Himalayas Mountain Range

The Himalayas are the world's highest mountain range — containing all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters (the 'eight-thousanders,' all in Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, India). The range was formed approximately 50 million years ago when the Indian subcontinent collided with Asia — and it is still rising at 5mm per year as this collision continues. The Himalayas are geologically young (compared to the Appalachians or Scottish Highlands, which are ancient and eroded). The Himalayas are crucial for Asia's water supply — the 'Third Pole' (containing more ice than anywhere outside the polar regions) is the source of 10 of Asia's major rivers (Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Yellow River, Mekong, Irrawaddy, Salween) providing freshwater to 2 billion people. The monsoon (critical for South Asian agriculture) is driven partly by the Himalayan barrier. Climate change is accelerating Himalayan glacier melt — threatening long-term water supplies while causing short-term flooding.