KANCHENJUNGA 3RD HIGHEST PEAK OF WORLD

Notable peaks in Himalayan range
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13:42 IST 23 JUNE 2009
( SOURCE PIB)

The Himalayas stretches across six nations, i.e. India, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It run west to east from the Indus river valley to the Brahamaputra river valley. Thus it forms a long arc of 2400 kms. The Himalayan chain consists of three parallel ranges. They encompasses a very large number of glaciers. Siachen is notable among them, the largest in the world outside the polar region. Some of other more famous glaciers include Gangotri and Yamunotri in Uttarakhand, Nubra, Biafo and Baltoro in Karakoram region, Zemu in Sikkim and Khumbu glaciers in Mount Everest region.

Glaciers are formed during the natural system of snowfall accumulation in the high peaks, where it turns into ice. Excessive snowfall or evaporation respectively increase or decrease the mass of glaciers. The phenomenon is cyclic. Here are some notable peaks in the Himalayas.



Peak Name
Other names and meaning
Elevation (m)
Elevation (ft)
First ascent


Notes

Everest
Sagarmatha -"Forehead of the Sky",
Chomolangma or Qomolangma -"Mother of the Universe"
8,848
29,028
1953
World's highest mountain, situated on the border of Nepal and Tibet, China.

K2
Chogo Gangri
8,611
28,251
1954
World's 2nd highest. Located on border between Pakistan-administered Northern Areas and Xinjiang, China. Widely considered the most challenging mountains in the world to climb.

Kangchenjunga
Kangchen Dzö-nga, "Five Treasures of the Great Snow"
8,586
28,169
1955
World's 3rd highest, highest in India (Sikkim) and second highest in Nepal.

Makalu
-
8,462
27,765
1955
World's 5th highest situated in Nepal.

Dhaulagiri
White Mountain
8,167
26,764
1960
World's 7th highest situated in Nepal.

Nanga Parbat
Nangaparbat Peak or Diamir, "Naked Mountain"
8,125
26,658
1953
World's 9th highest. Located in Pakistan. Considered one of the world's most dangerous mountains to climb.

Annapurna
"Goddess of the Harvests"
8,091
26,545
1950
World's 10th highest situated in Nepal.

Nanda Devi
"Bliss-Giving Goddess"
7,817
25,645
1936
Located in Uttarakhand, India