Himalayas

The Himalayas are the Earth's highest mountain range as measured from sea level. They lie on the border between Nepal and Tibet.

The Himalayas form a shallow crescent that ranges from 160km (100mi) to 240km (150mi) wide, and is around 2,415km (1,500mi) long, roughly the distance from London to Moscow.

Three of the world's largest rivers - the Indus to the north and west, the Brahmaputra to the north and east, and the Ganges to the south - encircle the Himalayas almost completely.

The Himalayas are actually composed of three separate mountain ranges. The lowest and southernmost range, known as the Siwalik Hills, has peaks reaching around 1,500m (5,000ft) above sea level. Farther north are the Lesser Himalayas, around three times as high. Both ranges are patterned with fertile valleys where the climate is mild and many villages thrive.

The northernmost range, the Greater Himalayas, contains Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. Mount Everest is 8,848m (29,028ft) above sea level.

The name "Himalayas" comes from the Sanskrit word for "abode of snow" -  a reference to the mountains' snowcapped peaks.

Formation of the Himalayas

The Himalayas began their existence on the sea floor. Fossil fish and the remains of other marine life can be found amidst the snow on these high mountains.

The oceans and continents of the world are carried on large sections of rock known as "tectonic plates". Around 60 million years ago, the tectonic plate that carries India moved northward, crushing the floor of an ocean known as the Tethys against the land of Asia. The rocks between them buckled and broke. The ocean floor folded and cracked. Layer of disturbed rock piled on top of each other.

Century by century, the uplifted land became mountains and plateaus, and the Himalayas came to be the magnificent range that we know today.

These irresistible forces are still at work. Geologists estimates that the Himalayas are increasing in height at a rate of about 5cm (2in) a year.