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Natural SciLab Geosciences and Astrophysics
Geology/Geochemistry Report
Spring Semester 2005
Mount Everest (8848 m.)
Date submitted: March 21,2005
Rosan Dahal
Sagarmatha National Park
Overview of Geologic situation of Nepal:
Nepal, sandwiched between Tibet on the North and India on the south, is a South
Asian landlocked country having diverse topography and geographical features. Nepal
can be roughly divided into three regions.
1.Himalyan region:
The altitude of this region ranges between 4877 meters and 8848 meters. It includes 8 of
the existing 14 summits in the world, which exceed an altitude of 8000 meters. They
include (1) Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) - 8848 m, (2) Kangchenjunga - 8586 m, (3) Lhotse
- 8516 m, (4) Makalu - 8463 m, (5) Cho Oyo - 8201 m (6) Dhaulagiri - 8167 m, (7)
Manasalu - 8163m, and (8) Annapurna I - 8091 m.
2.Hilly region:
This region accounts for about 64 percent of total land area. It includes the Mahabharat
range that soars up to 4877 meters. To its south lies the lower Churia range whose
altitude varies from 610 meters to 1524 meters.
3.Terai:
The low-land Terai region, which has a width of about 26 to 32 kilometers and an
maximum altitude of 305 meters, occupies about 17 percent of total land area of the
country. Kechananakawal, the lowest point of the country with an altitude of 70 meters,
lies in Jhapa District of the eastern Terai.
Climate :
Nepal's climate varies with its topography. It ranges from tropical to artic depending
upon the altitude. The Terai region, which lies in the tropical southern part of the country,
for instance, has a hot, humid climate. The mid-land regions are pleasant almost all year
around, although winter nights are cool. The northern mountain region, at an altitude
above 3,353 meters has an alpine climate with considerably lower temperatures in winter.
Introduction:
Nepal has 847 species of birds including 6 endemic pheasant species, about 640 species
of butterflies, 6,500 species of flowering plants and 175 mammal species. The country
also shelters endangered wildlife species such as the Royal Bengal Tiger, Greater onehorned rhinoceros, Asian elephant, Gaur, Swamp deer, Black buck. With the enactment
of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act in 1973, Nepal has begun to protect its
wildlife and geologic feature because of increasing threat to its geography, flora and
fauna. The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation presently works with
a network of 8 National Parks, 4 Wildlife Reserves, 3 Conservation Areas, 1 Hunting
Reserve including 5 Buffer Zones around national parks, covering a total of 27,345 sq.
km., or 18.58% of the country’s total land. It was established to conserve, restore and
manage the rich and varied fauna, flora and the landscape of Nepal. An office had been
set up in 1972 under the Department of Forests, His Majesty’s Government of Nepal,
with the aim to conserve the country’s major representative ecosystems, unique natural
and cultural heritage, and give protection to the valuable and endangered wildlife species,
before it was formally upgraded as a department in 1980.
Brief Overview of Sagarmatha National Park:
This is the highest national park in the world, gazetted in July 1976, covering an area of
1,148 square kilometers of Himlayan ecology. UNESCO listed the park as a World
Heritage Site in 1979. This park includes three peaks higher than 8,000 m, including Mt
Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) and several other well-known peaks such as Lhotse,
Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kwangde, Kangtaiga and
Gyachung Kang. The mountains of Sagarmatha National Park are geologically young and
broken up by deep gorges and-glacial valleys. Therefore, most of the park area is very
rugged and steep, with its terrain cut by deep rivers and glaciers. The park can be divided
into four climate zones because of the rising altitude. The climatic zones include a
forested lower zone, a zone of alpine scrub, the upper alpine zone that includes upper
limit of vegetation growth, and the Arctic zone where no plants can grow. The types of
plants and animals that are found in the park depend on the altitude.
At lower altitudes, the vegetation is enriched due to pine and hemlock forests. In the
lower forested zone (above 3500m), birch, juniper, blue pines, firs, bamboo and
rhododendron grow. Above this zone all vegetation are found to be dwarf or shrubs. As
the altitude increases, plant life is restricted to lichens and mosses. Plants cease to grow at
about 5,750 m (18,690 ft), because this is the permanent snow line in the Himalayas.
After the first monsoon rains in June, different kinds of plant grow rapidly. The hillsides
become green and different varieties of flowers start blooming, and butterflies of myriad
species appear in different colors.
Many kinds of birds are also found in the park. Around 118 species of birds and 26
species of butterflies can be seen here. Some of the birds are the Impeyan pheasant
(Danphe), Blood pheasant, Redbilled chough, and Yellow-billed chough.
Some of the endangered animals that are found in this park are musk deer, wild yak, red
panda, Snow leopard and Himalayan black bear. Besides, many other animals such as
Himalayan thars, Musk deer, Langur(a type of local monkey found in Nepal and India)
monkeys, Himalayan Mousehare (pica), mountain foxes, Martens, and Himalayan wolves
are found in the park. However, their numbers are significantly not very large.
The oxygen gets thinner with the altitude. Therefore, the animals that are found here are
adapted to living on less oxygen as well as a cold temperature. They have thick coats and
fur covering their body skin to retain body heat. Some of them have shortened limbs to
prevent loss of body heat.
One-horned rhinoceros (found in Terai regions mostly)
Environmental Problems:
The primary threat to this eco-region's natural biodiversity is forest clearing for
agriculture, plantations, and settlements. The upper elevation limit of cultivation in the
eastern Himalayas is about 2,100 m, but the land above the agricultural areas is used for
livestock grazing, especially during the summer, and exploited for wood and foliage.
They are also cut down to accommodate the growing population and to feed the growing
number of forest-based industries. Pastoralists often clear and burn these forests to create
grazing lands for livestock. Even in the well-represented Quercus lamellosa-dominated
forests, the lower areas have been extensively cleared. This is also the same problem in
Himalayan areas.
As a result, many species of trees very common few decades back are now rare or have
completely disappeared from certain areas. Overgrazing by domestic animals like sheep,
goats, cows, mules, horses and yaks has been responsible for large-scale degradation of
the vegetative cover in many parts of the Himalayas. About 3,500 Sherpa people reside in
Yak
A typical Sherpa girl
various settlements within the park. The main settlements are Namche Bazar, Khumjung,
Khunde, Thame, Thyangboche, Pangboche and Phortse. (The Sherpa people originated in
the eastern Tibetan Province of Kham. They left their original home in the late 1400s or
early 1500s crossing over the Nangpa-La into Nepal.) The economy of the local Sherpa
community has traditionally been agriculture, livestock herding, and trade with Tibet. But
with the coming of international mountaineering expeditions since 1950 and the influx of
foreign trekkers, the Sherpa economy today is becoming increasingly dependent on
tourism. So, the waste and trash that comes out of the hotels and lodges they have run in
this region is a serious problem because of the lack of proper dumping site in the region,
that has been affecting the ecosystem of the park adversely. Sherpas are also heavily
dependent on raising livestocks . This is also creating a problem of overgrazing.
Overgrazing by domestic animals affects the vegetation -- in the case of both alpine
grasslands and forests. Due to this, the forests and the grasslands become bare and
subsequently prone to soil erosion. So these effects have continued to be a threat to the
flora and fauna of the park. Many plants and animals and even birds are getting
endangered and some are on the verge of extinction. Musk deer, wild yak, red panda,
Snow leopard and Himalayan black bear are some of the endangered animals in the
region.
Pollution in Everest:
Nepal has always been a place to visit once in a lifetime for the mountaineers and
trekkers. A large number of peaks for climbers and trails for trekkers have been opened
up for such expeditions. Everest also doesn’t fall in exception .To climb the top of the
world is always an adventurous experience for the mountaineers. These adventure
expeditions provide a boost to the local socio-economy and help to popularize the sport.
They are a source of valuable foreign exchange for the government. However, they do
leave behind a host of environmental problems for the locality. The increasing number of
trekkers and climbers who visit the Everest region cause serious environmental impact.
Such impact includes the burning of wood for fuel, pollution in the form of human waste
and trash like toilet paper, plastic bottles and packaging, tins, glass, oxygen bottles,
batteries, condoms, film canisters, cigarettes, tobacco packets, rubber goods and
abandoned climbing gear. It is estimated that more than 50 tons of plastic, glass, and
metal were dumped between 1953 and the mid-1990s. Because of the increasing
pollution and degrading situation of the park, it has been called “the world’s highest
junkyard.” Indiscriminate disposal of sewage and trash by the locals is posing as a threat
to the environment and ecosystem of Everest Park.
.
Protective measures and possibilities for geo-tope protection :
Efforts have been made to reduce the negative environmental impact on Mount Everest.
The Nepalese government has been using a portion of climbing fees to clean up the area.
Strict regulations have been imposed in recent times for the park visitors and trekkers
have to first agree with strict rules to go ahead with climbing the peak. In 1976, with aid
from Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust and the Nepalese government, this park was
established to preserve the remaining soil and forest around Mount Everest. So, with the
aim of controlling the pollution in Everest, a committee Sagarmatha Pollution Control,
funded by the World Wildlife Fund and the Himalayan Trust, was established in 1991 to
help preserve Everest’s environment. Climbing activity continues to increase, however,
and the environmental future of the Mount Everest area remains uncertain, if the
government doesn’t take some effective measures and put anti-pollution campaign into
strong effect.
The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (an NGO set up with WWF support in the
Everest region which became operational in 1993) collected 145 tonnes of burnable and
45 tonnes of unburnable garbage between July 1995 and 1996. In 1995, SPCC collected
nearly 2 tonnes of disposable and 1.5 tonnes of non-disposable garbage from
mountaineering expeditions alone in the Everest region. In addition, 195 gas cylinders,
524 oxygen cylinders, and 603 kg of batteries were also collected in the same year. Not
all of the garbage in the Everest region is collected by the SPCC. Along the Mt Everest
trek some of the groups that currently help to manage garbage are( besides the
Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC)), Mother Unity, the Namche Youth
Group and the Himalayan Yeti Club, based in Junbesi.
Conclusion:
Department of National Parks and Forest Conservation of Nepal is working to protect the
geo-diversity and geo-resources of the region (this National Park) by coming up with
different short-termed (one to five years) and longer-termed (five to twenty years)
conservation actions .The specific activities of the department are:
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Conservation of endangered and other wildlife species.
Scientific management of habitat for wildlife species.
Creation of buffer zones in and around parks and reserves for the sustainable
management of forest resources.
Regulated eco-tourism to improve socio-economic condition of local
communities.
Creating awareness of the importance of wildlife conservation through
conservation education
The Department regularly publishes promotional materials such as brochures, posters,
newsletters and bulletins. In addition, the print and electronic media are mobilized to
disseminate conservation activities. The Department works with a number of
conservation partner organizations to organize awareness activities. The Department has
also started joining hands with several national and international conservation
organizations for the conservation of the country’s rich and varied biodiversity. This is a
positive move towards the protection of the world’s important heritage site and the
threatened species of flora and fauna present in the park.
References:
1.http://www.south-asia.com/dnpwc/intro.htm
John
Ford
Shroder,
B.S.,
M.S.,
Ph.D.
Regents Professor of Geography and Geology, University of Nebraska. Editor, Himalaya to the Sea: Geology,
Geomorphology, and the Quaternary and other books.
2."Everest, Mount," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2005
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
3.http://www.mtnforum.org/apmn/paper1.htm
4.cover
photograph
:
http://shokai.blogspot.com/2004_06_01_shokai_archive.html
5.http://library.thinkquest.org/10131/nepal_yaks.html( picture of yak)
6. www.project-himalaya.com/ trek-everest-phaplu-...(sherpa girl)
7. http://www.kostich.com/greater%20one%20horned%20rhino.JPG( rhino)
8. http://www.icimod.org/publications/imd/imd983.htm(pollution control data)