GLACIAL HISTORY OF KOLAHOI GLACIER, KASHMIR, INDIA · wide and U-shaped. From 2 km above Pahalgam...
5
Journal DJ GlaciololJ)', Vol. '3, No. 68, GLACIAL HISTORY OF KOLAHOI GLACIER, KASHMIR, INDIA By N. AHMAD and N. H. HAsHIMI (D epartme nt of Geology, Muslim University, Aligarh, India ) ABSTRACT. Kol ahoi Glacier is one of the lo ngest gl ac iers in Kashmir and in the past it exte nd ed for at least 35 km. In the Pl eistocene th ere were thr ee advances of Kolahoi Glacier a nd the last one of th em was a major advance when the glacier ext e nd ed as far as Pahalgam. R ESUME. Histoire glaciaire du Kolahoi Glacier, eachemire, Inde. Le Ko lahoi Glacier est l' un des plus longs gl aciers du Cachemire et, dans le passe, il s'etendait sur au moins 35 km. Au pl eistocene, il y a eu trois avancees du Kolahoi Glacier, la de rniere fut un e ava nce importante, lo rsque le glacier arrivait jusqu 'a Pahalgam. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG. Die gla;;iale Geschichte des Kolahai Glacier, Kaschmir, ["dim. Der Ko lah oi Glacier ist einer der langsten Gletscher K aschm irs; er war friiher wenigstens 35 km lang. Im Pleistozan kam es zu drei Vorstossen d es Kolahoi Gl ac ier; der letzte und gr osste d avo n reic ht e bis Pa halgam. I NTRODUCTION Kolahoi Glacier li es in lat. 34° 10' N., long. 75 ° 1 9' 30" E. ( Fig. I) and the melt-water str eam of Kolahoi Glacier is known as the W est Liddar Riv er, which joins the East Liddar Riv er at Pahalgam (35 km fr om the snout ). Pahalgam is co nn ected with Srinagar by a good road a nd from there a "jee pabl e" road extends to Aru (i. e. first II km). Beyo nd that , the rema ining 24 km to the glacier snout have to be covered either on fo ot or by pony. Although Kolahoi Gla cier is easily r eac hed and many touri sts visit it each year, it did not attract the attention of geologists and it ha s never been studi ed in d etail. Grinlinton (1928), in his st udy of East Liddar Glacier, has only suggested that a study of W es t Liddar and Kolah oi Glaciers would be int erest ing . Middl emi ss (1909, 1910, 1911 ) and Wadia (1934, 1953 ) have studi ed the s tratigraphy of the areas to the north-wes t, but most probabl y they did not visit Kolahoi Glacier. Kolahoi Glaci er ( Fig. 2) is about 5 km long and it flows from the north-wes t of a neve field covering about 35 km 2 • At one end of this neve field is th e north- eastern cir qu e o fKolahoi Horn. This neve field also feeds thr ee other glaciers. Th e easte rnmost of these flows northward and its melt water e nt ers the Sind Riv er (not shown in Fig. I). The other two terminate in the hanging valley glaciers along the eas tern wall of Kolahoi Glacier. Th e cirqu e on the north-western face of Kolahoi Horn feeds a hanging valley glacier which descends along th e southern valley wall and the cirqu e on the so uth ern face of Kolahoi Horn feeds a glacier which melt s before it descends to the Aru Vall ey. KOLAHOI VALLEY The glaciated section of th e Kolahoi valley is semi-circular and about 35 km long. At it s head it has a north-west aspect and at Pahalgam, at its terminus, it fa ces south- east. Through- out its entire length the width of the valley changes seve ral times. In the initial stag es the valley is deep, U-shaped and narrow ; in this section the glacier is flowing over basalt. 0.5 km below the sno ut the valley widens; here it flows over th e shal es and limeston es of the so uth ern limb of the Basmai Anticline. 3 km down- str ea m from the sno ut the valley crosses a bed of limestone und e rlain by the Muth Quartzite. This limestone bed forms a ri egel and th e valley floor drops about 15 m where the W"est Liddar Riv er desce nd s a waterfall. Above this water- fall the valley is orientated east- west, but below the fall it turn to th e so uth-west and avoids crossi ng the Muth Quartzit es (at the core of the Basmai Anticline). At the waterfall the north ern valley wall has two steps c ut at 3800 and 3050 m, r es pectively; both these steps 279
Transcript of GLACIAL HISTORY OF KOLAHOI GLACIER, KASHMIR, INDIA · wide and U-shaped. From 2 km above Pahalgam...
Journal DJ GlaciololJ)', Vol. '3, No. 68, '97~
GLACIAL HISTORY OF KOLAHOI GLACIER,
KASHMIR, INDIA
By N. AHMAD and N. H. HAsHIMI
(Department of Geology, Muslim University, Aligarh, India)
ABSTRACT. Kola hoi Glacier is one of the longest glaciers in Kashmir and in the past it ex tended for at least 35 km. In the Pleistocene there were three advances of Kolahoi Glacier a nd the last one of them was a major advance when the glacier extended as far as Pahalgam.
R ESUME. Histoire glaciaire du Kolahoi Glacier, eachemire, Inde. Le K olahoi Glacier est l'un des plus longs glaciers du Cachemire et, dans le passe, il s'e tendait sur au moins 35 km. Au pleistocene, il y a eu t rois avancees du Kolahoi Glacier, la d erniere fut une avance importante, lorsque le glacier arrivait jusqu'a Pahalgam.
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG. Die gla;;iale Geschichte des Kolahai Glacier, Kaschmir, ["dim. Der Kolahoi Glacier ist einer der langsten Gletscher K aschmirs; er war friiher wenigstens 35 km la ng . Im Pl eistozan kam es zu drei Vorstossen d es Kolahoi Glacier ; der le tzte und grosste davon reichte bis Pahalgam.
I NTRODUCTION
Kolahoi Glacier lies in lat. 34° 10' N., long. 75° 19' 30" E. (Fig. I ) and the melt-water stream of K olahoi Glacier is known as the W est Liddar River, which joins the East Liddar River at Pahalgam (35 km from the snout) . Pahalgam is connected with Srinagar by a good road a nd from there a "j eepable" road extends to Aru (i. e. first II km). Beyond that, the remaining 24 km to the glacier snout h ave to be covered either on foot or by pony.
Although Kolahoi Glacier is easily reached and many tourists visit it each year, it did not attract the attention of geologists and it has never been studied in detail. Grinlinton (1928), in his study of East Liddar Glacier, has only suggested that a study of W es t Liddar and Kolahoi Glaciers would be interesting. Middlemiss ( 1909, 1910, 1911 ) and Wadia (1934, 1953) have studied the stratigraphy of the areas to the north-west, but most probably they did not visit Kolahoi Glacier.
Kolahoi Glacier (Fig. 2) is about 5 km long and it flows from the north-west of a neve field covering about 35 km 2 • At one end of this neve field is the north-eas tern cirque ofKolahoi Horn. This neve field also feeds three other glaciers. The easternmost of these flows northward and its melt water enters the Sind River (not shown in Fig. I ) . The other two terminate in the hanging valley glaciers along the eastern wall of Kolahoi Glacier. The cirque on the north-western face of Kolahoi Horn feeds a hanging valley glacier which descends along the southern valley wall and the cirque on the southern face of Kolahoi Horn feeds a glacier which melts before it descends to the Aru Valley.
KOLAHOI VALLEY
The glaciated section of the Kolahoi valley is semi-circular and about 35 km long. At its head it has a north-west aspect and at Pahalgam, at its terminus, it faces south-east. Throughout its entire length the width of the valley changes several times. In the initial stages the valley is deep , U-shaped and narrow ; in this section the glacier is flowing over basalt. 0.5 km below the snout the valley widens; here it flows over the shales and limestones of the southern limb of the Basmai Anticline. 3 km down-stream from the snout the valley crosses a bed of limestone underlain by the Muth Quartzite. This limestone bed forms a riegel and the valley floor drops about 15 m where the W"est Liddar River descends a waterfall. Above this waterfall the valley is orientated east- west, but below the fall it turn to the south-west and avoids crossing the Muth Quartzites (at the core of the Basmai Anticline). At the waterfall the northern valley wall has two steps cut at 3800 and 3050 m, respectively ; both these steps
279
280 JOURNAL OF GLAC I OLOGY
75"10 ' E
N
1 ~ LAKE
'::':~ .:~: ~:. CIRGUE
~ HANGING VALLEY
- WATERFALL -1 • SUBGLACIAL AND & • END MORAINE 2108
0 5 I I 34~
km
Fig. I. Map if the Kolahoi valley, Kashmir, India.
converge up-stream at the base of the lower hanging valleys in the eastern wall. 2 km downstream from the waterfa ll the Basmai Stream joins the West Liddar River and below their confluence the valley cuts through Panjal Traps. Except at Liderwat, Aru and Pahalgam, where the overlying Paqjal Traps have been eroded away, the entire length of the valley below this junction is cu t on Panja l Traps and narrow. At Liderwat and Aru, the valley is wide and U -shaped . From 2 km above Pahalgam the valley has a V-shaped notch cut at the base of the U-shaped valley with interlocking spurs (Fig. 3) . These spurs are below the level of the K olahoi subglacial moraines and they have been cut in to the bedrock. T he base of the V is level with the East Liddar valley floor.
MORAINES
The subglacial and lateral moraines cover almost the entire glaciated part of the valley. Near Pahalgam the subglacial moraines are overlain by current-bedded sand and clay layers which are sometim es varved. 0.5 km above Aru an end moraine crosses the valley and it
GLAC I AL HISTORY OF KOLA H O I GLACIER, KASHMIR, INDIA
Fig. 2. Kolahoi Glacier and the upper part of the Kolahoi valley, Kashmir.
Fig. 3. Interlocking spllrs in the West Liddar valley 2 km above Pahalgam, Kashmir.
JO U RNAL OF GLACIOLOGY
extends towards Liderwat for 6 km. South of the Liderwat R est House a lateral moraine of Kola hoi Glacie,' and an end moraine of Tarser Glacier cross the mouth of the Tarser Stream. Just below the Basmai Stream junction there is the beginning of a low end moraine and this extends down-stream for about 0.5 km. Above the Basmai Stream junction an 18 m high lateral moraine forms a step along the western wall of the valley, and this moraine ends at the lower waterfall. At leas t nine low morainal ridges cross the valley between the Basmai Stream junction and the snout. The third ridge above the waterfall has blocked the river , forming a lower waterfall.
Between the two waterfalls the valley floor is covered with clayey till across which the stream m eanders, but above the upper waterfall the valley floor is covered by an ablation moraine with angular blocks and no clay matrix.
THE PLE ISTOCENE GLACIATIO N
In the Pleistocene, Kolahoi Glacier had ten tributary glaciers. All but two of these now terminate as hanging valley glaciers. Four of these hanging valley glaciers j oined between the glacier snout and the Basmai Stream junction , and the other four j oined below Aru. One tributary glacier joined the main glacier from the east at Aru and the other from the west at Liderwat. Aru Glacier was fed by the sam e neve field as the one which now feeds Kolahoi Glacier a nd two other smaller neve fields on each side of it. The other glaciers originate at the Taner Lake cirque a nd the wide neve fi eld which surrounds it.
During its maximum advance, Kolahoi Glacier possibly extended as far as Pahalgam bu t it was only for a short time. The interlocking spurs and the V shape of the lower part of the valley near Pahalgam support this view. The moraine which the W est Liddar River cut across as it enters Pahalgam is m ost probably the lateral moraine of East Liddar Glacier. At this stage West Liddar Glacier joined East Liddar Glacier north of the roughly rochemoutonnee-like nob near the western valley wall , about 30 m above the present valley floor.
At the end of its maximum advance, the glacier retreated to above Aru where it d eposited a continuous end moraine for about 6 km. During this stillstand, sand and clay beds which overlie the subglacial moraines below Aru were deposited. It was also at this time that the V cut in the valley floor near Pahalgam was initiated.
After the deposition of this end moraine the glacier retreated up-stream very rapidly and stopped at the end of the wide valley near the Basmai Stream junction. Above this junction the glacier retreated slowly and during its short stillstands it deposited the morainal ridges. Above the upper waterfall, the retreat was very slow and so the ablation m oraine was deposited. The clayey moraines between the two waterfalls are probably pro-glacial d eposits of the meltwater streams.
CONCLUSION
During the maximum of glaciation, which was also the third advance when the glacier ex tended as far as Pahalgam, the stillstand was only for a short time. As the glacier retreated it rem ained above Aru for a long time. Since this was a small glacier, it a lso retreated upstream very quickly, whereas the la rger Tarser Glacier took a longer time to retreat . Once Tarser Glacier had retreated up it5 own valley, K olahoi Glacier slowly retreated up-stream to ha lt at the Basmai Stream junction. The la teral moraine below the lower waterfall and the end moraine a t the Basmai Stream junction were possibly deposited during the ha lt stage. The two steps in the valley wall above the wa terfall suggest that K olahoi Glacier has experienced a t least three advances. Most probably the third was the maximum advance during which a ll other evidence of earlier advances was removed.
GLACIAL HISTORY OF KOLAHOI GLACIER, KASHMIR, INDIA
The lower waterfall possibly developed as a riegel during the third advance because the resistant quartzites above the waterfall could not be eroded as rapidly as the shales below. The hardness of the rock has also controlled the width of the valley, and it could well have been responsible for changes in the direction of the valley.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Delhi, for providing the opportunity through financial assistance to study the area. They are also indebted to Professor Fakhruddin Ahmad, Head of the Geology Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh , and other members of the Department for kind co-operation.
lvIS. received I August [973
REFERENCES
Grinlinton, J. L. 1928. The former glaciation of the East Lidar valley, Kashmir. Memoirs of the Geological Surv0' of India, Vo!. 49, Pt. 2, p. 289- 388.
Middlemiss, C. S. 1909. Gondwanas and related marine sedimentary systems of Kashmir. Record qf the Geological Surv0' of India, Vo!. 37, Pt. 4, p. 286- 327.
Middlemiss, C. S. 1910. A revision of the Silurian- Triassic sequence in Kashmir. R ecord qf the Geological Survey of India, Vo!. 40, Pt. 3, p. 206-60.
Middlemiss, C. S. 1911. Sections in the Pir Panjal range and Sind valley, Kashmir. Record of the Geological Surv0' of India, Vo!. 41, Pt. 2, p. 115-44.
Wadia, D . N. 1934. The Cambrian-Trias sequence of north-western Kashmir (parts of Muzaffarabad and Baramula districts) . R ecord of the Geological Surv0' of India, Vo!. 68, Pt. 2, p. 12 1- 76.
Wadia, D . N. 1953. Geology qf IlIdia. Third edition. London, Macmillan and Co. Ltd .
