Everest (Sagarmatha, Chomolungma)	8,848.86 m by the joint measurement of Nepal and China in 2020; the highest in the world, on the Nepal-China border; located by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in the 1850s and named after George Everest
Kanchenjunga	8,586 m, on the Sikkim-Nepal border; the highest peak in India and the third highest in the world
Nanda Devi	7,816 m; the highest peak entirely within India
Nanga Parbat	8,126 m; the western anchor of the Himalayas
K2 (Godwin-Austen)	8,611 m; the second highest in the world, in the Karakoram
Karakoram Range	The northernmost range, with peaks above 8,000 m and huge glaciers such as Siachen, as in Himalayan Valleys, Snowline and Glaciers
Ladakh and Zanskar ranges	Parallel ranges north of the Greater Himalaya; the Ladakh plateau lies to the north-east of the Karakoram

The Purvanchal extends into the Arakan Yoma of Myanmar and, below the sea, into the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as in Ocean-Ocean Convergence and Island Arcs. As an analytical point, the Himalaya is not a single wall but a layered system with its own dynamics: the Shiwaliks are the most vulnerable to erosion and landslides, the Lesser Himalaya is the most populated, and the Greater Himalaya controls the glaciers and rivers. The Himalaya is still rising by a few millimetres a year, so its geology is a live process and not a finished one.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Facts Ranges and peaks asked
Hazard Thrust faults and earthquakes
Foundation Rivers, climate, passes

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the regional divisions of the Himalayas. Next topic: Regional Divisions of the Himalayas.

Key People and Terms

Himadri Greater Himalaya
Dun Valley between Lesser Himalaya and Shiwaliks
Chos Seasonal streams in the Shiwaliks
Hogback Ridge with steep and gentle slopes
Main Central Thrust Fault between Greater and Lesser Himalaya
Syntaxial bend Sharp bend at the end of the range

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Shiwaliks are the youngest and outermost.
Dehradun is the best-known dun.
Greater Himalaya averages about 6,100 m.
Syntaxial bends: Nanga Parbat and Namcha Barwa.
Kanchenjunga is the highest peak in India.

Do Not Confuse With

Shiwaliks and Lesser Himalaya Outermost low hills versus middle ranges
Himadri and Trans-Himalaya Main snow range versus ranges beyond it
Duns and duars West versus east

Memory Hook

Shiwalik, Himachal, Himadri, from foot to roof; doons in the dips, bends at the ends.

Mains Angle

Questions ask for features of each range. These points add depth.

Age Shiwaliks youngest
Hazard Thrusts and landslides
Role Hill stations and glaciers

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Describe the characteristics of the Shiwaliks, the Lesser Himalaya and the Greater Himalaya, and explain the formation of the duns.”

How to Answer

Order Three parallel ranges.
Features Height and rocks.
Duns Blocked-river lakes.
Beyond Trans-Himalaya and Purvanchal.

GS Relevance

Prelims: features, height, peaks, ranges, duns, syntaxial bends, Purvanchal. GS Paper 1: physical geography of India.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Shiwaliks?

The Shiwaliks, or the Outer Himalaya, are the southernmost and youngest range of the Himalayas, with heights of 600 to 1,500 metres. They are made of sand, gravel and conglomerate brought by rivers and folded by the northward push of the Indian plate, and they are cut by seasonal streams.

What are duns?

Duns or doons are longitudinal valleys between the Lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks, formed when rivers were dammed by conglomerate deposits to form temporary lakes, which later drained and filled with sediment. Dehradun is the most famous, and the equivalent valleys in the east are called duars.

What is the Greater Himalaya?

The Greater Himalaya, or Himadri, is the northernmost of the main ranges of the Himalayas, with an average height of about 6,100 metres. It has a core of granite and gneiss, is always snow-covered, and contains the highest peaks such as Everest and Kanchenjunga and the sources of many glaciers.

What are the syntaxial bends of the Himalayas?

The syntaxial bends are the sharp southward turns of the Himalayan ranges at their two ends: in the west around Nanga Parbat where the Indus cuts a gorge, and in the east around Namcha Barwa where the Brahmaputra or Dihang cuts a gorge.

Which is the highest peak in India?

Kanchenjunga, at 8,586 metres on the Sikkim-Nepal border, is the highest peak in India and the third highest in the world. Nanda Devi, at 7,816 metres in Uttarakhand, is the highest peak entirely within India, and Everest at 8,848.86 metres is the world's highest.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The Shiwaliks are the oldest range of the Himalayas.

False

They are the youngest.

2 Dehradun is a dun lying between the Lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks.

True

It is the best known dun.

3 The Greater Himalaya has an average height of about 6,100 m.