Geography

(A) The Great Himalayas or Himadri : These are those ranges which are always snow capped. These ranges contain several high peaks which exceed 8000 meters above sea level. Mount Everest is the highest peak (8, 848 metres) among them. In addition to that K2 (8, 611) Kanchenjunga (8, 589 meters) Dhaulagiri (8, 172 metres) Nanga Parbat (8, 126) and Annpurna (8, 078 meters) etc are some other high peak. As these ranges remain always covered with snow so they are called, 'The ‘Himadri’. The Himalaya consists of three parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent. A number of valleys lie between these ranges. The core of this part of Himalayas is composed of granite.
(B) The Middle Himalayas or the Himachal : These ranges lie below the great Himalayas. Their altitude varies between 3700 and 4500 meters. There are alternating ridges and valleys among these ranges. The Kathmandu valley in Nepal as well as the Kashmir valley in India are the largest valleys in these regions. The Pir Panjal range in Kashmir also belongs to this part of the Himalayas. The ranges are mainly composed of highly compressed and altered rocks.
(C) The Outer Himalayas or the Shivalik : These are the foot hill ranges of the Himalayas. Their altitude varies between 900 to 1100 metres. These ranges are often discontinue. They have gentle slopes towards the north and step slopes towards the South. These range is made of unconsolidated material such as mud, silt and soft rock and is prone to earth quakes and landslides. Some narrow valleys are found between Shivalik and Himachal. They are called dunes. E.g. Dehradun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun.