Question

Think of the reason why landslides should be more frequent in the foothill zone of the Himalayas and Western Ghat region. Why do landslides not occur in Marathwada in Maharashtra or the Maidan area in Karnataka?

Answer 1

1. The Himalayas is one of the youngest fold mountains of the world. They are formed due to the convergent movement of the Indian plate and erosion plate. They are still rising in height. These tectonic movements cause frequent earthquakes in the region resulting in landslides whereas western Ghats lie in the stable Deccan shieldless prone to landslides.
2. The Himalayas are greater in height than the western Ghats. The slopes are comparatively steep and hence landslides are common in the Himalayas whereas, the Western Ghats is much lesser in height than the Himalayas hence less prone to landslides as compared to the Himalayas.
3. The perennial rivers in the Himalayas carry lots of sediments during rainfall and due to the melting of glaciers in the summer thus leading to landslides, whereas, in the Western Ghats, many rivers are non-perennial and hence less amount of silt and debris in carried as compared to Himalayan rivers. Thus, there is a reduction in the chances of landslides. only during the rainy season, landslides occur in the Western Ghats region.