Download PDF – Mountains and Mountain Ranges in India

Mountain ranges such as the Western Ghats, Himalayas, Aravalli, Eastern Ghats, Nilgiri, Shivalik, Vindhya, and Satpura mountain ranges make a significant contribution towards maintaining the beauty of geographical features, landscape, and balanced environment. Covered with dense and big forests, accommodating a wide variety of plants and animals, the mountains of India are prominent tourist attractions in the country. India has seven prominent mountain ranges that house various mountain peaks.

1. Himalayan Range – The Himalayan Mountain ranges are considered as the abode of the mountains, and the youngest and highest mountain range in the world. The Himalayan Mountains extend up to 2,500 km in length. It stretches from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the east.

2. Karakoram Range – Karakoram Mountains cover about 26.5% of the world’s total land surface and harbor over one-third of the global terrestrial biodiversity. The Karakoram is a large mountain range that stretches along the international boundaries of India, Pakistan, and China, with its northwestern edge extending into the countries of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The Karakoram Mountain range forms the northwestern extension of the greater Himalayan Mountain system and is the world’s 2^nd highest mountain range that covers a total area of about 207,000 sq. km.

3. Eastern Mountain Range/ Purvanchal Range- The Purvanchal Range lies along the Eastern border of India with Myanmar. The formation of this range was in a similar manner as in the case of the Himalayas by the collision of Tectonic Plates. Some of the prominent features of the Range include steep slopes, conical peaks, and deep valleys.

4. Satpura and Vindhyan Ranges – The Purvanchal Range lies along the Eastern border of India with Myanmar. The formation of this range was in a similar manner as in the case of the Himalayas by the collision of Tectonic Plates. Some of the prominent features of the Range include steep slopes, conical peaks, and deep valleys.

5. Aravalli Range – The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these two east-west ranges divide Indian Subcontinent into the Indo-Gangetic Plain of northern India and the Deccan Plateau of the south. The Narmada River originates from the north-eastern end of Satpura in Amarkantak and runs in the depression between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges.

6. Western Ghats – The Western Ghats mountain chain is one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots supporting significant biodiversity and endemicity, particularly among vascular plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. This chain of mountains span 140,000 sq. km, traversing the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. This region harbors the largest populations globally of tigers and Asian elephants, along with significant populations of other threatened species including dholes and gaurs.

7. Eastern Ghats – The Eastern Ghats are older than the Western Ghats, and have a complex geologic history related to the assembly and breakup of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia and the assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent. The Eastern Ghats are made up of charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, metamorphic gneisses, and quartzite rock formations. The structure of the Eastern Ghats includes thrusts and strike-slip faults all along with its range. Limestone, bauxite, and iron ore are found in the Eastern Ghats’ hill ranges.