Weathering and Mass Wasting — Geography STD 11 Commerce / Arts — Question

Think of the reason why landslides should be more frequent in foothill zone of the Himalayas and Western Ghats region. Why do landslides not occur in Marathwada in Maharashtra or Maidan area in Karnataka?
Answer:
Himalayas are one of the youngest fold mountains of the world. They are formed due to convergent movement of the Indian plate and erosion plate. They are still rising in height. These tectonic movements cause frequent earthquakes in the region resulting into landslides whereas western Ghats lie in the stable Deccan shield less prone to landslides.

Himalayas are greater in height than the western Ghats. The slopes are comparatively steep and hence landslides are common in Himalayas whereas, the western Ghats are much lesser in height than the Himalayas hence less prone to landslides as compared to Himalayas.

The perennial rivers in Himalayas carry lots of sediments during rainfall and due to melting of glaciers in the summer thus leading to landslides, whereas, in Western Ghats many rivers are non-perennial and hence less amount of silt and debris in carried as compared to Himalayan rivers. Thus, there is reduction in the chances of landslides, only during the rainy season, landslides occur in Western Ghats region.