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Aravalli Range

Coordinates: 25°00′N 73°30′E / 25°N 73.5°E / 25; 73.5
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This article is about the mountain range in western India. For information about the district in Gujarat state, see Aravali district.
Aravalli Range
The Aravali Range in Rajasthan
Highest point
PeakGuru Shikhar, Mount Abu
Elevation1,722 m (5,650 ft)
Coordinates24°35′33″N 74°42′30″E / 24.59250°N 74.70833°E / 24.59250; 74.70833
Dimensions
Length692 km (430 mi)
Naming
Native nameअरावली Error {{native name checker}}: parameter value is malformed (help)
PronunciationHindi pronunciation: [aa ra vli]
Geography
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Country India
StatesRajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat
Region(s)North India, Western India
Settlement(s)Delhi, Gurugram, Mount Abu
Range coordinates25°00′N 73°30′E / 25°N 73.5°E / 25; 73.5
Geology
OrogenyAravalli-Delhi Orogen
Rock agePrecambrian
Rock typeFold mountains from Plate tectonics

The Aravalli Range (Hindi: अरावली) is a range of mountains running approximately 692 km (430 mi) in a northeastern direction, starting in North India from Delhi and passing through southern Haryana,[1] through to Western India across the states of Rajasthan and ending in Gujarat.[2][3]

Etymology

Aravalli, a composite Sanskrit word from ara and vali, literally means the line of peaks.[4][5]

Geology

Natural History

The Aravalli range, an eroded stub of ancient mountains, is the oldest fold mountains in India.[6] It dates back to a pre-Indian subcontinental collision with the mainland Eurasian Plate. The range rose in a Precambrian event called the Aravalli-Delhi Orogen orogen. This orogen is an event that leads to a large structural deformation of the Earth's lithosphere (crust and uppermost mantle, such as Aravalli and Himalayas fold mountains) due to the interaction between tectonic plates when a continental plate is crumpled and is pushed upwards to form mountain ranges, and involve a great range of geological processes collectively called orogenesis.[7][8] In ancient times, Aravalli were extremely high but since have worn down almost completely by millions of years of weathering, where as the Himalayas being young fold mountains are still continuously rising. Aravalli, being the old fold mountains, have stopped growing higher due to the cessation of upward thrust caused by the stopping of movement of the tectonic plates in the Earth's crust below them.

The Aravalli range joins two of the ancient earth's crust segments that make up the greater Indian craton, the Aravalli Craton which is the Marwar segment of earths crust to the northwest of the Aravalli range, and the Bundelkand Craton segment of earths crust to the southeast of the Aravalli range. Craton, generally found in the interiors of tectonic plates, is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere (earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the uppermost mantle) that has remained relatively undeformedly flat during the cycles of merging and rifting of continents.

Geographical Features

The Aravali Range, seen from the range's highest point at Guru Shikhar, in Rajasthan.

Aravalli range, one of the world oldest range,[9] can be divided into 3 parts, each with related but gradually varying climate and ecology, the Northern Aravali range in Delhi and Haryana, the Central Aravali range in rajasthan, and the Southern Aravalli range in Gujrat.

Northern Aravalli range begins at Raisina hill of Delhi Ridge in Central Delhi. The Delhi ridge ends in South Delhi, where it meets various isolated hills and rocky ridges of aravalli range passing along the southern Haryana.[9]

Central Aravalli range passes along the eastern side of Rajasthan state.

Southern Aravalli range passes through the Gujarat state and ends at Palanpur near Ahmedabad.

Guru Shikhar, the highest peak in Aravalli range at 5650 feet (1722 meters) in Mount Abu of Rajsthan, lies near the south-western extremity of the Central Aravalli range, close to the border with Gujarat state.

Mining

Mining of copper and other metals in the Aravalli range dates back to at least 5th century BC, based on carbon dating.[10][11]

Recent research indicates that copper was already mined here during Sothi-Siswal period going back to c. 4000 BCE. Ancient Kalibangan and Kunal, Haryana settlements obtained copper here.[12]

Human History

Aravalli range has been site of three broad stages of human history, early stone age saw the use of flint stones; mid-stone age starting from 0,000 BP saw the domestication of cattle for agriculture; and post stone age starting from 10,000 BP saw the development of Kalibangan civilization, 4,000 years old Aahar civilization and 2,800 years old Gneshwar civilization, Aarayan civilization and vedic era civilizations.


Early Stone Age

Mid-Stone Age

Post Stone Age

Ganeshwar sunari Cultural Complex

Ganeshwar sunari Cultural Complex (GSCC) is a collection of third millennium BC settlements in the area of the Aravalli Hill Range. Among them, there are similarities in material culture, and in the production of copper tools. They are located near the copper mines.

"The GSCC is east of the Harappan culture, to the north-east of Ahar-Banas Complex, north/north west to the Kayatha Culture and at a later date, west of the OCP-Copper Hoard sites (Ochre Coloured Pottery culture-Copper Hoard Culture). Located within the regions of the Aravalli Hill Range, primarily along the Kantli, Sabi, Sota, Dohan and Bondi rivers, the GJCC is the largest copper producing community in third millennium BC South Asia, with 385 sites documented. Archaeological indicators of the GSCC were documented primarily in Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, and Sikar districts of Rajasthan, India ..."[13]

Among their pottery, we find the 'Incised ware', and 'Reserved Slip ware'.

There are two main type sites, Ganeshwar, and Sunari, in Tehsil Kot Putli, Jaipur District (geo coordinates: N 27° 35' 51", 76° 06' 85" E).

Environment

A lake nested within Aravali Hills.

Climate

Temperature

Northern Aravalli range in Delhi and Haryana has humid subtropical climate and hot semi-arid climate continental climate with very hot summers and relatively cool winters. [14] The main characteristics of climate in Hisar are dryness, extremes of temperature, and scanty rainfall.[15] The maximum daytime temperature during the summer varies between 40 and 46 °C (104 and 115 °F). During winter, its ranges between 1.5and 4 °C.[16]
Central Aravalli range in Rajasthan has arid and dry climate.
Southern Aravalli range in Gujjrat has tropical wet and dry climate


Rainfall

Rivers

Several rivers rise amidst Aravalli range.


Northern Aravalli range

Central Aravalli range in Rajasthan are

Sahibi River near Manoharpur in Sikar district flows through haryana 

including the north-to-south flowing rivers such as Banas River, the Luni River, the Sahibi, the Sakhi river, and the Sabarmati River; and south-west to north-east flowing  Chambal River. The city of Udaipur with its lakes lies on the south slope of the range in Rajasthan.

Southern Aravalli range in Gujjrat

Soil

Ecology

Flora

Aravalli range has several forests with a diversity of environment.[17]

Fauna

Ranthambore National Park, in Rajasthan.

Aravalli range is rich in wildlife. The first ever 2017 wildlife survey of 200 square meter area cross five districts (Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mewat, Rewari and Mahendergarh) of Haryana done by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) found 14 species, including leopards, striped hyena (7 sightings), golden jackal (9 sightings, with 92% occupancy across the survey area), nilgai (55 sightings), palm civet (7 sightings), wild pig (14 sightings), rhesus macaque (55 sightings), peafowl (57 sightings) and Indian crested porcupine (12 sightings). Encouraged by first survey, wildlife deprtment has prepared a plan for the comprehensive study and census of wildlife across the whole aravalli range, including radio collar tracking of the wild animals.[17]

Concerns

In May 1992, some parts of the Aravalli hills in Rajasthan and Haryana were protected from mining through the Ecologically Sensitive Areas clauses of Indian laws. In 2003, the central government of India prohibited mining operations in these areas. In 2004, India's Supreme Court banned mining in the notified areas of Aravalli range. In May 2009, the Supreme Court extended the ban on mining in an area of 448 km2 across Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts in Haryana, covering Aravalli range.[18][19]

A 2013 report used high resolution Cartosat-1 & LISS-IV satellite imaging to determine the existence and condition of mines in Aravalli range. In Guru Gram district, the Aravalli hills occupy an area of 11,256 hectares, of which 491 (4.36%) hectares had mines, of which 16 hectares (0.14%) were abandoned flooded mines. In Faridabad district and Mewat districts, about 3610 hectares were part of mining industry, out of a total of 49,300 hectares. These mines were primarily granite and marble mines for India's residential and real estate construction applications.[20] In Central Rajasthan region, Sharma states that the presence of some mining has had both positive and negative effect on neighboring agriculture and ecosystem. The rains induced wash brings nutrients as well as potential contaminants.[21]

See also

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aravalli Range.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Western India.

Books

  • Watershed Management in Aravali Foothills, by Gurmel Singh, S. S. Grewal, R. C. Kaushal. Published by Central Soil & Water Conservation Research & Training Institute, 1990.

References

  1. ^ "Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon".
  2. ^ Kohli, M.S. (2004), Mountains of India: Tourism, Adventure, Pilgrimage, Indus Publishing, pp. 29–, ISBN 978-81-7387-135-1
  3. ^ Dale Hoiberg; Indu Ramchandani (2000). "Aravali Range". Students' Britannica India. Popular Prakashan. pp. 92–93. ISBN 0-85229-760-2.
  4. ^ George Smith (1882). The Geography of British India, Political & Physical. J. Murray. p. 23.
  5. ^ "Aravali Range". Britannica.com.
  6. ^ Roy, A. B. (1990). Evolution of the Precambrian crust of the Aravalli mountain range. Developments in Precambrian Geology, 8, 327-347.
  7. ^ Tony Waltham (2009). Foundations of Engineering Geology (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 20. ISBN 0-415-46959-7.
  8. ^ Philip Kearey; Keith A. Klepeis; Frederick J. Vine (2009). "Chapter 10: Orogenic belts". Global Tectonics (3rd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. p. 287. ISBN 1-4051-0777-4.
  9. ^ a b Bhuiyan, C., Singh, R. P., & Kogan, F. N. (2006). Monitoring drought dynamics in the Aravalli region (India) using different indices based on ground and remote sensing data. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 8(4), 289-302
  10. ^ SM Gandhi (2000) Chapter 2 - Ancient Mining and Metallurgy in Rajasthan, Crustal Evolution and Metallogeny in the Northwestern Indian Shield: A Festschrift for Asoke Mookherjee, ISBN 978-1842650011
  11. ^ Shrivastva, R. (1999). Mining of copper in ancient India. Indian Journal of History of Science, 34, 173-180
  12. ^ Jane McIntosh, The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives. Understanding ancient civilizations. ABC-CLIO, 2008 ISBN 1576079074 p77
  13. ^ Uzma Z. Rizvi (2010) Indices of Interaction: Comparisons between the Ahar-Banas and Ganeshwar Jodhpura Cultural Complex Archived May 9, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, in EASAA 2007: Special Session on Gilund Excavations, edited by T. Raczek and V. Shinde, pp. 51-61. British Archaeological Reports: ArchaeoPress
  14. ^ "Climate of Hisar". PPU. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Climate of Hisar". District Administration, Hisar. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  16. ^ "More snowfall in Himachal". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  17. ^ a b Aravalis in Gurugram, Faridabad core area for leopards, finds survey, The Times of India, 17 June 2017
  18. ^ SC bans all mining activity in Aravali hills area of Haryana, May 9, 2009.
  19. ^ Mission Green: SC bans mining in Aravali hills Hindustan Times, May 9, 2009.
  20. ^ Rai and Kumar, MAPPING OF MINING AREAS IN ARAVALLI HILLS IN GURGAON, FARIDABAD & MEWAT DISTRICTS OF HARYANA USING GEO-INFORMATICS TECHNOLOGY, International Journal of Remote Sensing & Geoscience, Volume 2, Issue 1, Jan. 2013
  21. ^ Sharma, K. C. (2003). Perplexities and Ecoremediation of Central Aravallis of Rajasthan. Environmental Scenario for 21st Century, ISBN 978-8176484183, Chapter 20
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