Question

Why more landslides in himalayas than western ghats?

Answer 1

Landslides are physical mass movement of soil, rocks and debris down the mountain slope because of heavy rainfall, earth quake, gravity and other factors. Frequent in Himalayasbecause: ... Drifting of Indian plate causes frequent earth quakes and resultant instability.

Answer 2

The mountains of Himalayas experience more landslides and earthquake than the western ghats because of the following :-

1. Himalayas are one of the youngest fold mountains of the world. They are formed by the convergent movement of the Indian plate and Eurasian plate rather they are still rising in height. These tectonic movement causes frequent earthquakes in the region often resulting to landslides. Whereas Western Ghats lies in the stable deccan shield less prone to landslides than Himalayas.

2. Himalayas are greater in height than the Western Ghats. The slopes are comparitively steeper which increases the chance of landslide. Whereas the western ghats are much lesser in height than Himalayas.

3. The perennial rivers in Himalayas carry huge amount of silt and debris. Melting of glacier even increasing the flow of water during summer thus leading to more amount of landslides. But western ghats on the other hand does not face such situation.