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Nepal Himalaya is
known as the rooftop of the world.
The Himalayas are the highest
mountains in the world. Their
scenery is legendary. These
mountains have had an air of mystery
until recently. Even today, the vast
area of the Himalaya is untouched.
It has always remained a source of
fascination and inspiration for
people from all walks of life in the
world. Himalaya ("Him" means snow
and "Alaya" means abode), the abode
of snow and the Gods, extends about
2500 Kilometers. The Brahmaputra
(Assam) in the east and Indus river
in the west demarcate the length of
the Himalaya. It is 300 Kms wide and
rises nine kilometers above the sea
level.
The Nepal Himalaya is in the centre
of the Himalayan range. Eight peaks
that exceed 8000 metres including
the world's highest peak Mt Everest
are the prominent members of Nepal
Himalaya. It has a convergence of
1310 magnificent peaks over 6,000
metres. Nepal has become famous
through out the world due to these
mountains.
It is a very interesting thing to
know that there was a sea (the
Tethys sea) between Indian Gondwana
continent (Indian sub-continent and
Eurasian continent). Around 70 and
80 million years ago, the Himalaya
began to come into existence. It is
a peak of each evolution only about
10 to 20 million years back.
Therefore, the Himalaya is extremely
young and geologically active.
According to geologists, mountains
are growing at a rate of 15 cm (6
inch) a year as the Indian plate
moving northward and forcing under
the Eurasian plate. This process
(plate tectonics) causes the
earthquakes in this region.
Geologists say that the collision of
continents is squeezing up
sedimentary rocks that were once
below the sea. The mountains of
Himalaya are the result of the
collision of continents.
Nepal opened its mountains to all
the mountaineers around the world in
1949. Only then mountaineers started
coming to climb the mountains of
Nepal. Especially, the 8000 meters
peaks attracted most of the
climbers. Afterward, climbers
attempted the various untried routes
without oxygen. Today, the Nepal
Himalaya has been proved as a great
theatre of mountaineering activity.
Why are the mountaineers or saints
or philosophers or researchers or
adventurers of the world attracted
towards the Nepalese Himalaya ? It
is not just the height that gives
the Himalaya their grandeur, but it
is also the tremendous contrast with
the deep valleys that wind between
the peaks. Within these deep
valleys, one can see the flow of the
glacier-fed rivers that are swift,
white, and exciting.
The Nepal Himalaya can be divided
into nine mountain regions, which
are as follows:
(1) Khumbu Himal Region
(2) Kangehenjunga Region
(3) Rolwaling Himal Region
(4) Langtang and Jugal Himal Region
(5) Manaslu and Ganesh Himal Region
(6) Annapurna Himal Region
(7) Dhaulagiri Himal Region
(8) Kanjiroba Himal Region
(9) Far West Himal Region
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