HIMALAYA (" the abode of snow," from the Sanscrit, hima, snow, and i(aya, abode), in s. central Asia, is the most elevated and stupendous mountain system on the globe. It is not, as sometimes represented, a single chain, but a range of rugged snowy peaks depending from the high table-land of Tlubet, and separated by deep gorges, the outlets of the streams originating in the melted snow and ice of the interior. The mass of the Himalaya proper extends from the great bend of the Indus in the w., to the junc tion of the &nlit] with the Brahmaputra in the or f rem long. 73° 23' to 95° 40' c., distance of nearly 1500 miles. Their average breadth is about 150 miles. The mean elevation of the range is from 16,000 to 18,000 ft., but 45 of its peaks are now known to exceed 23.000 ft. in height. Of these there are in Kumaon, Nanda Devi. 25,749 ft.; in Nepali!, Dhawalagiri, 26,826 ft.; Mount Everest, 29,002 (the highest known point on the globe); itud Kunchinjinga, 28.156 ft.; in Bhotan, Chumalari is 23,946 ft. above the sea. The southern surface of the Himalaya comprises three distinct regions—first, adjoining the plains of Hindustan, the Tarai, a grass-covered marshy plain; next, the great belt of Saul Wood, stretching along a great part of the range; and beyond it the Dhuns, a belt of detritus, extending to the foot of the true mountains.
Above these regions, which are extremely unhealthy, are placed the sanitaria for troops—Darjeeling, Simla, Mu•ee. There are no plains and but few lakes in the Hima laya; the chief of the latter are Nainital, in Kumaon, 6,520 ft., and the lake of Cashmir, 5,124 ft. above the sea.
Snow falls at, rare intervals in the mountains as low as 2,500 ft., but at 6,000 ft. it snows regularly every winter. The limit of perennial snow in the Himalaya is 16,200 ft. on the s., and 17,400 ft. on the n. side; an anomaly probably owing to the atmos phere of Thibet, and the small quantity of rain and snow' that falls there. 'lite high range of the Himalaya forms a vast screen which intercepts and condenses nearly all the moisture carried by the winds from the Indian ocean, and deposits it on the south ern face of the mountains; hence at Chirra Punji, 4,200 ft. above the sea, as much as 600 in. of rain has been known to fall in one year. Glaciers are found in every part of the range above the snow-line; one of these, that of Deotal in Gurltwal, is 17,945 ft. above the sea. The mean height of the passes in the Himalaya is 17,800 ft., the highest known
is Ibi-Gamin pass into Gurh•al, 20,457 ft., and the highest used for traffic is the Parang pass in Spiti, 18,500 ft. above the sea. All the passes above 16,000 ft. are closed with snow from Nov. till May. Trees and cultivated grains attain their highest limits in the mountains at 11,800 and shrubs at 15,200 ft. above the sea. The tea-plant can be culti vated along the entire southern face of the Himalaya to an elevation of 5,000 ft.. but the best is produced at front 2,000 to 3,000 ft. above the sea. Tigers and apes are found at an elevation of 11,000, and the leopard at 13,000 ft., while the dog follows the herds over passes 18,000 ft. high. Snakes are found at an elevation of 15,000 ft., but the highest limit of the mosquito is 8.000 ft. above the sea. The geological structure of the Himalayas consists of crystalline rocks, with granite, gneiss, and -a schistose formation, comprising micaceous, chloridic, and talcose sehists. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in the central range. About the meridian of 82' e., near the Mansaro•ar lake, a gneat transverse range, which further n. is called the Giang-ri mountains, abuts ag4inst the Himalaya from Thibet. This ridge forms the water shed between the Sanpu (afterwards the Brahmaputra) on the e., and the Indus and Ganges on the west. These vast river systems, with their magnificent tributaries, derive their chief supplies from the melting of the snows in the Himalaya, and conse quently are in flood at the hottest season of tire year when the moisture they supply is most needed..
On account of the majestic height of this mountain riMme, and the apparent impossi bility of reaching its summit, the imagination of the ancient Hindus invested it with the most mysterious properties, and connected it with the history of seine of their deities. In the Puriluas, the Himalaya is placed to the s. of the fabulous mountain Meru, which stands in the center of the world (see MEnu), and described as the king of the moun tains, who was inaugurated as such when Prithu was installed in the government of the earth. As the abode of Siva, he is the goal of penitent pilgrims, who repair to his SUM in order to win the favors of this terrific god. His wife was Mena, whom the Paris or demigods Vairitjas engendered by the mere power of their thought.