Geology & Tectonics of the Himalayan Mountains Essay

Geology & Tectonics of the Himalayan Mountains - Essay Example The Himalayas are mountain range in asia separating the indian sub continent and tibetan plateau. The meaning of the word Himalaya in sanskrit is "abode of the snow." The geology of the Himalayan mountain is the most dramatic and creation of modern plate tectonic forces. The Himalayas are a result of orogeny which is a result of a collison between two continental tectonic plates. They are formed due to the denudation processes of weathering and erosion. The Himalayas supplies water for more than one-fifth of the world population and accounts for a quarter of the global sedimentary budget. Himalayas stretch 2,900 km along the border between India and Tibet. With the collision of two large landmasses, India and Eurasia, driven by the plate movement, collided; this mountain began to form between 40 and 50 million years ago. As both the landmasses have the same rock density, one plate could not be subducted under the other. Thus the pressure of these plates started forming the Himalayan peaks. The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to the north have risen very rapidly. In just 50 million years, Mt. Everest has risen to height of more than 9 km. The Himalayas continue to rise more than 1 cm a year -- a growth rate of 10 km in a million years. If that is the case, the Himalayas should be even higher. This made scientists to believe that Eurasian Plate may now be stretching out rather than thrusting up, and such stretching would result in some subsidence due to gravity. Tectonics of Himalayas: The most important property of the Himalayan orogen is its growth laterally. The Himalayan region is divided into four tectonic units for the convenience and better understanding. 1) The sub Himalaya forms the foothills of the Himalayan range and is composed of Miocene and Pleistocene molassic sediments derived from the erosion of Himalaya. The subhimalyan region consist of the quarternery alluvium depsited by the rivers coming from the Himalayas. This explains that the Himalaya is still a young and active orogen. 2) The Upper Proterozoic to Lower Cenozoic Detrital Sediments from the passive Indian margin forms the Lesser Himalaya. These sediments are formed byintercalated with some granites and acid volcanics (1840 70 Ma, Frank et al., 1977). These low-grade sediments are thrust over the SubHimalaya along the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). The Lesser Himalaya often appears in tectonic windows (Kishtwar or Larji-Kulu-Rampur windows) within the High Himalaya Crystalline Sequence. 3) The Central Himalayan Domain, CHD (or High Himalaya) forms the backbone of the Himalayan orogen and encompasses the areas with the highest topographical relief. It is commonly separated into four zones. a. The High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence, HHCS is a 30 km thick, medium- to high-grade metamorphic sequence of metasedimentary rocks which are frequently intruded by granites of Ordovician ( 500 Ma) and Lower Miocene ( 22 Ma) age. b. The Tethys Himalaya, TH is an approximately 100 km large synclinorium formed by strongly folded and imbricated, weakly metamorphosed sedimentary series. c. The Nyimaling-Tso Morari Metamorphic Dome, NTMD: In the Ladakh region, the Tethys Himalaya synclinorium passes gradually to the north in a large dome of greenshist to eclogitic metamorphic rocks. As with the HHCS, these metamorphic rocks represent the metamorphic equivalent of the sediments forming the base of the Tethys Himalay

Informative analysis of school uniforms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informative analysis of school uniforms - Essay Example The president said in his 1996 state of the union address that schools should adapt to compulsory school uniforms if it means that teenagers can stop killing one another over designer clothing (Julia, 2012, p. 2). Since that time, school uniforms have been used as the long awaited policy for solving school violence crisis. In October of 1998, uniforms were supported by the United States conference of mayors, and the USA today of 15th October 1998 reported a significant decline in crime and an increased performance for students in schools that have implemented the policy. It specifically cites 91 percent drop in theft, vandalism, assaults and drug violation since 1991 in Long Beach (Julia, 2012, p. 4). Although the article neglects other steps that can improve students’ behavior, like increasing the teachers patrolling school hallways at class changes, taken in Long Beach around that same time and the nationwide concentration given to school uniforms, parents became more aware of their vital need to take part in their children’s lives. Students also identified the higher anticipations attached on them. The policy being in effect since 1994 suggests crime was already declining. The two opposing claims can be whether uniform policy alone is sufficient to end school violence and lead to improved performance, as suggested, or if uniform support is just an economical solution designed to disguise the actual weight of the problem (Julia, 2012, p. 3). For school uniforms There are arguments in support of the school uniform policy, firstly they assist school administration identify strangers who can visit the school. The uniforms adopted country wide can be similar. The school administration should, therefore, be able to identify strangers wandering around the school. Every other time, students are supposed to be in their classroom. An intruder might stick out since he/she might be wandering around at a time when students can be expected to be in classroom s studying. The intruder can easily be identified by the mode of dressing which is different from that of the students (Julia, 2012, p. 10). Uniform policy can also assist students in concentration with their school work. The idea here is that if students lack thinking about what to wear to school on a daily basis, they will put more effort on learning. The USA today dated October 15th 1998 reports that most teachers felt uniforms contributed to increased academic improvement because students cannot be distracted by their classmates clothing (Julia, 2012). This is an essential skill that students are supposed to learn since no employer can accept shady work due to distraction by clothing. Another reason is uniforms prevent gang members from insignia and gang colors. Some adornments will still be seen as gang- affiliated even if all students wear uniform. It is simpler to have a general rule on gangs in schools e.g. by forbidding accessories that cannot be essential, like pagers and bandannas, but abolishing the â€Å"gang† look may be rather difficult (Kevin Ryan, 2012, p. 160). Uniforms on the other hand, can help in decreasing violence over expensive clothing. When in England, the author purchased uniform from any store. However, some students purchased sweaters with designer logos. The distinction based on those logos was widely acknowledged and formed the basis of cliques in school.