The youngest range of the Himalayas turns out to hold some of the oldest primate fossils ever found in Asia. The Shiwalik Hills carry both records at once.
MCQ Questions
The Shiwalik Hills
Young Range, Ancient Fossils
16-5.2 Mya
Tertiary sediments laid down
The Shiwaliks form as the geologically youngest, southernmost Himalayan range.
As range rises
Dun valleys form
Rivers deposit sediment in the trough between the Shiwaliks and Lesser Himalayas, forming valleys like Dehradun.
Fossil record
Primate fossils preserved
Rich fossil beds hold extinct apes like Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus.
Dec 1992
Tatrot Formation find
Possibly the world’s most ancient known early hominid fossil is discovered here.
The contrast: one of the Himalayas’ geologically youngest ranges preserves some of the oldest primate fossil evidence found anywhere in Asia.
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Must Know
- The Shiwalik Hills are the southernmost and youngest range of the Himalayas.
- They stretch roughly 1,690 kilometres, from Kashmir through northern India into Nepal.
- They run parallel to the main Himalayan range, just south of it.
- The hills consist of Tertiary sediments, deposited roughly 16 to 5.2 million years ago.
Good to Know
- Longitudinal valleys called “duns” lie between the Shiwaliks and the Lesser Himalayas.
- Dehradun is the best-known example of a dun valley.
- Duns formed as rivers deposited sediment into a trough as the Shiwaliks rose.
- The Shiwaliks are famous for rich fossil beds of extinct apes and other primates.
- Fossil species found here include Ramapithecus punjabicus and Sivapithecus sivalensis.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- In December 1992, researchers found what may be the world’s most ancient known early hominid fossil in the Shiwaliks’ Tatrot Formation.
- This means one of the geologically youngest Himalayan ranges holds some of the oldest primate fossil evidence anywhere.
- That combination, young mountains carrying ancient fossils, is exactly why the Shiwaliks matter beyond ordinary geography.
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