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{{short description|Mountain range in India and Nepal}}
] town as viewed from a distant hill. In the background are the ] Mountains.]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
]
The '''Sivalik Hills''', also known as '''Churia Hills''', are a ] of the outer ].
The ] of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of ]'.<ref name=Balokhra99>{{cite book |last1=Balokhra |first1=J. M. |year=1999 |title=The Wonderland of Himachal Pradesh |publisher=H. G. Publications |location=New Delhi |edition=Revised and enlarged fourth |isbn=9788184659757}}</ref> The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and is also home to the ] ] archaeological culture.<ref name=SchugWalimbe2016/>


== Geography==
The '''Sivalik Hills''' also known as the Sivalik mountains (also spelled '''Shiwalik''', '''Shivalik''', or '''Siwalik''') and sometimes called '''Churia''' or '''Chure Hills''' or '''Outer Himalaya''' are the southernmost and geologically youngest east-west mountain chain of the ]. The Sivalik Hills crest at 900 to 1,200 meters and have many sub-ranges. They extend 1,600 km from the ] in ], westward through ] and ], continuing into ] and ]. The ] is the principal pass accessing the Sivalik Hills from ] in ] to ] and the ] of ] in ]. Eastward they are cut through at wide intervals by large rivers flowing south from the Himalaya. Smaller rivers without sources in the high Himalaya are more likely to detour around sub-ranges.There are vast networks of small rills and channels to form streams which are ephemeral (transient) in nature.
] River]]
The Sivalik Hills are a ] of the outer ] that stretches over about {{cvt|2400|km}} from the ] eastwards close to the ], spanning the northern parts of the ]. It is {{cvt|10|-|50|km}} wide with an average elevation of {{cvt|1500|-|2000|m}}. Between the ] and ]s in ] is a gap of about {{cvt|90|km}}.<ref name="Kohli2002">{{cite book |author=Kohli, M. S. |chapter=Shivalik Range |title=Mountains of India: Tourism, Adventure and Pilgrimage |year=2002 |pages=24–25 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GIs4zv17HHwC&pg=PA24 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-135-1}}</ref>
They are well known for their ] and ] aged vertebrate fossils.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kaur |first=A. P. |date=2022 |title=New fossil mammalian assemblages and first record of ostrich from the Pinjore (Pinjor) formation (2.58–0.63 Ma) of Siwalik Hills near Chandigarh, northern India |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=293 |page=107694 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107694|bibcode=2022QSRv..29307694K }}</ref>


==Geology==
The Sivalik Hills are chiefly composed of ] and conglomerate formations which are the solidified detritus of the great range in their rear, but often poorly consolidated. They are bounded on the south by a fault system called the Main Frontal Thrust, with steeper slopes on that side. '']'' (a kind of ], formerly known as '']'') is among many ] finds in the Sivalik region.
{{multiple image
| perrow = 1
| image1 = River Ganga meandering through the Shivalik ranges, Rishikesh.jpg
| caption1 = Ganga river cutting through the Sivalik hills
| image2 = Sunrise_over_Sukhna.jpg
| caption2 = View of the Sivalik hills from Sukhna lake at dawn
}}
Geologically, the Sivalik Hills belong to the ] ] of the outer Himalayas.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Siwalik Hills |volume=25 |pages=163–164}}</ref> They are chiefly composed of ] and ] rock formations, which are the solidified ] of the Himalayas<ref name=EB1911/> to their north; they are poorly consolidated. The sedimentary rocks comprising the hills are believed to be 16–5.2&nbsp;million years old.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gautam |first1=P. |last2=Fujiwara |first2=Y. |year=2000 |title=Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of Siwalik Group sediments of Karnali River section in western Nepal |journal=Geophysical Journal International |volume=142 |issue=3 |pages=812–824 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-246x.2000.00185.x |bibcode=2000GeoJI.142..812G |doi-access=free|hdl=2115/38248 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>


The alluvial ] zone makes the transition from the steep southern slopes of the Sivaliks to the nearly level plains. Rainfall, especially during the summer ], percolates downslope and emerges in a zone of springs and marshes along the northern edge of the ] or plains. This wet zone was heavily ] before ] was used to suppress mosquitoes. It was left forested by official decree by Nepal's ] rulers as a defensive perimeter called '''Char Kose Jhadi''' (four kos forest, a kos equalling about two miles). They are bounded on the south by a fault system called the Main Frontal Thrust, with steeper slopes on that side. Below this, the coarse alluvial ] zone makes the transition to the nearly level plains. Rainfall, especially during the summer ], percolates into the Bhabar, then is forced to the surface by finer alluvial layers below it in a zone of springs and marshes along the northern edge of the ] or plains.<ref name=Mani>{{cite book|title=Ecology and Biogeography in India|first=M.S.|last=Mani|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2012 |page=690}}</ref>


== Prehistory ==
North of the Sivalik belt lies a higher range, the 1,500-3,000 meter ] (Range) also known as the ]. In many places the two ranges are adjacent, in others valleys 10-20 km wide separate them. These valleys are called Duns or Doons in India (as in, for example, the ]) which includes Dehradun, as also Patli Dun and Kothri Dun, both in ] in ], and also Pinjore Dun in Himachal Pradesh. In Nepal, they are called '''Inner Terai''' and include ], ] and ].
{{see|South Asian Stone Age#Siwalik Hills}}
]'', the largest known to have ever existed, and one of the best known Sivalik fossils]]
The Sivalik Hills are well known for fossils of vertebrates, spanning from the Early ], until the ], around 18 million to 600,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nanda |first=A.C. |date=2002 |title=Upper Siwalik mammalian faunas of India and associated events |journal=Journal of Asian Earth Sciences |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=47–58 |doi=10.1016/S1367-9120(02)00013-5|bibcode=2002JAESc..21...47N }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Patnaik |first=R. |chapter=Indian Neogene Siwalik Mammalian Biostratigraphy. An Overview |date=2013 |doi=10.7312/wang15012-017 |title=Fossil Mammals of Asia |place=New York Chichester, West Sussex |publisher=Columbia University Press}}</ref>


Some of the best known fossils from the hills include '']'', the largest known tortoise to have ever existed,<ref name="TEWG2015">{{cite journal |author1=Rhodin, A.G.J. |author2=Thomson, S. |author3=Georgalis, G. |author4=Karl, H.-V. |author5=Danilov, I.G. |author6=Takahashi, A. |author7=de la Fuente, M.S. |author8=Bourque, J.R. |author9=Delfino M. |author10=Bour, R. |author11=Iverson, J.B. |author12=Shaffer, H.B. |author13=van Dijk, P.P. |year=2015 |title=Turtles and tortoises of the world during the rise and global spread of humanity: first checklist and review of extinct Pleistocene and Holocene chelonians. |journal=Chelonian Research Monographs |volume=5 |issue=8 |pages=000e.1–66 |doi=10.3854/crm.5.000e.fossil.checklist.v1.2015 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |collaboration=Turtle Extinctions Working Group |hdl=11336/62240}}</ref> ''],'' the largest known ], <ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Basu |first1=Christopher |last2=Falkingham |first2=Peter L. |last3=Hutchinson |first3=John R. |date=January 2016 |title=The extinct, giant giraffid ''Sivatherium giganteum'': skeletal reconstruction and body mass estimation |journal=] |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=20150940 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2015.0940 |pmc=4785933 |pmid=26763212}}</ref> and the ape '']''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kelley |first1=J. |date=1988 |title=A new large species of Sivapithecus from the Siwaliks of Pakistan |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=305–324 |doi=10.1016/0047-2484(88)90073-5|bibcode=1988JHumE..17..305K }}</ref>
The permeable sediments and poorly-developed soils of the Sivalik hills do not retain water between storms and are unsuited to agriculture. They are lightly populated by a few tribal groups, especially the ''Van Gujjars'', or ], that follow a quasi-] ]-dependent lifestyle and are responsible for heavy ] and ] in many parts, given that the size of their herds has dramatically outgrown the ecosystems' capacity to sustain them.


Remains of the ]-] ] culture dating to around 500,000 to 125,000 years ] were found in the Sivalik region.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Is the Soanian techno-complex a Mode 1 or Mode 3 phenomenon? A morphometric assessment |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |volume=34 |issue=9 |pages=1434–1440 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.001|year=2007|last1=Lycett|first1=S. J.|bibcode=2007JArSc..34.1434L }}</ref> Contemporary to the ], the Soanian culture is named after the ] in the Sivalik Hills of ]. The Soanian archaeological culture is found across Sivalik region in present-day India, Nepal and Pakistan.<ref name="SchugWalimbe2016">{{cite book|editor1=Schug, G. R. |editor2=Walimbe, S. R. |title=A Companion to South Asia in the Past |date=2016 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Oxford, Chichester |isbn=978-1-119-05547-1 |author=Chauhan, P. |chapter=A decade of paleoanthropology in the Indian Subcontinent. The Soanian industry reassessed |page=39 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xv-CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39}}</ref>
Low population densities throughout the Sivaliks and along the steep southern slopes of the Mahabharat Range, plus virulent malaria in the damp forests of the Sivaliks' alluvial skirts amounted to a cultural, linguistic and political buffer zone between the north Indian plains and the densely populated "hills" beyond the Mahabharat escarpment, allowing the two zones to evolve differently.

==Ecosystem==
The ] and ] rates of the Churia forests differ among different forest management regimes and are highest in protected areas.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Thapa |first1=H. B. |title=Churia forests of Nepal |url=http://www.dfrs.gov.np/downloadfile/CHURE_REPORT_1453193322.pdf |archive-date=2017-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508190912/http://www.dfrs.gov.np/downloadfile/CHURE_REPORT_1453193322.pdf |publisher=Forest Resource Assessment Nepal, Department of Forest Research and Survey, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal |date=2014 |lccn=2015515752}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Subedi |first1=B. |last2=Lamichhane |first2=P. |last3=Magar |first3=L. K. |last4=Subedi |first4=T. |date=2022 |title=Aboveground carbon stocks and sequestration rates of forests under different management regimes in Churia region of Nepal |url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/BANKO/article/view/45442 |journal=Banko Janakari |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=15–24 |doi=10.3126/banko.v32i1.45442|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==See also==
<!-- Please help by converting this to an "Outline" article and/or create/add to a navigation template. -->
; Subranges of Sivalik (from north to south)
* ]
* ]
⚫ * ]
; Geological subdivisions of Himalayas (from north to south)
* ]
*]
*]
*]
* ]
; Geographical subdivisions of Himalayas (from east to west)
* ]
* ], ] and ]
* ], ], ] and ]


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}}
⚫ {{Wikisource1911Enc|Siwalik Hills}}
*{{1911}}


== External links ==
⚫ {{GeoSouthAsia}}
{{Commons category|Shivalik Hills}}
⚫ {{EB1911 poster|Siwalik Hills}}
{{coord|27|46|N|82|24|E|source:kolossus-fiwiki|display=title}}


⚫ {{GeoSouthAsia}}
⚫ ]
{{Himalayas}}
⚫ ]
{{Authority control}}
⚫ ]


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Latest revision as of 10:24, 15 November 2024

Mountain range in India and Nepal

Map of the Sivalik Hills

The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas. The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and is also home to the Soanian Middle Paleolithic archaeological culture.

Geography

Sivalik Hills and Ganges River

The Sivalik Hills are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about 2,400 km (1,500 mi) from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. It is 10–50 km (6.2–31.1 mi) wide with an average elevation of 1,500–2,000 m (4,900–6,600 ft). Between the Teesta and Raidāk Rivers in Assam is a gap of about 90 km (56 mi). They are well known for their Neogene and Pleistocene aged vertebrate fossils.

Geology

Ganga river cutting through the Sivalik hillsView of the Sivalik hills from Sukhna lake at dawn

Geologically, the Sivalik Hills belong to the Tertiary deposits of the outer Himalayas. They are chiefly composed of sandstone and conglomerate rock formations, which are the solidified detritus of the Himalayas to their north; they are poorly consolidated. The sedimentary rocks comprising the hills are believed to be 16–5.2 million years old.

They are bounded on the south by a fault system called the Main Frontal Thrust, with steeper slopes on that side. Below this, the coarse alluvial Bhabar zone makes the transition to the nearly level plains. Rainfall, especially during the summer monsoon, percolates into the Bhabar, then is forced to the surface by finer alluvial layers below it in a zone of springs and marshes along the northern edge of the Terai or plains.

Prehistory

Further information: South Asian Stone Age § Siwalik Hills
Skeleton of the gigantic tortoise Megalochelys atlas, the largest known to have ever existed, and one of the best known Sivalik fossils

The Sivalik Hills are well known for fossils of vertebrates, spanning from the Early Miocene, until the Middle Pleistocene, around 18 million to 600,000 years ago.

Some of the best known fossils from the hills include Megalochelys atlas, the largest known tortoise to have ever existed, Sivatherium giganteum, the largest known giraffid, and the ape Sivapithecus.

Remains of the Lower-Middle Paleolithic Soanian culture dating to around 500,000 to 125,000 years Before Present were found in the Sivalik region. Contemporary to the Acheulean, the Soanian culture is named after the Soan Valley in the Sivalik Hills of Pakistan. The Soanian archaeological culture is found across Sivalik region in present-day India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Ecosystem

The carbon stock and carbon sequestration rates of the Churia forests differ among different forest management regimes and are highest in protected areas.

See also

Subranges of Sivalik (from north to south)
Geological subdivisions of Himalayas (from north to south)
Geographical subdivisions of Himalayas (from east to west)

References

  1. Balokhra, J. M. (1999). The Wonderland of Himachal Pradesh (Revised and enlarged fourth ed.). New Delhi: H. G. Publications. ISBN 9788184659757.
  2. ^ Chauhan, P. (2016). "A decade of paleoanthropology in the Indian Subcontinent. The Soanian industry reassessed". In Schug, G. R.; Walimbe, S. R. (eds.). A Companion to South Asia in the Past. Oxford, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-119-05547-1.
  3. Kohli, M. S. (2002). "Shivalik Range". Mountains of India: Tourism, Adventure and Pilgrimage. Indus Publishing. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-81-7387-135-1.
  4. Kaur, A. P. (2022). "New fossil mammalian assemblages and first record of ostrich from the Pinjore (Pinjor) formation (2.58–0.63 Ma) of Siwalik Hills near Chandigarh, northern India". Quaternary Science Reviews. 293: 107694. Bibcode:2022QSRv..29307694K. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107694.
  5. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Siwalik Hills" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 163–164.
  6. Gautam, P.; Fujiwara, Y. (2000). "Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of Siwalik Group sediments of Karnali River section in western Nepal". Geophysical Journal International. 142 (3): 812–824. Bibcode:2000GeoJI.142..812G. doi:10.1046/j.1365-246x.2000.00185.x. hdl:2115/38248.
  7. Mani, M.S. (2012). Ecology and Biogeography in India. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 690.
  8. Nanda, A.C. (2002). "Upper Siwalik mammalian faunas of India and associated events". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 21 (1): 47–58. Bibcode:2002JAESc..21...47N. doi:10.1016/S1367-9120(02)00013-5.
  9. Patnaik, R. (2013). "Indian Neogene Siwalik Mammalian Biostratigraphy. An Overview". Fossil Mammals of Asia. New York Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/wang15012-017.
  10. Rhodin, A.G.J.; Thomson, S.; Georgalis, G.; Karl, H.-V.; Danilov, I.G.; Takahashi, A.; de la Fuente, M.S.; Bourque, J.R.; Delfino M.; Bour, R.; Iverson, J.B.; Shaffer, H.B.; van Dijk, P.P.; et al. (Turtle Extinctions Working Group) (2015). "Turtles and tortoises of the world during the rise and global spread of humanity: first checklist and review of extinct Pleistocene and Holocene chelonians". Chelonian Research Monographs. 5 (8): 000e.1–66. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000e.fossil.checklist.v1.2015. hdl:11336/62240.
  11. Basu, Christopher; Falkingham, Peter L.; Hutchinson, John R. (January 2016). "The extinct, giant giraffid Sivatherium giganteum: skeletal reconstruction and body mass estimation". Biology Letters. 12 (1): 20150940. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0940. PMC 4785933. PMID 26763212.
  12. Kelley, J. (1988). "A new large species of Sivapithecus from the Siwaliks of Pakistan". Journal of Human Evolution. 17 (3): 305–324. Bibcode:1988JHumE..17..305K. doi:10.1016/0047-2484(88)90073-5.
  13. Lycett, S. J. (2007). "Is the Soanian techno-complex a Mode 1 or Mode 3 phenomenon? A morphometric assessment". Journal of Archaeological Science. 34 (9): 1434–1440. Bibcode:2007JArSc..34.1434L. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.11.001.
  14. Thapa, H. B. (2014). Churia forests of Nepal (PDF). Forest Resource Assessment Nepal, Department of Forest Research and Survey, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal. LCCN 2015515752. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2017.
  15. Subedi, B.; Lamichhane, P.; Magar, L. K.; Subedi, T. (2022). "Aboveground carbon stocks and sequestration rates of forests under different management regimes in Churia region of Nepal". Banko Janakari. 32 (1): 15–24. doi:10.3126/banko.v32i1.45442.

External links

27°46′N 82°24′E / 27.767°N 82.400°E / 27.767; 82.400

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