Mount Everest rises 29,031 feet (8,848.86 meters) above sea level on the border between Nepal and China. Although Everest is the world’s tallest mountain, it is only one of dozens of Himalayan peaks that rise nearly four miles above sea level. The range forms a towering barrier across South Asia.
The Himalayas form a gigantic wall of rock and ice that separates the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia. The name means “home of snow” because its highest peaks are always capped with snow. The range stretches about 1,500 miles from east to west, with dozens of peaks rising nearly four miles above sea level, creating different worlds on either side.
From Snow to Rivers
The vast glaciers of the Himalayas act as a giant water tower for South Asia. Melting snow feeds great rivers like the Ganges and Indus, providing vital fresh water while the rivers carry sediment that creates fertile soil. South of the mountains, river water combines with warm climates and heavy seasonal rains to support enormous populations. Today, about one-fifth of the world’s people live in India and Bangladesh alone.
Different Worlds
The Himalayas stand as a towering barrier between the Indian subcontinent and Tibet. Even today, no major highway connects India and Tibet across the range. The few mountain roads twist along steep cliffs and high passes that weather, landslides, and snow can close for months at a time.
Colorful Buddhist prayer flags stand out against the cold, dry landscape of the Tibetan Plateau. The flags are traditionally printed with prayers and sacred images and placed outdoors, where the wind causes them to flutter. Much of the plateau lies more than two miles above sea level, where trees are scarce.
North of the Himalayas, the land changes dramatically. Much of Tibet sits on a cold, dry plateau more than two miles above sea level. Trees are scarce across the landscape, but grasses provide food for yaks, sheep, and goats. Today, Tibet is part of China, though Tibetans have their own distinct language, culture, and religious traditions.
The Himalayas also stretch across Nepal and Bhutan, where ancient traditions meet a rapidly modernizing world. The mountains made travel difficult for centuries—Bhutan only introduced television in 1999. Today, historic Buddhist monasteries overlook towns connected by smartphones and the internet.
Becoming Mountains
The Himalayas formed because the subcontinent is part of a tectonic plate that drifted northward from an ancient supercontinent. The plate was once joined with Africa, Australia, and Antarctica before colliding with Asia about 50 million years ago. This ongoing collision pushed the land upward, and scientists expect the Himalayas to continue rising for the next several million years.
The Indian subcontinent was once an island far south of Asia. Over millions of years, its tectonic plate moved north across the Indian Ocean. About 50 million years ago, India began colliding with the Eurasian Plate. The continuing collision pushed enormous masses of rock upward, eventually creating the Himalayan mountain range.
Mount Everest
The Himalayas include Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain, rising 29,031 feet (8,848.86 meters) above sea level on the border between China and Nepal. No plant life grows near the summit due to powerful winds, extreme cold, and thin air.
Thin Air
The air really is thinner high in the Himalayas. Air is made of tiny molecules, including the oxygen molecules our bodies need to survive. As elevation increases, those molecules spread farther apart. A hand fan waved near the summit of Mount Everest would create less of a breeze because there are fewer air molecules for the fan to push.
Sherpas
The Sherpas are the best-known ethnic group living high in the Himalayas. Their ancestors lived at high elevations for thousands of years, allowing their bodies to adapt genetically to use oxygen more efficiently than people born at sea level. Famous for working as expert mountain guides, the word sherpa has entered the English language as a term for a trusted and experienced guide, though Sherpa is actually the name of a people, not a profession.
Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (right) and New Zealander Edmund Hillary became the first climbers known to reach Everest’s summit in 1953. Norgay became an international hero and later spent more than two decades training mountaineers at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, India, passing his extraordinary experience to a new generation.
Challenging Everest
Every year, adventurous climbers from around the world rely on Sherpa guidance to challenge Everest. Even with modern equipment and local expertise, the summit remains one of the most perilous places on Earth, where only the hardiest survive.
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