The Environmentalist 18, 149155 (1998)

Landslides in the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya, UP,

India
S.P. SATI, AJAY NAITHANI AND G.S. RAWAT*
HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal) PB 86, 246 174, UP, India

Summary
The Garhwal Lesser Himalaya is one of the most fascinating segments of the Himalayan
arc and in many ways quite unique in its geomorphological features and geological
setting. Although it has a mild and mature topography in comparison with the Central and
Outer Himalayas, with its deeply dissected valleys it is more immature than other areas
such as the Himachal and Kumaon Lesser Himalayas. Debris ows, rock falls and slow
mass rock movements are frequent within this part of the Himalayas. The frequent
landslides in the area are controlled by the trends of the rocks and slopes, the structural
features and the rock lithologies. Correlating all these factors, this paper illustrates how
the slopes on the ridges parallel to the Himalayan trend (i.e. WNWESE) are the most
susceptible for the mass failure.
Introduction
The area studied (Fig. 1) lies between the borders
of Himachal Pradesh and the Gwaldam-Dewal
ridge; it is part of Lesser Himalaya. To the south,
it is bounded geologically by the main boundary
thrust (MBT), separating the pre-Tertiary rocks of
the region from the Tertiary molassic rocks of
Siwalik. To the north it is separated from the
medium to high grade rocks of the central
crystalline area by the main central thrust (MCT).
The Garhwal Lesser Himalaya area is possibly one
of the most fascinating segments of the Himalayan
arc and in many ways it is quite unique in its
geomorphological features and geological setting.
The geological map (Fig. 2) of the region reveals
that, through vast tectonic windows of gigantic
nappe, wide exposures of Precambrian and Lower
Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks exist, indicating an
extensive and profound denudation in this part of
the Himalayas. Transverse structures probably
reminiscent of the Aravalli orographic trend are
most prominently developed in this sector (Auden,
1935). This region is seismically the most active of
the entire Himalayan belt (Valdiya, 1987). The
frequency of landslides is also very high.
The immediate causes of the landslides are the
percolation of rain water through highly jointed

* Dr S.P. Sati is a lecturer in the Department of Environmental

Sciences and Mr Ajay Naithani, a senior research fellow and
Dr G.S. Rawat a reader in the Department of Geology, at HNB
Garhwal University.

0960-3115 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers

rocks and slope equilibrium disturbances, but the

trends of the rocks and the slopes clearly control
their occurrence as well.
Most of the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya is
between 1500 and 2500 m above sea level.
Compared to the Outer and Great Himalayas, the
area has a mild and mature topography, although
it is more immature than either the Himachal
Pradesh or Kumaon Himalayas, with gentle slopes
deeply dissected by valleys, which suggest that the
rivers and streams are still actively eroding.
Dudhatoli (3114 m), the highest peak in this part
of the Himalayas, is composed of Precambrian
granite and sedimentary rocks.
Garhwal Lesser Himalaya is drained by
the Ganga, Yamuna, Alaknanda, Bhilangana,
Manda-kini, Nandakini, Pinder, Tons and Nayar
rivers and their numerous tributaries. Apart from
the Western and Eastern Nayar rivers, which rise
from the southern slopes of the Dudhatoli range, all
of the other rivers are fed by glaciers and generally
originate far beyond the great Himalayan range.
These antecedent rivers ow across the structural
axis of the Himalayas in gorge-like channels.
Irregularly terraced patches of gravel and sand have
been deposited along their paths in areas of
comparatively gentle gradients where the river
systems cross sedimentary belts. The rivers mainly
ow parallel to the structural strike and drain the
areas either eastwards or westwards (Fig. 3).
Three major tectonic units, each characterized
by a distinct lithological composition,
stratigraphic succession, structural pattern and
magmatic history, have been recognized in the
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Sati et al.

Fig. 1. Location map of the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya.

Garhwal Lesser Himalaya

(Fig. 2). They are as follows.

(Valdiya,

1980)

(i) The Damtha and Tejam groups of

Precambrian sedimentary rocks exposed in the
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vast window of the inner (Northern) belt of the

Garhwal Lesser Himalaya.
(ii) The Krol nappe of the outer (Southern)
Lesser Himalaya made up of the Jaunsar and
Massoorie groups of sediments possibly of
The Environmentalist

Landslides in the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya

Fig. 2. Geological map of the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya.

Palaeozoic age. In the inner Lesser Himalaya, the

Krol nappe is considerably attenuated and is
represented by the Berinag nappe made up of a
lithostratigraphic unit, which also forms a part of
the Jaunsar group of the Krol nappe
(iii) The crystalline nappe and associated
klippen, made up of medium to high grade
metamorphic rocks intruded by syntectonic and
profoundly deformed granitic units, which cover
the tops of most of the Lesser Himalayan hills.
A generalized lithotectonic succession of the study
area is given in Table 1.
Features responsible for landslides
Some of the main factors responsible for initiating
landslides are heavy precipitation, earthquakes,
temperature variations, human inuence and deforestation. In the region under study the slope
direction, Himalayan orogenic trend and rock
lithology also strongly inuence the development
of landslides.
Slope direction
Rather than the angle of slope (steepness of the
valley sides) being a major cause of landslides in

the region, the slope direction is apparently a

major cause of the landslides. Although the slope
of a steep rock face (the free face) is aected by
weathering (Penck, 1953), in the Garhwal Lesser
Himalaya landslides are more frequent on comparatively low angle slopes. There are numerous
vertical rock faces where there are no failures. The
slopes directed towards smaller streams are more
susceptible to landslips than those sloping
towards the main rivers (Table 2 and Fig. 4). In
the authors' view this is due to the trend of
the Himalayas. The major rivers ow across the
strike of the Himalayas, while the smaller streams
are parallel to the Himalayan strike. The major
planes along which the rock masses slide tend to
be bedding or structural planes which ank the
small rivers. The landslides per kilometre along
roads in relation to the strike are presented in
Table 3. Some famous landslides and their slope
directions are given in Table 4.
Most of the roads are parallel to the major
rivers (which cross the strike of the Himalayas)
and the frequency of landslides along their
length is comparatively low. The rivers
frequently change their direction when they cross
the thrust planes and these are generally parallel
to the Himalayan strike; whenever roads are
parallel to these rivers and the Himalayan strike
the rate of occurrence of landslides becomes very
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Sati et al.

Fig. 3. Major ridges and water divides of the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya.

high. The mechanism behind the role of the

slope direction controlling landslides is given in
Fig. 5. Wherever possible communication routes
along the strike-trending valleys should be
constructed on the valley side opposite to that
which is most likely to fail.

The orogenic trend of the Himalayas

The WNWESE-trending ridges are the most
susceptible to landslides. The stress conditions
responsible for the Himalayan orogeny in the
Garhwal Lesser Himalaya are perpendicular to
the current WNWESE strike trend. Therefore,

Table 1. Generalized tectonic succession of the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya (after Valdiya, 1980)
Dudhatoli group

Schists, gneisses and granite

Barkot crystalline rocks

Almora Thrust

Schists, quartzite and mylonite

Mussoorie group

Thrust
Tal formation
Krol formation
Blaini formation

Quartzite, shale
Carbonate and boulders

Jaunsar group

Nagthat formation
Chandpur formation
Martoli formation

Krol Thrust
Tejam group

Damtha group

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Berinag formation

Quartzite
Phyllite
Slate and basic igneous rocks

Berinag Thrust
Mandhali formation
Deoban formation
Rauthgarha formation

Carbonates, slates and basic igneous rocks

Slates, quartzites and basic intrusive rocks

Chakrata formation

The Environmentalist

Landslides in the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya

Table 2. Comparison of the frequency of landslides along the roads on the slopes along and across the strike of the
rocks
River involved

Roadrock strike
relationship

Distance involved (km)

Number of landslides which

generally block the road

Along the Ganga river

between Rishikesh
and Srinagar

Across the strike

of the rocks in general

109

Along the Hund river

between Rishikesh
and Neelkanth/Deuli

Along the strike

of the rocks in general

27

17

Along the Alaknanda

river between Srinagar
and Karnaprayag

Across the strike

of the rocks in general

55

Between Khal and

Pokhri along the
PokhriKarnprayag
road (along Lawadia
Gad and Kaveri Gad)

Along the strike of

the rock

12

13

Table 3. Landslides per kilometre along roads in

relation to the strike direction
Along roads parallel to the strike direction
Along roads crossing the strike direction

0.8
0.08

The rocks are often sheared and shattered, so that

they more readily become saturated with water.
Their shear strength is thus reduced and the degree
of fracturing and jointing has a strong inuence
on the potential for rock failure.
The major structural features which are
responsible for the fracturing and jointing of the
rocks include the North Almora thrust (NAT), the
South Almora thrust (SAT) and the Pokhri and
Nandprayag thrusts, all of which run in a WNW
ESE direction and many major rock slides occur
on the ridges parallel to these thrusts (e.g.
Nagnath and Nandprayag landslides and major
landslides between Devalkot and Nauti).
Numerous tear faults running perpendicular to
the Himalayan strike also inuence rockfalls. The
famous Kaliyasaur landslide is an example
(Fig. 6), where the failure was probably enhanced
by the presence of the Kaliyasaur tear fault.
Fig. 4. Landslide on a dip slope directed towards a
lesser Himalayan stream (Khankra Gad) owing
parallel to the Himalayan strikes.

most of the mountain ridges trending WNWESE

are either along major deformational features
(such as thrusts and fold axes) or parallel to them.

Rock types
In the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya, metabasic and
schistose rocks are common. In metabasic rocks
nearly all the minerals (such as pyroxenes,
amphiboles and felspathoids) are very susceptible
to weathering. The pelitic and semi-pelitic schists
(with minerals such as muscovite, biotite,
amphiboles, chlorites and garnets) contain
some minerals (such as muscovites) which are
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Sati et al.
Table 4. Some famous landslides and their slope failurerock trend/slope relationship
Landslide

Strike of the rocks

Slope direction

Other conditions favouring landslides

Nandprayag

NWSE

SW

Nandprayag thrust

Kaliyasaur

NWSE

NNE

Kaliyasaur fault

Nagnath

NWSE

NE

Kaolinization of feldspars

Pokhri

NNWSSE

W and E

Pokhri fault and schists

Gopeshwar

NWSE

SE

Schists

Adbadri (Bhalsaun)

NNWSSE

NE

Atagad anticline

Neelkanth

NNWSSE

NE

Amri-Bijni thrusts

Gyanasu (Uttarkashi)

NNWSSE

SW

Fig. 6. Kaliyasaur landslide (structurally controlled).

Fig. 5. Block diagram showing that the slope along the

stream parallel to the Himalayan trend (WNWESE) is
susceptible to landsliding.

comparatively resistant to weathering. However,

such planar minerals impart a marked schistosity
on the rock and provide planes of gliding for the
rock mass. The most resistant rocks occurring in
the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya are the quartzites
and dolomites/dolomitic limestones. In dolomitic
and limestone terrains chemical weathering is
prominent and this may ultimately cause rock
failure. Quartzites are generally less aected by
weathering, but impure quartzites with a feldspar
content may become kaolinized. The famous
Kaliyasaur landslide (20 km ENE from Srinagar
Garhwal along the Srinagar Rudraprayag road) is
continuously failing and this is probably related to
the kaolin-rich nature of the quartzites and slates
and the proximity of associated faults.

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Other rock types encountered in the Garhwal

Lesser Himalaya are the calcareous rocks of the
Krol-Tal, Deoban and Calc-Tejam zones, the
pelitic and psammitic rocks of the Damtha group
and the Jaunsar formation; all of these are
intruded by basic igneous rocks. The tops of
nearly all the hills are capped by low to high grade
pelitic to semi-pelitic crystalline rocks which are
intruded in places by granites.
Within all the above-mentioned rock types the
schists are the most sensitive to sliding and the
quartzites are the least (Tables 5 and 6).
Discussion
Slope failure is an important geo-environmental
problem in the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya.
It becomes particularly hazardous when it is
associated with high population density and this
region is the most densely populated in the inner
Garhwal region. The slopes on the ridges parallel
to the Himalayan trend (i.e. WNWESE) are
highly susceptible to landslides.

The Environmentalist

Landslides in the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya

Table 5. Susceptibility of dierent Lesser Garhwal Himalayan rocks to landsliding
Most susceptible

Least susceptible

Schists

Metabasics (all types)

Fractured carbonate
rocks (Krol-Tal)

Granites (Dudhatoli)

Mica schists

Slates (of Calc-Tejam)

Arkosic quartzites
(Rautgarha)

Quartzite (Berinag)

Mylonitized schists

Phyllite (Chandpur)

All the feldspathic

and pelitic schists

Table 6. Relationship between the probability of landslides and landslide-controlling factors

Dip slope/
anti-dip slope

Hydraulic
condition

Structural
disturbance

Rock type

Probability
of landslide

Example

Dip slope

Prevalent

Thrust

Mac/crystalline
kaolinized

Very strong

Neelkanth

Dip slope

Prevalent

Thrust

Quartzite

Very strong

Landslide between
Pokhri and Khal
(Chamoli district)

Neither

Prevalent

Fault

Quartzite
(kaolinized)

Strong

Kaliyasaur

Dip slope

Not prevalent

Any rock

Moderate

Landslides of
Kaudiyala

Dip slope

Not prevalent

Quartzite

Possible

Anti-dip slope

Prevalent

Absent

Crystalline

Possible

Thalisain

Anti-dip slope

Prevalent

Absent

Limestone

Possible

Maldeota area

Where the valleys are parallel to the structural

strike, particular care should be exercised to
ensure that new roads and buildings are
constructed on the side of the valley that is `the
further downslope' (Fig. 6). This precautionary
measure could minimize potential building
damage and loss of life.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to Dr J.F. Potter for
exclusively reviewing this paper.

References
Auden, J.B. (1935) Traverses in the Himalaya. Rec. Geol.
Surv. India 69(1), 12367.
Penck, W. (1953) Morphological Analysis of Landforms.
(Translated by H. Czech and K.C. Borwell) London:
Macmillian.
Valdiya, K.S. (1980) Geology of Kumaun Lesser Himalaya.
Dehra Dun: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology.
Valdiya, K.S. (1987) Environmental Geology, Indian Context.
New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. Co. Ltd.

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