When did the Himalayas begin forming?
The Himalayas began forming 70 million years ago when the Indian tectonic plate collided with the Eurasian plate. This massive geological event pushed the oceanic crust of India under the Asian continent.
Questions about Himalayas
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How many glaciers cover the Himalayan range and how much fresh water do they store?
More than 15,000 glaciers cover the Himalayan range, storing approximately 3600 to 4400 gigatons of fresh water. Scientists refer to this region as the Third Pole because it holds the third-largest deposit of ice and snow on Earth after Antarctica and the Arctic.
Which countries does the Himalayan range cross territories of?
The Himalayan range crosses territories of five countries: Nepal, India, China, Bhutan, and Pakistan. More than 100 peaks exceed elevations of 7200 meters above sea level within these borders.
What is the highest known tree species in the Himalayas and at what elevation does it grow?
The highest known tree species is Juniperus tibetica located at 4800 meters in Southeastern Tibet. Temperatures fall by 2.0 degrees Celsius for every 1000 meters of altitude gain.
When does the Southwest Monsoon drive precipitation patterns across the entire range?
Heavy rain arrives on the southwest monsoon in June and persists until September. Darjeeling receives as much as 3800 millimeters of rainfall during this period.