Some Interestiing Facts About the Himalayas

• Himalayas is about 1490 miles (2400 km) in length, averaging about 200 to 250 miles (320 to 400 km ) in width.
• How did the Himalayas form? About 50 million years ago, massive earth movements pushed the Indian plate against the Eurasian continental plate which gave rise to the land - The Himalayas
• Himalayas continue to grow. Earthquakes are frequent to this region
• The Himalayas cover about 0.4% of the Earth's Space. It covers an area of 612,021 square KM of the earth's 153,295,000 square km area which includes both land and sea.
• About 6% of the Earth's land is Alpine or Mountainous, about 19% is desert, and 13% is grassland (Source: Compiled from The Earth Organization and National Geographic )
• Height of a mountain is not the length of the mountain. Height is the altitude at the top of the mountain. The tallest mountain in the world has to prove that it is the highest surface of the earth. For example, Mauna Kea mountain of Hawaii is taller than Mt. Everest in length from its base to top, but Everest's top is the highest altitude of the earth and hence becomes the highest mountain on earth!
• Himalayas has glaciers up to 43 miles (70 kilometers) long
• Himalaya is the source of major rivers of Nepal
• It is easier to climb a place in lower altitude no mater how tall it might be in length. The higher you go from the earth's surface, the more oxygen your body will need. Not everyone can climb Mt. Everest, but those who wish to see it upclose can fly or trek to one of the world's highest airport, Lukla which lies at the base of the Everest in Nepal
• What could be the difference between any mountain and a mountain of Himalaya ? Well, for one thing, A Himalayan mountain always remains Himalayan - it always looks the same, the snow never melts, and it always remains glorious!
• Generally speaking, a land that is usually 2000ft or 600m tall can be called as a mountain.
• Himalayas continue to rise 1 cm every year - a growth rate of 10 km in a million years (source : U.S. Geological Survey)
• If Global Warming increases, Himalayan glaciers will start shrinking, rivers will evaporate, and Drinking and irrigation water will disappear, affecting Hundreds of millions of people (source : Environmentalists Against War)
• Asian Mountains and Lands cover almost one third of the entire earth. About 55% of the Asia is covered by Mountains. The Himalaya Mountain Range is the world's highest mountain range.
• About 1 out of 10 people on this planet live in a mountain.
• Nearly one third of the Earth's Space is Mountainous
• Mountains are the assets of a nation. They bring in tourists to see the place, trekkers to climb it, and farmers to use their hill-side to graze their animals.
• The Himalayas lies across west to east 1550 miles or 2500 kilometers in length. It is divided into three zones, Western Himalays, Central Himalayas Eastern Himalayas
• Any land that humans have landed has been polluted. Himalays has remained the less visited part of the earth, it makes it the most purest part of the earth after Antarctica.
• Many medicinal herbs found at the foot hills of Himalayas are considered to be the purest of all.

Source: http://www.nepalvista.com/features/nepal-himalayas.php