Aravalli Range
Encyclopedia
The Aravalli Range literally meaning 'line of peaks', is a range of mountains in western India
and eastern Pakistan
running approximately 800 km from northeast to southwest across states of Rajasthan
, Haryana
, and Gujarat and Pakistani provinces of Punjab
and Sindh
. It is also called Mewat
hills locally.
state, ending in Delhi
. The famous Delhi Ridge
is the last leg of the Aravalli Range, which traverses through South Delhi
and terminates into Central Delhi
. The southern end is at Palanpur
near Ahmedabad
, Gujarat. The highest peak is Guru Shikhar
in Mount Abu. Rising to 5650 feet (1722 meters), it lies near the southwestern extremity of the range, close to the border with the Gujrat District
. The city of Udaipur
with its lakes lies on the south slope of the range in Rajasthan. Numerous rivers arises amidst the ranges including, Banas River
, Luni River
, Sakhi, Sabarmati River
.
The Aravalli Range is the eroded stub of a range of ancient folded mountains. The range rose in a Precambrian
event called the Aravalli-Delhi
orogen. The range joins two of the ancient segments that make up the Indian craton
, the Marwar segment to the northwest of the range, and the Bundelkhand segment to the southeast.
Old fold mountains are characterized by having stopped growing higher due to the cessation of upward thrust caused by the stopping of movement of the tectonic plates
in the Earth's crust below them. In ancient times they were extremely high but since have worn down almost completely by millions of years of weathering
. In stark contrast Himalayas
are continuously rising young fold mountains of today.
and Haryana. This also poses a grave environmental concern as the ranges form a natural barrier against the spread of the Thar desert
northwards into the Gangetic plains in the Gangetic basin and Gujarat
In May 2009, after months of media and public protests, along with several environmental groups, the Supreme Court
banned mining in an area of 448 km2, across Faridabad
, Gurgaon
and Mewat
districts in Haryana
, that was once supposed to be set aside for a national park. This comes after SC's earlier judgment in 1994 that allowed limited mining on the basis of the sustainable development principle and under strict guidelines, which were violated by local miners as the court ruled. However, there are many illegal mines in Rajasthan, some of them operating at the edges of the Sariska Tiger Reserve
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and eastern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
running approximately 800 km from northeast to southwest across states of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, and Gujarat and Pakistani provinces of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
and Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. It is also called Mewat
Mewat
Mewat is a historical region of Haryana and Rajasthan states in northwestern India. The loose boundaries of Mewat are not precisely determined but generally include Mewat District of Haryana and parts of Alwar, Bharatpur, and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan...
hills locally.
Features
The northern end of the range continues as isolated hills and rocky ridges into HaryanaHaryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
state, ending in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. The famous Delhi Ridge
Delhi ridge
Delhi ridge, sometimes simply called The Ridge, is a ridge in the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. The ridge is a northern extension of the ancient Aravalli Range, some 1500 million years old...
is the last leg of the Aravalli Range, which traverses through South Delhi
South Delhi
South Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India.It is bounded by the Yamuna River to the east, the districts of New Delhi to the north, Faridabad District of Haryana state to the southeast, Gurgaon District of Haryana to the southwest, and South West...
and terminates into Central Delhi
Central Delhi
Central Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India.It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the east, and by the districts of North Delhi to the north, West Delhi and South West Delhi to the west, New Delhi to the south, and East Delhi to the east across the...
. The southern end is at Palanpur
Palanpur
Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the largest city and the administrative headquarters of the district....
near Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
, Gujarat. The highest peak is Guru Shikhar
Guru Shikhar
Guru Shikhar, a peak at an altitude of 5,676 feet , is the highest point in Rajasthan. It is located at a distance of 15 km from Mount Abu. It has a commanding view of Abu and its surroundings....
in Mount Abu. Rising to 5650 feet (1722 meters), it lies near the southwestern extremity of the range, close to the border with the Gujrat District
Gujrat District
Gujrat is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan. It is an ancient district located in between two famous rivers, the Jhelum and Chenab. Because of its proximity with the rivers the land is good for cultivation with rice and sugar cane as main crops...
. The city of Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
with its lakes lies on the south slope of the range in Rajasthan. Numerous rivers arises amidst the ranges including, Banas River
Banas River
The Banas is a river of Rajasthan state in western India. It is a tributary of the Chambal River, which in turn flows into the Yamuna, a tributary of the Ganges. The Banas is approximately 512 kilometres in length. It is also known as 'Van Ki Asha' .The Banas originates in the Khamnor Hills of the...
, Luni River
Luni River
The Luni is a river of western Rajasthan state, India. It originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli Range, near Ajmer and ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, after travelling a distance of 530 km...
, Sakhi, Sabarmati River
Sabarmati River
The Sabarmati River is a river in western India and one of the biggest rivers of north Gujarat. River Sabarmati is one of the major West flowing river of Gujarat which originates from Dhebar lake in Aravalli Range of the Udaipur District of Rajasthan and meets the Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea...
.
The Aravalli Range is the eroded stub of a range of ancient folded mountains. The range rose in a Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
event called the Aravalli-Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
orogen. The range joins two of the ancient segments that make up the Indian craton
Craton
A craton is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere. Having often survived cycles of merging and rifting of continents, cratons are generally found in the interiors of tectonic plates. They are characteristically composed of ancient crystalline basement rock, which may be covered by...
, the Marwar segment to the northwest of the range, and the Bundelkhand segment to the southeast.
Old fold mountains are characterized by having stopped growing higher due to the cessation of upward thrust caused by the stopping of movement of the tectonic plates
Tectonic Plates
Tectonic Plates is a 1992 independent Canadian film directed by Peter Mettler. Mettler also wrote the screenplay based on the play by Robert Lepage. The film stars Marie Gignac, Céline Bonnier and Robert Lepage.-Plot summary:...
in the Earth's crust below them. In ancient times they were extremely high but since have worn down almost completely by millions of years of weathering
Weathering
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, biota and waters...
. In stark contrast Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
are continuously rising young fold mountains of today.
Mining in Aravali hills
Being rich in mineral resources, the Aravalli hills have witnessed years of illegal mining, which have led to their fast erosion in RajasthanRajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Haryana. This also poses a grave environmental concern as the ranges form a natural barrier against the spread of the Thar desert
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...
northwards into the Gangetic plains in the Gangetic basin and Gujarat
In May 2009, after months of media and public protests, along with several environmental groups, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
banned mining in an area of 448 km2, across Faridabad
Faridabad
Faridabad is a city in the south-east of Haryana state in northern India, in Faridabad district. It lies at 28º 25' 16" N Latitude and 77º 18' 28" E Longitude. The district shares its boundaries with the National Capital and Union Territory of Delhi to its north, Gurgaon district to the west and...
, Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
and Mewat
Mewat
Mewat is a historical region of Haryana and Rajasthan states in northwestern India. The loose boundaries of Mewat are not precisely determined but generally include Mewat District of Haryana and parts of Alwar, Bharatpur, and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan...
districts in Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, that was once supposed to be set aside for a national park. This comes after SC's earlier judgment in 1994 that allowed limited mining on the basis of the sustainable development principle and under strict guidelines, which were violated by local miners as the court ruled. However, there are many illegal mines in Rajasthan, some of them operating at the edges of the Sariska Tiger Reserve
Sariska Tiger Reserve
The Sariska Tiger Reserve is a national park in India located in the Alwar district of the state of Rajasthan. The topography of Sariska supports scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, rocks and grasses. This area was a hunting preserve of the erstwhile Alwar state and it was declared a...
.
Further reading
- Watershed Management in Aravali Foothills, by Gurmel Singh, S. S. Grewal, R. C. Kaushal. Published by Central Soil & Water Conservation Research & Training Institute, 1990.
External links
- Aravalli Range Homepage India Environment Portal.
- http://www.savearavali.com
- http://www.rajirrigation.gov.in/1rainfall.htm