Mountain environment
⏳ Young and Old Mountains
- Young mountains → Tall, sharp peaks (e.g., Himalayas). Still rising because of uplift.
- Old mountains → Shorter, rounded (e.g., Aravalli Hills). They have been worn down by erosion.
🌲 Mountain Environment
🌳 Montane Forests
- A special type of forest that grows on mountain slopes.
- Common trees: Pine, Fir, Spruce, Deodar.
- These trees are cone-shaped with needle-like leaves → help shed snow easily.
🌿 High Altitude Plants
- Higher up, where trees cannot grow → only grasses, mosses and lichens.
- Moss → tiny green plant, no flowers, grows like a cushion.
- Lichen → plant-like organism that sticks to rocks, walls, or trees.
📜 Poetry Connection – Kālidāsa on Himalayas
The great poet Kalidasa (1,500 years ago) wrote in Kumārasambhava:
- Himalayas stretch from western ocean to eastern ocean (i.e., Arabian Sea to Bay of Bengal).
- Wind from Himalayas carries spray from Ganga, shakes deodar trees, fans peacocks’ feathers, and cools mountain people.
👉 Discussion:
- Why mention Ganga? → Sacred river, lifeline of north India, also originates in Himalayas.
🦅 Animals of the Mountains
Mountains have diverse wildlife because of forests, rivers, and grasslands.
Examples:
- Birds: Golden eagle, Peregrine falcon
- Mammals: Yak, Snow leopard, Himalayan tahr, Canadian lynx, Ibex, Black bear, Mountain hare, Grey fox
👩🌾 Life in the Mountains
- Mountain land (terrain) = rugged and steep.
- Farming possible only in valleys.
- On slopes → farmers cut steps in the land = Terrace farming (Fig. 3.5).
👉 Other occupations:
- Herding sheep, yaks, goats.
- Tourism – clean air, beautiful scenery, adventure sports (skiing, hiking, mountaineering, paragliding).
- Pilgrimage tourism – holy sites like Amarnath, Badrinath, Kedarnath.
⚠️ Problem: Too many tourists → pressure on fragile environment.
💪 Inspiring Mountaineers
- Bachendri Pal → First Indian woman to climb Mount Everest (1984). Won Padma Shri & later Padma Bhushan.
- Arunima Sinha → Lost a leg in accident, yet climbed Everest (2013). Later climbed the highest peak of every continent. Won Padma Shri in 2015.
⚡ Challenges of Mountain Life
Mountains are beautiful, but dangerous:
- Natural challenges
- ❄️ Heavy snowfall → cuts off roads, communication
- ⛷️ Avalanches → sudden fall of snow/ice
- 🌧️ Cloudbursts → sudden violent rainstorm
- 🌊 Flash floods → rivers overflow suddenly
- 🌍 Landslides → rocks/soil sliding down slopes
- 🥶 Extreme cold
- Human-made challenges
- Uncontrolled tourism damages environment.
👉 Yet people still live there because of:
- Fresh air, pure water, natural beauty, religious importance, and cultural attachment.
🙏 Sacred Mountains
- Many communities consider mountains holy.
- Mount Everest →
- Tibetans call it Chomolungma (“Mother Goddess of the World”).
- Nepalis call it Sagarmatha (“Goddess of the Sky”).
- Mount Kailash (Tibet) → sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Bon.
- In India too, many mountain peaks are worshipped.
