Himalaya & Tibetan Plateau
Earth's highest mountains and the plateau that feeds major rivers.
The Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau rise where the Indian subcontinent collides with Eurasia — Earth's highest mountains and a plateau that influences monsoon circulation across Asia.
Snow and glaciers here feed the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Yangtze headwaters. Billions of people downstream depend on seasonal melt and monsoon rain.
- Plate tectonics — ongoing collision lifts peaks and causes earthquakes.
- Glacier change — warming is thinning high-elevation ice stores.
- Monsoon gateway — topography steers summer rainfall into South Asia.
See also: Plate tectonics & boundaries, Indus & Ganges plains.
