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High Altitude Plateau- A view from Thikshey Gompa

Ladakh is a high altitude desert as the Himalayas create a rain shadow, denying entry to monsoon clouds. The main source of water is the winter snowfall on the mountains. This highest altitude plateau region in India (much of it being over 3,000 m), straddles the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges and the upper Indus River valley.

 

The mountain ranges in this region were formed over a period of 45 million years by the folding of the Indian Plate into the stationary landmass of Asia. While the Himalayas were formed from the base material of the Indian plate, the Zanskar Range consists of layers of sediment from the ocean floor, and the Ladakh Range of granite was born of the immense heat generated by the friction between the two plates.

 

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Uploaded on December 3, 2013
Taken on May 22, 2013