H.I.M. 



is the junction for Amersfoort, 

 and is connected by steam tram- 

 way with Huizen and Laren. The 

 town possesses a town hall, several 

 churches and schools ; the Kur- 

 haus Trompenberg lies to the N.W. 

 The industries comprise the manu- 

 facture of blankets, carpets, and 

 cotton goods. Pop. 36.750. 



H.I.M. Abbrev. for His (or Her) 

 Imperial Majesty. 



Himalaya OR HIMMALEH MOUN- 

 TAINS (Sanskrit, abode of snow). 

 Vast mountain system of Central 

 Asia, containing the loftiest peaks 

 in the world. From the Hindu 

 Kush and the Pamirs N. of the 

 Indus, the mountains trend S.E. 

 through the state of Kashmir, and 

 along the frontiers of the United 

 Provinces, Nepal, Sikkim, and 

 Bhutan, forming a stupendous 

 barrier between N. India and the 

 high plateau land of Tibet. Thus 

 they may be said to stretch from 

 the confines of Afghanistan to 

 Upper Burma, as the Brahmaputra 

 is regarded as the eastern limit. 

 They occupy the surface of the 

 globe between lat. 27 and 35 N., 

 and long. 72 and 96 E., and are 

 the south-easternmost of the ranges 

 radiating from the Pamir plateau. 



The extreme length from W. to E. 

 is about 1,550 m., and the breadth 

 averages 200 m. They must be 

 regarded not as a single range, 

 but rather as a series of parallel 

 chains running diagonally to the 

 general trend of the system. There 

 are also transverse sections, form- 

 ing knots or jumbles of snow-wrapt 

 summits, separated by gorges, ele- 

 vated plateaux and valleys, the 

 cradle of many streams and rivers, 

 which are fed by the melting snows 

 of the mountains and flow turbu- 

 lently through deep chasms. 



There are fertile and highly cul- 

 tivated tracts at the base of the 

 mountains on the Bhutan and 



3995 



HIMALAYA 



Himalaya Mountains. View from Mount Pbalut, DarjeeJing, of a portion of 

 the range of everlastingly snow-clad peaks 



Nepalese borders, and also a 

 marshy and wooded region known 

 as the Terai, which extends for 

 about 500 m. along the N. frontier 

 of India and Nepal, terminating to 

 the E. of the spot whence the 

 Ganges issues from the heights. 



This swampy and unhealthy 

 tract, the home of virulent fevers, 

 is separated from the foothills by a 

 boulder-strewn and scrubby belt, 

 called the Bhabar. Much of it is^ 

 wildly overgrown, and the streams" 

 emanating from the higher ground 

 percolate through the sandy soil to 

 feed the streams that wind about 

 the swampy Terai. Above the 

 Bhabar are the Siwalik Hills (q.v.), 

 which reach an alt. of 4,000 ft., and 

 beyond them again rear the giants 

 of the system. 



Altitudes of the Range 



The average alt. of the Himalayas 

 has been estimated at between 

 16,500 ft. and 18,000 ft., but there 

 are many summits rearing to a 

 height of over 24,000 ft. The 

 highest known point on the globe, 

 Mt. Everest, which lies on the bor- 

 ders of Tibet and Nepal, reaches 

 the immense alt. of 29,140 ft. 

 Much of the system is still un- 

 explored, and it is conjectured that 

 there may be other summits of even 



higher alt. Plans for the ascent of 

 Mt. Everest were under considera- 

 tion in 1921, and the surveyors 

 attached to the expedition were 

 fully to explore the neighbourhood. 

 Other gigantic summits are Dhau- 

 lagiri, 26,795 ft., and Kinchinjunga, 

 with an alt. of 28,146 ft., both in 

 the central part of the system. 

 Chumalhari, in the E., is 23,930 ft. 

 high. If the Karakoram or Muztagh 

 range be included, as it often is, in 

 the Himalayan system, Mt. Godwin 

 Austen, formerly known as Dap- 

 sang or Peak K2, may be men- 

 tioned, which has an alt. of 28,250 

 ft., and is second only to Mt. 

 Everest itself. 



Among the numerous passes, the 

 loftiest is Ibi-Gamin, which reaches 

 20,460 ft., N.W. of the giant peak 

 of Nanda-Devi ; others are the 

 Muztagh Pass, with an alt. of 

 19,050 ft., Mana Pass, Bara Lacha, 

 the Parang Pass, and the Chang, 

 all exceeding 16,000 ft. They are 

 all difficult to cross, and the con- 

 ditions prevailing are semi-arctic. 

 They are mainly used by Indian 

 and Tibetan traders, who load their 

 goods on yaks and goats, and 

 are often attacked by mountain 

 sickness in the higher' altitudes. 

 No heavy loads can be carried over 



HIMALAYA 

 MOUNTAINS 



Map of the great mountain system which divides .India from the main part of 

 contains the world's highest points 



