HIMALAYA, him-i'll-ya or him-a-ley (from the Sanskrit signifying the abode of snow), a mountain system of Asia lying along the northern frontier of British India. It con tains the highest peaks in the world, the prin cipal mass of which is near the southern edge of the central section of the continent between long. 65° and 110° E., and lat. 28° and 37° N. The system extends approximately from north west to southeast for about 2,000 miles, while its breadth varies from 100 to between 500 and 600 miles. The elevated plateau of Tibet, be tween the Himalaya proper and its extension, the Kuen-Lun Range, is the widest part of the -system. While the term Himalaya is usually confined to the range forming the northern barrier of India, the Hindu-Kush, on the north west, and the Karakoram with the Kuen-Lun to the north are not distinct chains as frequently represented, but are all portions of the same connected mountain mass, having very little to distinguish them from the rest of the elevated system to which they belong. The Himalaya is connected on the east with the mountains of China and the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, and on the west with the mountains of Baluchistan and Afghanistan. The Pamir Plateau, described as a "huge boss or knot" north of the Hindu Kush, connects the Himalayas with the Thian Shan, another mountain system which extends northeastward for about 1,200 miles. From the Ganges-watered plain of northern India, which has an elevation of about 1,000 feet above the sea, the Himalayas ascend by successive slopes. The transition from this plain to the ascent of the range is marked in the northwest by a belt of dry, porous ground, broken up into numerous ravines. East of this is the "Terai," a belt of sloping marshland covered with forest and jungle, very malarious and crowded with wild animals. Beyond this lies the "Bhabar," a belt of gravelly and sandy nature covered with forests of valuable timber trees. The "duns,' °math" or "dwars," longitudinal valleys partly cultivated and partly yielding forest growth, occupy the space between the Bhabar and the slopes of the Himalayas. The principal passes
are the highest in the world and include the Ibi-Gamin pass in Garwhal 20,457 feet, the Mustagh 19,019 feet, the Parangla 18,500 feet, and the highest on which traffic passes, the Kronbrung 18,313 feet and the Dura Ghat 17,750 feet. The greatest elevations of the Himalayan system are Mount Godwin-Austen 28,278 feet in the Karakoram range, and in the Himalayas proper, Mount Everest 29,002 feet, the highest peak in the world, Kunchin jinga 28,146 feet and Dhawalagiri 26,826 feet. On the north the limit of the snow line is 17,400 feet, on the south 15,000 to 16,000 feet. From the southern slope of the central portion of the great chain flow the various streams which unite in the Ganges; from the southern slope of the northwestern portion spring the flyers of the Punjab or "Five Waters," which unite to swell the Indus which rises on the northern slope and flows southwestward to the Arabian Sea; also on the northern slope not far from the source of the Indus springs the Brahmaputra which flows east, southwest and south to the Bay of Bengal; and also from the plateau of Tibet north of the main Himalayan range flow the Salwin, Mekong and other rivers of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, the Yan:rse, Hwang-ho and other rivers of the Chinese Em pire. The whole system is of granitic formation associated with gneiss and mica-slate, followed in descending by metamorphic and secondary rocks, until the alluvial deposits are reached. Minerals abound; copper and lead have been mined from ancient times, iron more recently, coal is found at the foot of the mountains, gold in the beds of the mountain torrents, zinc, sul phur, plumbago and salt are also obtained, and there are numerous mineral springs. The vege tation is luxuriant; rhododendrons are in rich profusion, and there are forests of pine, spruce, silver-fir and deodar cedar at varying altitudes. Consult Freshfield, Douglas, ',Round Karchen junga' (1903) • Waddell, (Among the Hima layas' ; Workman, 'In the Ice World of Hima laya' (1900) ;