HIMALAYA, hi-rnii'llt-yzi (Skt.. the abode of snow. from hima. snow T (ibiya. abode). In South Central Asia. the most elevated and stu pendous mountain system on the globe (Map: India, D 3). It is not, as sometimes represented. a single chain, but a system, consisting of several parallel and converging ranges. with a vast num ber of rugged, snowy peaks. separated by great elevated valleys and plateaus. On the north the system descends to the elevated plateau of Tibet: on the south 'to the depression drained by the Ganges and the Indus. The system starts with the Karakorum, in the Pamirs, whence it trends south east and east, sweeping in a broad curve, convex southward. The mass of the Himalaya proper extends from the great bend of the Indus in the west to the great bend of the Brahmaputra in the east. or from longitude 73' 23' to 95° 40' E., a 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 feet, but 45 of its peaks are now known to exceed 23.000 feet in height. Of these, there are in Kumaon, Nanda Devi, 25.600 feet ; in Nepal, Dhawalardri. 26,826 feet: Mount Everest, 29,002 (the highest known point on the globe) ; in Kashmir, Mounts Godwin-Austen, 2S.27S; Gusherbrum, 26,37S: Ma•herhrum. and Kakapushi, 25,560 feet: in Bhutan. Chumalari. 2:3.946 feet, and Kutha Kangir, 24.740 feet; and on the borders of Sikkim and Nepal. Kunchinjinga, 28,156 feet, for a long time thought to he the second summit of the entire system. The southern base of the Himalaya comprises three distinct regions—first. adjoining the plains of Hindustan, the Terai, a jungle or grass-covered marshy plain: next, the great belt of Saul Wood, stretching along a great part of the range: and beyond it the Dhotis, a belt of detritus, extending to the foot of the true mountains. In the foothills above these regions. which are extremely un healthy, are placed the sanitaria for troops Darjeling. Simla, Murree. The first is connected by a mountain railway with the Bengal system. There are no plains and but few lakes of large size in the Himalaya; the chief of the latter are Naini Tal. in Kumaon. 6520 feet. and the lake of Kashmir, 6125 feet above the sea. Small glacial lakes are abundant in the heads of the gorges.
Snow falls at rare intervals in the mountains as low as 2500 feet. but at 6000 feet it snows every winter. The limit of perennial snow in the main or central Himalaya is 16.200 feet on the south and 17.400 feet on the north side; an anomaly probably owing to the dry atmos Idiere of Tibet, and the small quantity of rain and snow that falls there. The high range of the Himalaya forms a vast screen, which intercepts and condenses nearly all the moisture carried by the southwest monsoons from the Indian Ocean, and deposits it on the south ern face of the mountains ; hence at Cherra 4200 feet above the sea, as much as 600 inches 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 thee, that of Deotal in Garb wal. is 17.945 feet above the sea. Among the of the glaciers are the Baltoro (33 miles in length) and Biafo. in the Karakorum Range. The pa—es in the Himalaya are the most elevated of the globe, and the number are upward of 17.000 feet in height. The highest known is ]hi-Gamin Pass into Garhwal. 20.457 feet. and the highest used for traffic is the Paring Pass in Spiti. 1S.560 feet above the sea. All the passes above 16.000 feet are closed with snow from No vember till May. While the upheaval of the sys tem probably commenced in early geologic times. the principal uplift occurred in the middle or late Tertiary period. in the mountain-making epoch which was signalized by the elevation of the alpine system of Europe. The geological structure of the Himalaya consist of crystalline rocks. with granite. gneiss. and a sehistose for mation. comprising micaceous. chloritic. and taleose schist s. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in the central range. The Sanpo or Brahmaputra and Indus—which rise in close proximity to one another on the Tibetan side of the Ilimalaya—ttith their magnificent tributa ries, derive their chief supplies from the melting of the slums of these mountains, and consequently are in flood at the hottest season of the year, when the moisture they supply is most needed. 'frees nod cultivated grains ordinarily attain their highest limits in the mountains at 11.00, and shrubs at 15,200 feet above the sea, n limited number of flowering plants attaining to 19,500 feet. The tea-plant can be cultivated along the entire southern face of the Himalaya to an ele vation of 5000 feet, but the best is produced at front 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea. Tigers and apes are found at an elevation of 11,000, and the leopard at 13.0110 feet. while the dog follows the herds over passes IS,000 feet high. Snakes are found at an elevation of 15.000 feet, but the highest limit of the mosquito is 8000 feet above the sea.
On account of the majestic height of this mountain range, and the apparent impossibility of reaching its summit, the imagination of the ancient Hindus invested it with the most mys terious properties. and connected it with the history of scone of their deities. In the PuriWas (q.v.) the Himalaya is placed to the south of the fabulous mountain Neru. whieh stands in the centre of the world (see Alent7), and described as the king of mountains, who was inaugurated as such when Prithu was installed in the govern ment of the earth. As the abode of Siva, he is the goal of penitent pilgrims. who repair to his summit in order to win the favors of this terrific god. llis wife was Mena. whom the Paris or demigods engendered by the mere power of their thought.