Aravalli Range – Formation of Hills, Significance, and Future

Aravalli Range

The Aravalli Range is the oldest fold mountains of the world formed by the orogenic process. The formation of the Aravalli Range is similar to the Himalayan ranges. The northern end of the range has rocky hills, and it is between Delhi and Haryana. The Aravalli Hills begin close to Delhi and run around 670 km southwest, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

• An extension of Aravalli divides the drainage of the Ganga and Indus from Delhi to Haridwar.
• The two main ranges of Aravalli include the Sambhar Khetri Range and the Sambhar Sirohi Range, situated in Rajasthan.
• Though largely forested in the south, the Aravalli Hills is mostly barren and thinly populated, consisting of large areas of sand and stone and masses of rose-colored quartzite.
• The highest peak of Aravalli is Guru Shikhar near Mount Abu, which is 1722 meters high.

Aravalli Range Notes

Formation of the Aravalli Range

Aravalli Range is a belt formed by folding the Earth’s crust, also called orogenic. It stretches from northeast to southwest, discovered in the Indian Peninsula. In old times, Aravalli was extremely tall but has been modeled down entirely from the long-time weathering process.

The Aravalli Range connects two age-old Earth’s crust pieces that create the Indian craton, the Aravalli and the Bundelkand Craton. The Aravalli-Delhi Orogen is an event that led to sizeable structural deformation of the Earth’s lithosphere, such as the Aravalli mountains, due to the interactivity between tectonic plates when a continental plate is destroyed and is forced in the upwards direction to build mountain ranges.

• Tectonic Plates
• Four Realms of Earth

Aravalli Range – Importance

The Aravalli Mountain range has significant geological and economic value. It plays a prominent role in recharging the groundwater of the surrounding region. The Aravalli hills contribute to climate change in the northern region of India as it acts as a barrier to the clouds. It further acts as a barrier to preventing the spread of desertification to the eastern part of Rajasthan.

• The Aravalli Range is also responsible for originating major rivers such as Sabarmati and Luni.
• The Aravalli hills shield the plains from the impact of westerlies flowing from Central Asia.
• The Aravalli Range is a buffer for the urban terrain to absorb the shock of rising anthropogenic actions and pollution even with its reserved forest resources.
• The Aravalli hills are responsible for sufficient rainfall and supporting various flora and fauna, rich biodiversity, livelihood, and farming in the constituent states.

Climate of the Aravalli Range

Arid and dry conditions prevail in Rajasthan’s Central Aravalli range. Located in Delhi and Haryana, the Northern Aravalli range has a humid subtropical climate with hot, semi-arid continental winters and extremely scorching summers. Tropical wet and dry weather prevails in Gujarat’s Southern Aravalli range.
The range of summer’s highest daytime temperature is 40 to 46 °C. It fluctuates between 1.5 and 4 °C in the winter.

Problems Faced by the Aravalli Hills

Because of anthropogenic activity, the Aravalli range has rapidly deteriorated and changed topographically. Groundwater resources have recently further deteriorated and pollution levels have risen as a result of the recent thoughtless pursuit of imbalanced development, massive resource extraction, quarrying and mining activities, and destruction of delicate forest ecosystems.

• As per the report published by the Wildlife Institute of India, around 12 places in Haryana faced depletion of groundwater levels due to variations in geography by anthropogenic actions.
• The wildlife was forced to risk human occupancy due to invading forest land mixed with exhausting wildlife habitat and dried-up water bodies.
• The coming danger of desertification extending east of Aravalli is confirmed.
• A report was released by MoEFCC, stating that Haryana was on the top in India for the diversion of forest land for non-forest activities between 2014-2017.

Aravalli Range – Supreme Court Orders

Earlier, the Supreme Court of India ordered the suspension of all mining activities in the Aravalli Range of Haryana. In June 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of housing complexes that violate environmental laws and affect the ecosystem of forests around the Aravalli Range in Haryana.

• Environmental activist Vijaypal Baghel proposed a 1600 km long Green Wall of India at COP14.
• The Aravalli Range is critical in affecting the local climate, leveraging geographical and environmental resources, and directing economic activities.
• It faces many challenges, such as illegal mining activities that result in the loss of critical habitat, groundwater, and increased pollution levels.

Natural Reserves in the Aravalli Range

The Aravalli Range contains the following wildlife reserves, national parks, sanctuaries, and forests, which we have segregated region-wise.

Haryana Aravalli Range

• Chhuchhakwas-Godhari wetland
• Sultanpur National Park
• Tosham hills range biodiversity park
• Basai
• Sarbashirpur
• Matanhail wildlife area
• Mangar Bani forest
• Bandhwari forest
• Madhogarh biodiversity park forest
• The Lost Lake
• Nuh Aravalli biodiversity park forest
• Satnali biodiversity park forest
• Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary
• Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary
• Masani barrage wildlife area.
• Aravali Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon

Delhi Aravalli Hills

• Aravalli Biodiversity Park
• Neela Hauz biodiversity park
• Northern ridge biodiversity park
• Sanjay Van
• Tilpath valley biodiversity park
• Yamuna biodiversity park
• Sanjay Lake
• Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

Gujarat Aravalli Range

• Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary
• Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary
• Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary

Rajasthan Aravalli Range

• Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
• Ranthambore National Park
• Phulwari ki Nal Wildlife Sanctuary
• National Chambal Sanctuary
• Bassi Wildlife Sanctuary
• Sariska Tiger Reserve
• Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
• Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary
• Todgarh-Raoli Sanctuary
• Jaisamand Wildlife Sanctuary

Future of Aravalli Hills

The Aravalli Range, a prominent mountain range in our country, is crucial because it shapes the culture, heritage, and history, influences the geography and ecology and ensures the economy, food, and nutrition security of millions of people living in the area. For a coherent plan to restore the vegetation and protect the ranges, the degradation of the Aravalli Range and the overall change in its terrain, soil, and vegetation must be properly mapped. Prioritizing substantial plantation and green covers can help prevent further deterioration.

• There are several issues that need to be addressed, including redundant and non-compliant laws, lack of interest in land law, lack of priority, and attitudes towards Aravalli conservation among its state parties.
• The current exploitative mining methods should be replaced with sustainable, ethical methods.
• It is necessary to implement adequate soil moisture conservation strategies as well as conventional water harvesting and underground aquifer recharging methods.
• Eco-sensitive areas and prospective pathways for animal movement must always be safeguarded.
• To return the Aravalli to the desired state, States and the Union Government must develop and adopt a strong shared system for the efficient execution of conservation measures throughout the entire region.

Aravalli Range UPSC

The Geography, Environment, Ecology, and Biodiversity parts of the UPSC Syllabus all deal with the Aravalli Range. Students can refer to the NCERT Books for UPSC to have in-depth knowledge about the topic.

Moreover, solving UPSC Previous Year’s Question Papers helps in boosting confidence and helps to understand the paper pattern well.

Aravalli Range UPSC Question

Question: Aravalli ranges are an example of
A- Straight mountain
B- Block mountain
C- Residual fold mountain
D- Volcanic mountain

Answer: Option C

Question: The Aravalli Range runs across the states of

A. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Delhi

B. Nepal, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi

C. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi

D. Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, and Delhi

Answer: Option C

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