Life In the Himalayas

The San Andreas fault was amazing but I couldn't wait to be on my way to Nepal to see the Himalayan Mountains. My tour boarded a plane on Tuesday and lucky for me my new friend Jen and I got to sit next to each other. After a night flight that I barely slept on, I landed in Pokhara, Nepal,which lies at 28 deg 15'4 49.00" N and 83 deg 58' 21.2" E. I was exhausted but ready to see the mountains. We got the first day to sightsee and spent the night in a nice hotel that served delicious local cuisine and went to bed looking forward to what would be in store for us tomorrow. 

In the morning we woke up early, grabbed our hiking boots, and headed for a scenic and informational hike through the gorgeous Himalayas. John quickly explained that the Himalayas were one of his favorite places because they are a tectonic paradise. He said they are a continental collision boundary that has been active for the past 50-55 million years.

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/lemke/geog101/images3/18r_india_asia_collision.jpg

A continental collision boundary is one in which two plates are moving toward each other and when they hit mountains are formed. Many collision boundaries involve continental and ocean crust so when the two plates hit the thinner ocean crust goes under the larger continental crust which is called subduction. The Himalayas are an interesting convergent boundary because they formed when the continental crust on the Indian and Eurasian Plates hit. One plate can't subduct under the other because they are too thick so they hit and are raised up forming mountains. The results of a continental convergent boundary are some shallow earthquakes as the plates collide, deformed rock, and large mountains.



The Himalayas have some shallow earthquakes as are common in continental convergent areas which have been considered some of the strongest earthquakes in the world and really effect the people living in Nepal and India. The Himalayas have had four major earthquakes in the past century, the most famous one being here in Nepal in 1933. This earthquake killed thousands of people and several more earthquakes have occurred since then in Nepal. In the India Himalayas there have also been many earthquakes such as the Kinnaur Earthquake in 1975, the Darchula Earthquake in 1980, and the Uttarkashi Earth quake in 1991. Every year the Indian Plate pushes the Eurasian plate northward 2 cm so the earthquakes are not going to stop anytime soon!

It was fascinating to learn about the problems with earthquakes that the people living in the Himalayas face and I loved our scenic hike through the mountains. Here is a picture of the us in the mountains:

http://www.destination360.com/asia/china/images/s/china-himalayas.jpg

http://www.destination360.com/asia/china/images/s/china-himalayas.jpg

I can't wait to see where we are going  next!

- Katherine