RAS question
Which of the following is the correct sequence of Himalayan ranges from north to south?
Correct answer: (A) Greater Himalaya – Lesser Himalaya – Shiwalik.
From north to south, the three main Himalayan ranges are the Greater Himalaya or Himadri, the Lesser Himalaya or Himachal, and the Shiwalik or Outer Himalaya.
Explanation
NCERT describes the Himalaya as three parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent. The northernmost range is the Great or Inner Himalayas, also called the Himadri, with an average height of 6,000 metres. South of the Himadri lies the Himachal or Lesser Himalaya, where altitude varies between 3,700 and 4,500 metres. The outermost range is the Shiwalik, with an altitude varying between 900 and 1,100 metres. Therefore, the north-to-south order is Greater Himalaya, Lesser Himalaya and Shiwalik. The Trans-Himalaya lies even farther north, outside this three-range sequence.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Lesser Himalaya cannot come before Greater Himalaya in a north-to-south order because NCERT identifies the Himadri or Greater Himalaya as the northernmost range.
- (C) Shiwalik first gives the reverse direction, because NCERT calls the Shiwalik the outermost range and places it south of the Lesser Himalaya.
- (D) Shiwalik does not lie between the Greater and Lesser Himalaya; NCERT places the Lesser Himalaya south of Himadri and the Shiwalik as the outermost range.
Concept
The physiographic divisions of India include the longitudinal arrangement of the Himalayan ranges. RAS map-based and sequence-based questions often turn on exact north-south placement rather than only names.