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Geology and Physiography

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The Soils of Nepal

Part of the book series: World Soils Book Series ((WSBS))

Abstract

The Nepal Himalayas lies in the central part of the Himalayan arc. The range is a product of the collision between Indian and Eurasian plates in the Miocene period (50 M yr) and is bounded by Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ) to the north and the Ganga basin to the south. The coupling effect of earthquake reoccurrences and strong Asian monsoon has resulted in a steep slope, rugged mountains, deep valleys, intermontane basins, and flat land. Geologically it is divided into five tectonic zones separated by major tectonic discontinuities running parallel to the Himalayan chain. These tectonic zones from south to north are the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Siwaliks, the Lesser Himalayas, the Higher Himalayas, and the Tibetan-Tethys zone. These zones are formed with different types of rocks including sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic distributed throughout the Nepal Himalayas, which explains the depositional environmental and evolutionary history of the whole Himalayas range. In addition, the Nepal Himalayas is divided into five physiographic regions based on climatic and geomorphic conditions (Tarai, Siwaliks, Hills, Middle Mountain, and High Mountain). These physiographic regions are attributed to different types of soil, climate, and land use and are mostly characterized based on elevation. The variation on these physiographic zones depends on the micro-climate controlled by peaks and valleys. This chapter discusses the geologic and physiographic classification of the Nepal Himalayas in brief.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University-The Hong-Kong University, Sichuan, China

    Basanta Raj Adhikari

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Basanta Raj Adhikari

  3. Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Roshan Babu Ojha

Authors
  1. Basanta Raj Adhikari
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  2. Roshan Babu Ojha
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Correspondence to Basanta Raj Adhikari .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Soil Science Research Center, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Lalitpur, Nepal

    Roshan Babu Ojha

  2. Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, The University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Dinesh Panday

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Adhikari, B.R., Ojha, R.B. (2021). Geology and Physiography. In: Ojha, R.B., Panday, D. (eds) The Soils of Nepal. World Soils Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80999-7_4

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