Major Glaciers and Passes in the Himalayas
Major Glaciers under the Himalayas
- Major 5 glaciers are found on the Karakoram range in the state of Jammu and Kashmir –
(i) Sasaimi
(ii) Biafo
(iii) Siachen
(iv) Baltoro
(v) Hisfar
- Sasaimi Glacier is the largest glacier in India. Siachen Glacier is the easternmost glacier on the Karakoram range.
- The Siachen Glacier is located on the Karakoram mountain range near the Karakoram Pass.
- Siachen Glacier is the origin of Nubra River. The area around the Nubra River is known as the Nubra River Valley.
- There are two important glaciers in the state of Uttarakhand –
(i) Gangotri
(ii) Milam
- The Jemu Glacier is located on the northern border of the state of Sikkim. The origin of the Teesta River is the Jemu Glacier.
Note – Teesta River is also known as Teesa River.
- The Teesta River is a tributary of the Brahmaputra River.
Major Passes under the Himalayas
There are five major passes in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which are as follows –
(i) Karakoram
(ii) Khardungala
(iii) Burzil
(iv) Zojila
(v) Banihal
- Karakoram Pass is the highest pass in India.
- The Karakoram Pass is located near the Siachen Glacier.
- The China-Pakistan road route through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir passes through the Karakoram Pass.
- Khardungla Pass is located on the Ladakh range.
- Leh is in the south of the Ladakh range. To reach Siachen Glacier from Leh, one has to pass through Khardungla Pass.
- Burjil Pass and Zojila Pass are situated on the Jaskar hill.
- The road from Srinagar to Leh passes through Zojila Pass, it is situated on the Zaskar Range.
- The westernmost range of the Lesser Himalayas is called the Kopirpanjal range and the easternmost range is called the Dhauladhar range.
- Srinagar is situated between the Greater Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range.
There are two passes on the Pir Panjal mountain range –
(i) Pir Panjal Pass
(ii) Banihal Pass
- The valley between the Greater Himalayas and the Pir Panjal is called the Kashmir Valley. Srinagar-Avandal Lake is located in the Kashmir Valley itself.
- The road going from Jammu to Srinagar, NH1A, passes through Banihal pass. The Jawahar tunnel is located in the Banihal pass itself.
- National Highway NH1A passes through Jawahar Tunnel.
There are mainly three passes in Himachal Pradesh –
(i) Baralachala
(ii) Shipkila
(iii) Rohtang Pass
- Baralachala Pass is located on the Zaskar Range.
- To the south of the Dhauladhar range is Mandi, an important city of Himachal Pradesh, the road from Mandi to Leh passes through the Baralachala Pass.
- Shipkila Pass is located on the Himachal Pradesh and Tibet border.
- Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh on the Dhauladhar range.
- Near the Shipkila Pass, the Sutlej River enters Himachal Pradesh.
- Sutlej river originates from Rakastal near Mansarovar Lake in Tibet.
- Shipkila Pass is located at Jaskar Range.
- The four major passes on the Zaskar range are Burjila, Zojila, Baralachala and Shipkila.
- Under the Zaskar category, there are two passes in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Burjil and Zo district and under the state of Himachal Pradesh, Baralachala and Shipkila.
- There are mainly 4 passes in Uttarakhand, Mullingala, Manala, Nitila and Lipulekh.
- There are two major passes in the state of Sikkim namely Nathula and Jelepala.
- Chumbi Valley is located in the state of Sikkim. The route to Tibet via Chumbighati passes through Nathula and Jelepaladars.
- Road trade between India and China is done through Nathula Pass.
- There are six passes located in the state of Arunachal Pradesh namely Bomdila, Yangyap, Kangrikarpola, Diphu, Pangsad and Likhapani.
- Bomdila, Yangyapal and Kangri Karpoladra are located on the Tibet border.
- Diphu, Pangsad and Likhapani Pass are located on the Myanmar border.
- Bomdila Pass is also known as Bumla Pass.
- Tuzu Pass is located on the Manipur and Myanmar border.
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