Himalayas

 

Stretching 1,500 miles like a giant wall, the Himalaya Mountain chain separates South Asia from the rest of Asia. The Himalayas run from western China to Afghanistan and are made up of more than 100 mountain peaks that climb to a height of more than 20,000 feet. In fact, the top 10 of the earth's highest  peaks are in the Himalayas. The Himalayas get their name from a sanskrit  (an ancient language of India) word  that means 'abode of snow'. At around 18,000 feet plant life ceases and  a permanent snow layer begins. At the top of Mount Everest the snow reaches a depth of more than 11 feet. However, buried under all of this snow is a little geologic suprise. The rock and soil actually contain marine fossils dating back to  250 million years ago to the Permian period.

 

These fossils are proof that the Himalaya Mountains were formed millions of years ago when the collision of the Indian plate colldied with the Eurasian plate. Over the last 55 million years or so the Himalayas have been growing at about a rate of 2.5 inches per year (NASCAR speeds as far as mountains go) Mt. Everest (known as Sagarmatha or sky goddess) rises 29,035 feet above sea level, is the world's tallest terrestrial mountain. In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first documented persons to successfully make it to the summit and back. Since their historic climb, 1,400 people have made the journey (at $100,000 a pop) and 197 have died trying.

The Himalayas are hugely important to the geography and culture of South Asia. The Himalayas block cold Siberian winds from coming into South Asia, which is why much of the region is tropical. However, some areas in the north have climates similar to New England. More importantly, the Himalayas redirect monsoon winds that come from the south creating the Thar, Gobi, and Taklimakan Deserts.

 

In Pakistan, the Himalayas are known better as the the Hindu Kush  (Hindu killer) which separates Pakistan and India from Central Asia. For thousands of years, mountain passes through the Hindu Kush such as the famous Khyber Pass were the only western routes into South Asia. This kept many invaders such as the Mongols, Greeks and Huns out and allowed India to develop a unique culture with few outside influences. It wouldn't be until the Muslim invasion in the 800-1500 that a foreign power would finally conquer India.