geo.wikisort.org - Mountains

The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about 2,400 km (1,500 mi) from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. It is 10–50 km (6.2–31.1 mi) wide with an average elevation of 1,500–2,000 m (4,900–6,600 ft). Between the Teesta and Raidāk Rivers in Assam is a gap of about 90 km (56 mi).[1] "Sivalik" literally means 'tresses of Shiva'.[2] Sivalik region is home to the Soanian archaeological culture.[3]

Geology

Geologically, the Sivalik Hills belong to the Tertiary deposits of the outer Himalayas.[4] They are chiefly composed of sandstone and conglomerate rock formations, which are the solidified detritus of the Himalayas[4] to their north; they are poorly consolidated. The remnant magnetisation of siltstones and sandstones indicates that they were deposited 16–5.2 million years ago. In Nepal, the Karnali River exposes the oldest part of the Shivalik Hills.[5]

They are bounded on the south by a fault system called the Main Frontal Thrust, with steeper slopes on that side. Below this, the coarse alluvial Bhabar zone makes the transition to the nearly level plains. Rainfall, especially during the summer monsoon, percolates into the Bhabar, then is forced to the surface by finer alluvial layers below it in a zone of springs and marshes along the northern edge of the Terai or plains.[6]

Prehistory

Remains of the Lower Paleolithic Soanian culture dating to around 500,000 to 125,000 BP were found in the Sivalik region.[7] Contemporary to the Acheulean, the Soanian culture is named after the Soan Valley in the Sivalik Hills of Pakistan. The Soanian archaeological culture is found across Sivalik region in present-day India, Nepal and Pakistan.[3]

Sivapithecus (a kind of ape, formerly known as Ramapithecus) is among many fossil finds in the Sivalik region.[8]

A number of fossil ratites were reported from the Sivalik Hills, including the extinct Asian ostrich, Dromaius sivalensis and Hypselornis. However, the latter two species were named only from toe bones that have since been identified as belonging to an ungulate mammal and a crocodilian, respectively.[9]

Demographics

The low human population density in the Sivalik Hills and along the steep southern slopes of the Lower Himalayan Range created a cultural, linguistic, and political buffer zone between populations in the plains to the south and the hills beyond the Mahabharat escarpment, enabling different evolutionary paths with respect to language and culture.^{[citation needed]}

In culture

The Indian Navy's Shivalik-class frigate is named after these ranges.^{[citation needed]}

See also

Subranges of Sivalik (from north to south)

• Dundwa Range
• Margalla Hills
• Shivalik Fossil Park

Geological subdivisions of Himalayas (from north to south)

• Indus-Yarlung suture zone
• Karakoram fault system
• Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains
• Main Himalayan Thrust
• Lower/Lesser Himalaya

Geographical subdivisions of Himalayas (from east to west)

• Eastern Himalaya
• Indian Himalayan Region, Geology of Bhutan and Geology of Nepal
• Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Geography of Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Geology of Pakistan

References

На других языках

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[de] Siwaliks

Die Siwaliks sind die äußerste Vorgebirgskette des südlichen Himalayas.

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- [en] Sivalik Hills

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[fr] Siwalik

Le Siwalik, Sivalik ou Shiwalik (parfois surnommé « l'Himalaya externe »), ou la chaîne des Siwaliks[1],[2] est une cordillère du Nord de l'Inde, du Sud du Népal et du Nord-Est du Pakistan.

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[it] Shivalik

Shivalik (sanscrito: शिवालिक - Śivālika), scritto talvolta come Siwalik o Shiwalik Hills o Churia, Chure Hills o Himalaya Esterno è una catena montuosa sub-himalayana. Del sistema himalayano costituisce la catena più a sud e più recente geologicamente. Si estende per circa 1600 km ad ovest del fiume Tista in Sikkim attraversando Nepal, India ed Pakistan settentrionale. Queste montagne corrono parallele rispetto al vicino Himalaya e, nonostante la lunghezza, presentano una larghezza di soli 16 km. L'altitudine media è compresa tra i 900 e i 1200 metri.

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[ru] Сивалик

Си́ва́лик[2][3] (хинди शिवालिक, буквально — Принадлежащее Шиве), Предгимала́и — горная цепь, южнейшая, самая геологически молодая и самая низкая ступень Гималаев. Название происходит от выражения на языках хинди и непальском 'шивалик парват' शिवालिक पर्वत. Другие названия — холмы Чуриа (непальск. चुरिया पर्वत), холмы Чур (непальск. चूरे पर्वत) и холмы Маргалла.

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