Which is the highest battlefield?

Siachen Glacier is the world's highest battlefield at an elevation of 5416 metres above sea level. At Siachen, the temperature is always freezing, and can even drop to temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. Apart from the freezing weather, the oxygen level here is as low as 10 per cent of what we have on the grasslands.

Existing as a barrier between the Shaksgam Valley and Baltistan, it holds a significant importance for India by preventing the link-up of the Pakistani army with the Chinese army, thus protecting Ladakh - the Shaksgam valley is under the control of China and Baltistan is occupied by Pakistan. With about 3000 soldiers on duty every day, India spends around 5 to 7 crores daily to guard the glacier. Every soldier who gets to guard the glacier, serves only for about three months, as the harsh weather conditions make it very difficult to survive for longer periods.

Since the Indian army took control of Siachen in 1984, more than 1000 soldiers have died here. This number is almost twice the number of men who lost their lives in the Kargil war! A war memorial with the names of all the Indian soldiers who lost their lives for their country can be seen at the Siachen Base Camp of the Indian Army.

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Which is the highest mountain in the world?

Mount Everest, located in the Himalayas, is the highest mountain above sea level. The China-Nepal border is across its summit point. In 2020, the Chinese and Nepali authorities marked its elevation as 8,848.86 m. Mount Everest is highly revered by local people like most other mountains in the range and is known as Chomolungma in Tibetan. It means Goddess Mother of the World or Goddess of the Valley. It was identified as the highest point on the Earth's surface in 1852, when the governmental Survey of India established this fact. It was previously named Peak XV but was renamed in 1865 to honour Sir George Everest, the British surveyor general of India from 1830 to 1843.

British mountaineers made the first recorded efforts to reach Everest’s summit. Nepal did not allow foreigners to enter the country at that time, so the British made several attempts from the Tibetan side. The first expedition by the British in 1921 reached 7,000 metres on the North Col, a pass connecting Mount Everest and Changste, a mountain in Tibet. Another expedition in 1922 reached up to 8,320 metres, making it the first instance of a human being's climb above 8,000 metres. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain on May 28, 1953 at 11:30 am local time.

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Why is Andes called the longest mountain range?

The Andes mountain range extends from north to south through seven South American countries and is 8900 kilometres long and about 200 to 700 kilometres wide. It is spread across Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina with an average height of 4000 metres. In fact, the Andes range has some of the tallest peaks in the world. The only mountains that are taller than the Andes are the Himalayan Mountains and their adjacent ranges like the Hindu Kush. The highest elevation in the Andes range is for Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. It is 6,962 metres above sea level. The average elevation along the range is about 3,962 metres.

The world's highest volcano, Ojos del Salado, when measured above sea level, is part of the Andes. It is located on the Chile-Argentina border. This vast mountain range is also home to a number of cities including Huaraz and Cuzco in Peru; Quito in Ecuador; La Paz of Bolivia; Bogota and Medellin in Colombia; and Pucon and Puerto Natales in Chile.

Animals in the Andes have to be very rugged and agile. They have to keep themselves warm in order to survive the harsh climate of the region. Chinchillas are one of the popular animals of this region. Their fur gets thicker in the higher altitudes as it gets colder and their ability to jump and climb serves as a protection from predators. Llamas, alpacas and the Andean condor, which is the largest vulture in South America, are some other wild animals to be found here. The Andes is also home to a wide variety of plant population; it nurtures about 30,000 species of plants.

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WHAT ARE CIRQUES, ARÊTES AND HORNS?

Cirques are formed when a glacier wears away a mountainside leaving a rounded hollow with steep, almost vertical, walls. Such basins are usually found at the top of a glacial valley. Arêtes are knife-edged ridges between cirques that are created when glacial erosion occurs on both sides of a mountain. Horns are peaks created when three or more cirques are formed back to back.

Cirque amphitheatre-shaped basin with precipitous walls, at the head of a glacial valley. It generally results from erosion beneath the bergschrund of a glacier. A bergschrund is a large crevasse that lies a short distance from the exposed rock walls and separates the stationary from the moving ice; in early summer it opens, exposing the rock at its base to diurnal changes of temperature. Frost action then causes rapid disintegration of lower rock, which causes the upper rock to avalanche and produce an almost vertical head wall. Resulting rock material is embedded in the glacier and scours a concave floor, which may contain a small lake (tarn) if the glacier disappears. Expansion of neighbouring cirques produces sharp arêtes, cols, and horns. Because glaciers must originate above the snowline, a survey of the elevations of ancient cirques provides information on climatic change and on the former position of the snow line.

Arête in geology, a sharp-crested serrate ridge separating the heads of opposing valleys (cirques) that formerly were occupied by Alpine glaciers. It has steep sides formed by the collapse of unsupported rock, undercut by continual freezing and thawing. Two opposing glaciers meeting at an arête will carve a low, smooth gap, or col. An arête may culminate in a high triangular peak or horn (such as the Matterhorn) formed by three or more glaciers eroding toward each other.

A glacial horn is a feature created by glaciers and what exactly this term means is intricately linked with how it formed. A horn is a peak that forms from three arêtes. It is also known as a pyramidal peak.

An arête is the edge that forms in the land from cirque erosion, or when two cirque glaciers form up against each other, creating that sharp edge. When more than two arêtes meet, this is a horn.

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How are mountains created?

Most of the world’s greatest mountain ranges the Himalayas, the Andes, the Rockies, the Caucasus and the Alps were created as Earth's tectonic plates collided. As the huge tectonic masses crashed into each other, they forced the layers of rock to fold. This is why these mountains form long, narrow ranges along the edges of continents. Mountains are also created as powerful earthquakes move Earth's crust and lift up huge blocks of rock. Volcanic eruptions can also create mountains.

Mountains are formed by movement within the Earth’s crust. The crust itself is made up of several large plates, called tectonic plates, which are free floating. These huge chunks of the Earth’s crust move within molten rock called magma, which allows them to shift and collide over time. Even though humans live on the crust, they do not often feel these movements as they are very slow, and the sheer size of each plate is so large. Nevertheless, these shifts still have great impacts on human life as the movement of plates is what creates changes in the geographical structure of the surface of the earth. In this way, mountains are created over time. When these plates collide, there is a great deal of mass and pressure which suddenly comes to a stop, and it is this movement that forces the Earth into buckles or protrusions which are known as mountains. Depending on how these plates move or collide, one of three types of mountains can be formed. The three types of mountains or mountain ranges are: volcanic, fold, and Block Mountains, each of which is formed in a different way.

Volcanic Mountains:

Volcanic mountains are formed when a tectonic plate is pushed beneath another (or above a mid-ocean ridge or hotspot) where magma is forced to the surface. When the magma reaches the surface, it often builds a volcanic mountain, such as s shield volcano or a strato-volcano.

Fold Mountains:

As the name suggests, Fold Mountains occur when two tectonic plates collide at a convergent plate boundary, causing the crust to over thicken. This process forces the less dense crust to float on top of the denser mantle rocks – with material being forced upwards to form hills, plateaus or mountains – while a greater volume of material is forced downward into the mantle.

Block Mountains:

Block Mountains are caused by faults in the crust, a seam where rocks can move past each other. Also known as rifting, this process occurs when rocks on one side of a fault rise relative to the other. The uplifted blocks become Block Mountains (also known as horsts) while the intervening dropped blocks are known as graben (i.e. depressed regions).

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NAME EUROPE'S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN?

Mont Blanc, Italian Monte Bianco, mountain massif and highest peak (15,771 feet [4,807 metres]) in Europe. Located in the Alps, the massif lies along the French-Italian border and reaches into Switzerland. It extends southwestward from Martigny, Switzerland, for about 25 miles (40 km) and has a maximum width of 10 miles (16 km). The summit is in French territory. Surrounding the massif are the Graian Alps (south), the Chamonix Valley and Savoy Alps (west), the Pennine Alps (northeast), and the Valley of Courmayeur (east). Other principal peaks within the massif include Mont Blanc du Tacul, Mont Maudit, Aiguille (“Peak”) du Géant, Les Grandes Jorasses, Mont Dolent, and Aiguille du Midi.

Glaciers cover approximately 40 square miles (100 square km) of Mont Blanc (whence its name, meaning “white mountain”). Ice streams stretch from the central ice dome down to below 4,900 feet (1,490 metres). The Mer de Glace, the second longest glacier in the Alps, reached the elevation of 4,100 feet (1,250 metres) in 1930. At the beginning of the 17th century, glaciers advanced to the bottom of the Chamonix Valley, destroying or burying cultivated land and dwellings. Since that time, the glaciers have periodically advanced and retreated.

 

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WHICH Is JAPAN'S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN?

Japan's highest mountain, peaking at 3776 m, is Mount Fuji, an active volcano that sits on a triple junction of tectonic activity. Interestingly, it is made up of three different volcanoes. At the base is Komitake, in the middle, Kofuji, and at the top is Mount Fuji. The volcano last erupted in December, 1707.

Mount Fuji is a symbol of Japan. The mountain contributes to Japan's physical, cultural, and spiritual geography.

Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan, standing at 3,776 meters (12,380 feet). It is an active volcano, sitting on a "triple junction" of tectonic activity: the Amurian plate (associated with the Eurasian tectonic plate), the Okhotsk plate (associated with the North American plate) and the Filipino plate all converge in the region beneath Mount Fuji. It is only 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Tokyo, Japan's capital and largest city. In fact, the last time Mount Fuji erupted, in 1707, volcanic ash fell on Tokyo.

Mount Fuji is the single most popular tourist site in Japan, for both Japanese and foreign tourists. More than 200,000 people climb to the summit every year, mostly during the warmer summer months. "Huts" on the route up the mountains cater to climbers, providing refreshments, basic medical supplies, and room to rest. Many people start climbing Mount Fuji at night, as better to experience sunrise from the summit—Japan, after all, is nicknamed "the Land of the Rising Sun." The sunrise from Mount Fuji has a special name, Goraiko.

Mount Fuji has been a sacred site for practicers of Shinto since at least the 7th century. Shinto is the indigenous faith or spirituality of Japan, many Shinto shrines dot the base and ascent of Mount Fuji. Shinto shrines honor kami, the supernatural deities of the Shinto faith. The kami of Mount Fuji is Princess Konohanasakuya, whose symbol is the cherry blossom. Konohanasakuya has an entire series of shrines, called Segen shrines. The main Segen shrines are at the base and summit of Mount Fuji, but there are more than 1,000 across all of Japan.

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WHY ARE SOME MOUNTAINS SNOW-CAPPED?

As altitude increases, the air gets colder. There comes a certain height, called the snow line, above which it is always too cold for the snow to melt, which is why some mountaintops are snow-capped all year round. The snowline is at 5000m in the tropics, 2700 m in the Alps and at sea level at the poles.

The top of the mountain is actually its coldest spot. As you climb a mountain to a higher altitude (height), the atmosphere gets thinner and thinner. This is because air pressure decreases with altitude.

Even though warm air rises, as it does so the rising air expands and cools. When it expands and cools, it can't absorb and retain heat the way it does at the bottom of the mountain.

Although mountaintops are closer to the Sun, they're also farther away from the thermal heat of the Earth's core that keeps the ground warm. So the top of the mountain can be much colder than the bottom.

In fact, the bottom of a mountain can be located in a tropical jungle while the top of the mountain has snow on it! That's why it's possible to have snow at the equator.

Cooler temperatures at the top of a mountain also mean that there's less evaporation taking place. This leads to greater amounts of moisture in the air. More moisture means more rain and, at the very top of a mountain, more snow.

Not all mountains have snowcaps, and not all mountains that get snow have snowcaps all year. A lot depends upon their location and how tall they are. Mountains lower in altitude are less likely to have snowcaps or to have them all year long.

Many mountains, though, have snowcaps year-round. Above a certain point — called the snow line — it stays cold enough that the snow never melts.

The height of the snow line varies around the globe. It depends upon both altitude (height of the mountain) and latitude (where the mountain is located). The snow line is much higher near the equator (about 15,000 feet), for example, than it is near the poles (sea level or 0 feet in altitude).

The snow line can be affected by other factors, too. For example, in the Andes Mountains of South America, it is so dry that the mountains rarely see snow, despite their height and distance from the equator. Monte Pissis in Argentina is the tallest mountain in the world without a permanent snowcap.

Mountains that are near coastlines may have a lower snow line than other areas with the same altitude and latitude. As you get closer to a coastline, the amount of moisture in the air tends to produce more snowfall at higher altitudes.

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WHICH IS THE WORLD'S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN?

Mount Everest in the Himalayas in Asia, with its peak at 8848 m above sea level. Mount Everest, China-Nepal border Syncline Anticline.

If you ask almost anyone to name the highest mountain in the world, their answer will probably be "Mount Everest." Mount Everest, located on the border between China and Nepal, has an altitude of 8,848.86 meters (29,031.69 feet) - making it the highest mountain in the world. The altitude of 8,848.86 meters is officially recognized by China and Nepal. Both countries agreed to use the elevation of the mountain's snow cap, rather than a bedrock elevation of 8,844 meters.

Mount Everest is called the world's highest mountain because it has the "highest elevation above sea level." We could also say that it has the "highest altitude."

The peak of Mount Everest is 8,848.86 meters (29,031.69 feet) above sea level. No other mountain on Earth has a higher altitude. However, some mountains might be considered "taller" (with taller being "the total vertical distance between their base and their summit")

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WHY IS IT COLDER IN THE MOUNTAINS?

As air expands, it becomes cooler. Air in the mountains, where the altitude (height above sea level) is higher, is under less pressure than air at lower altitudes because it is not being so compressed by the air above it. As a result, it expands and makes mountainous areas cold.

When air expands, it has to push the surrounding air out of its way, which means that it expends part of its energy to do the pushing. As a result, the expanding air cools. When air contracts, it gets pushed into a smaller space by the air around it, which means that energy is put into it, which heats it up. Eventually, the expanding or contracting air will reach the same temperature and pressure as the air surrounding it, and the heating and cooling will stop. Air at higher altitude is under less pressure than air at lower altitude because there is less weight of air above it, so it expands (and cools), while air at lower altitude is under more pressure so it contracts (and heats up).

Air in our atmosphere moves up and down as part of the weather: the sun heats up the ground (which absorbs more light than air and is thus warmer than the air), and the air in contact with the ground heats up, and expands (and then cools). Elsewhere, cooler higher-altitude air sinks, is compressed as it descends, and gets heated as this occurs. This process is called "convection", and it is responsible for nearly all of our weather.

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How does a shift from traditional to modern methods of cultivation affect mountains?

Traditional methods of farming in the mountains involve pastoral farming and growing crops that are native to the region. One of the most popular methods of farming in highlands is called terrace farming. In this method, the hillside is carved into a series of broad steps to grow crops. These steps prevent soil and water runoff and maintain fertility and irrigation in the farm.

These farms were worked in harmony with nature. However, traditional farming requires a lot of manpower and the yield is not enough to be sold commercially. As a result of this, modern farming practices are taking over traditional methods. Terrace farming has given way to direct farming on slopes, which leads to greater soil erosion.

The increased production of cash crops is wiping out native crops from many regions. Chemical pesticides are being used which kill many beneficial species along with the pests. The result of this is that plant diversity is decreasing and many species are becoming extinct. Long term sustainability is being sacrificed for short term gains.       

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Are global warming and war serious threats for mountains?

Due to global warming glaciers are melting at an alarming rate all around the world. Glaciers are now losing 31 per cent more snow and ice per year than they did 15 years ago. This leads to greater ice melt runoff in the mountains. Many glacial lakes in the Himalayas are in danger of breaching their natural barriers and causing catastrophic floods, as we have already witnessed in Kedarnath in 2013 when a melting glacier and heavy rainfall led to thousands being washed away. Such events also lead to mass destruction of forest habitats.

Unfortunately there has also been an increase in civil wars in the past decades. When insurgents use mountains as a base for their operations, retaliation and crossfire may lead to heavy shelling and damage to the environment.

A United Nations report calculates that 67 per cent of Africa’s mountainous regions have been affected by violent human conflict. Additionally some highlands have become bases for narcotic production, which leads to armed conflicts and degradation of the environment.

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Are our mountains under threat from development projects?

Mountain ranges all over the world are facing various threats due to logging, farming, global warming and excessive tourism.

To add to this, ill-conceived construction projects are also posing a severe threat to mountain habitats. About 25 per cent of the world’s mountainous regions are under threat from development projects planned for the next 30 years.

Such projects ultimately lead to loss of forest cover, loss of endemic flora and fauna, landslides and flooding. In India a large number of developmental projects in the Western Ghats are underway or in the process of being passed.

Instead of conserving and nurturing our precious natural resources, developmental projects such as the construction of hydro power plants, nuclear plant expansion, highway expansion, mining and industrial activities and railway projects destroy and sacrifice forests and pristine environments.

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What makes Sherpas special?

 

Sherpas are the superheroes of the Himalayas! The very first Sherpa to reach the top of Mt. Everest was Tenzing Norgay who performed this extraordinary feat along with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.

Since then they have become invaluable as guides and porters to those aspiring to climb Mt. Everest. These gentle, small mountain dwellers are genetically adapted to withstand extreme cold and extreme deprivation of oxygen. This is because Sherpas are genetically predisposed to use oxygen more efficiently than lowlanders or people living in the plains. They combine with their extraordinary climbing skills and genetic advantage, a positive and cheerful mindset to face challenges.

This is what makes the Sherpa so special.

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What is transhumance? Where is it found?

 

The word ‘transhumance’ is used to describe the seasonal movement of livestock between summer and winter pastures. Herders usually have a fixed home in the valleys, where farming may be carried out as the soil is more fertile. Higher up farmland gives way to forests and then to alpine pastures. Beyond the snow line there is very little vegetation. Herdsmen usually take their cattle high up into the alpine zone in summer. Here cattle graze on green pastures and grow strong.

Once winter comes they move to the lower slopes where the weather is milder. Herdsmen often bring cattle into their houses and feed them grain that has been grown on terraces. The animals are kept warm and the heat from their bodies warms the homes of the herdsmen as well!

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