Kashmir Valley is which type of Valley ?
Erosional
Erosional — option 3, as recorded in the Commission’s final key. It is worth saying plainly that the Kashmir valley is usually described as a structural or tectonic basin as well, and both aspects of its history are set out below.
What the valley is. An oval basin about 140 km long and 40 km wide, lying at about 1,600 m between the Pir Panjal to the south-west and the Greater Himalaya to the north-east, and drained by the Jhelum, which rises at Verinag and leaves through the gorge at Baramulla.
| Stage in its history | Process |
|---|---|
| Origin of the basin | Tectonic — a downwarp between two rising ranges, formed as the Himalaya were uplifted |
| Filling | It held a lake, and thick lacustrine deposits accumulated — the Karewas, up to 1,300 m of clay, sand and silt, on which Kashmir’s saffron and orchards are grown |
| Draining and shaping | The Jhelum cut down through the barrier at Baramulla, emptying the lake; river and glacial erosion then shaped the floor and terraces into the valley seen today |
Why both descriptions are used. The hollow is of tectonic origin; the valley floor and its terraces are the work of water and ice. A textbook classifying valleys by the agent that shaped the present landform will call it erosional; one classifying by the origin of the basin will call it tectonic. The Commission’s key follows the first.
The other options. A rift valley is a trough dropped down between two parallel faults — the Narmada and Tapi valleys in India, the Great Rift Valley of East Africa; Kashmir is not one. A blind valley is a karst feature that ends abruptly where its stream disappears underground.
The Karewas are the detail most worth carrying: these lake deposits are the evidence that the valley was once a lake, and they are what makes it agriculturally distinctive.
Hence, the answer recorded is Erosional.
Similar Questions
The Andes extends along which of the following ?
Which is the mountain range along the Mediterranean Coast of Asia Minor ?
Dalmetian Coast is
Which type of rock is formed from cooling and solidification of lava ?
Which is the oldest mountain of South America continent ?
Average height of snow-line in Uttarakhand Pradesh is
Amarkantak source place of Son river is situated at
Important Questions from Geomorphology
Marble is the metamorphosed form of?
Asthenosphere is:
The discontinuity present in earth's interior between lower mantle and outer core is called _________.
Which of the following igneous rocks contain silica in excess of 65%?
Which one of the following describes the Lithosphere?
