Kumaon Himalayas

About Kumaon Himalayas: 

• It is the west-central section of the Himalayas in northern India.
• Geographical boundary: It lies between the Sutlej River in the west and the Kali River in the East.
• It comprises part of the Siwalik Range in the south and part of the Great Himalayas in the north, lies largely within the state of Uttarakhand, northwest of Nepal.
• Highest peaks of this region: Nanda Devi and Kamet.
• Lakes of this region: Naini Lake, Sattal, Bhimtal, Naukuchiya Tal
• It is home to some of the major hill stations such as Nainital, Ranikhet, and Almora.
• It is also the melting pot of tribal/indigenous people – Tharus, Bhutiyas, Jaunsaris, Buksas, and Rajiswhose.
• Concern: It is an ecologically fragile and seismic-prone area.

Key facts about Shiwalik Range

• Shivalik Hills are a sub-Himalayan Mountain Range running 1,600 km long from the Teesta River, Sikkim, through Nepal and India, into northern Pakistan.
• The range runs parallel with the Himalayan system from Haridwar on the Ganges to the banks of the Beas River. The hills have an average height of 900 to 1,200 m.
• They are chiefly composed of low sandstone and conglomerate hills, the solidified and up-heaved detritus of the great range in their rear, the intermediate valley lying between the outer hills and the Mussoorie. 

Q1: What is Plate tectonics?

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into large slabs of solid rock, called “plates,” that glide over Earth's mantle, the rocky inner layer above Earth's core.

Source: SC halts 90-acre project in Kumaon Himalayas on a plea challenging ‘single window’ clearances