Pir Panjal range
Topic: Structure and Physiography of India: Himalayas, Plains, Peninsula, Coasts and Islands · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"
Meaning
The Pir Panjal range is the longest range of the Lesser Himalaya (Himachal), the middle belt that lies between the Greater Himalaya and the Shiwalik. It runs through Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, south of the Kashmir valley. It forms a wall between the Kashmir valley and the plains to the south. Roads cross it through high passes and, more and more, through tunnels underneath it.
Example
The Jhelum rises at Verinag at the foot of the Pir Panjal. The Banihal pass carries the Jammu-Srinagar route over the range, and the Jawahar and Banihal-Qazigund tunnels run under it. In Himachal Pradesh, the Rohtang Pass in the same range links Kullu with Lahaul-Spiti. The Atal Tunnel (2020) now bypasses it.
Don't confuse with
- Dhauladhar range: this is another Lesser Himalayan range, but it lies further south-east, in Himachal Pradesh above the Kangra valley. The Pir Panjal is longer and walls off the Kashmir valley.
Related concepts
- Greater Himalaya
- Lesser Himalaya
- Shiwalik
- Ladakh and Zaskar ranges
- Kailash range
- Mount Everest
- Kanchenjunga
- Namcha Barwa