Describe the main features of the three parallel ranges of the Himalayas.
How to lay out the answer. Follow the frame, then write it in your own words.
1 · Open in one line. The Himalayas are young fold mountains running about 2,500 km from the Indus to the Brahmaputra in three parallel ranges.
2 · Himadri: height and nature. The Greater Himalayas are the northernmost and highest range, averaging 6,000 m. They are the most continuous range, snow-bound, with many glaciers.
3 · Himadri: peaks and passes. Everest, Kanchenjunga and Nanga Parbat rise above 8,000 m. Passes include Shipki La, Nathu La and Zoji La. The Ganga and Yamuna rise here.
4 · Himachal. The Lesser Himalayas lie between 1,000 and 4,500 m and are about 50 km wide. They have the Pir Panjal and Dhaula Dhar ranges, hill stations like Shimla and valleys like Kullu.
5 · Shiwaliks. The Outer Himalayas are the lowest, 900 to 1,100 m, and 10 to 50 km wide. Long valleys called duns, such as Dehra Dun, lie between them and the Himachal.
6 · Link to life. Hill stations bring tourism, and Himalayan glaciers feed the rivers of the plains.
7 · Close in one line. So height falls from the Himadri in the north to the Shiwaliks in the south.
Scoring tip: Give two points for each range: its height and one named example. Write the three names in order from north to south.
