The Himalayas are the mountains that were raised in the Tertiary era by the collision of the ancient continent of India with Eurasia, and impact that is not yet complete, meaning that the peaks are still on the rise. The system covers approximately 594,000km2 and includes the Himalayas, together with the Karakorum and Hindu Kush ranges plus their adjacent sub-ranges. It extends through China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar, consisting of a spectacular granite mass, which includes the fourteen highest mountains on Earth. Himalaya means ‘the adobe of snows’ and the peoples of the region consider it to be sacred; Everest, the tallest peak and highest mountain on Earth, is known as Chomolungma—‘Mother Goddess of the World’ in Sanskrit. Everest was scaled in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, but the first ‘eight thousanders’ to be conquered was Annapurna, which was climbed in 1950 by French mountaineers Herzog and Lachenal. The famous 14: 1. Everest, 8,850m (29,029ft+/-). Himalayas, China-Nepal. 2. K2, 8,611m. Karakorums, China-Pakistan-India. 3. Kanchenjunga, 8,586m. Himalayas, China-Nepal. 4. Lhotse, 8,516m. Himalayas, China-Nepal. 5. Makalu, 8,463m. Himalayas, China-Nepal. 6. Cho Oyu, 8,201m. Himalayas, China-Nepal. 7. Dhaulagiri, 8,167m. Himalayas, China-Nepal. 8. Manaslu, 8,156m. Himalayas, China-Nepal 9. Nanga Parbat, 8,125m. Himalayas, Pakistan. 10. Annapurna, 8,091m. Himalayas, Nepal. 11. Gasherbrum I, 8,068m. Karakorums, China-Pakistan. 12. Broad Peak, 8,047m. Karakorums, China-Pakistan. 13. Gasherbrum II, 8,035m. Karakorums, China-Pakistan 14. Shisha Pangma, 8,027m Himalayas, China. In this photo, Everest is just right of center and Kanchenjunga is just above the center. ~ JM Image Credit: Himalayas from space https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144355/an-astronauts-view-of-the-himalayas More Info: Himalayas from Space, video: http://bit.ly/1RaJslQ “ “ “ http://bit.ly/1CR6W3O https://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/8000MeterPeaks