Kinchinjunga
Kinchinjunga, 1908
(Kanchenjunga). — A mountain, second only to Everest in elevation, situated in the Eastern Himalayas, on the Sikkim-Nepal boundary (27 degree 42' N., 88° 9' E.), its summit attaining an altitude of 28,146 feet above sea-level.
'The geological position of Kanchenjunga is obviously in the main axis of the Himalayas, although that mountain lies considerably to the south of the line of water-parting between the Tibetan plateau and India, and on a spur which runs at right angles to this line, so that even the drainage of its northern slopes flows directly down into the Indian plains. The name Kanchenjunga is Tibetan, and means, literally, " The Five Repositories of the Great Glaciers," and it is phy- sically descriptive of its five peaks. The Lepcha name of thi3 mountain is Kong-lo-chu, or " The Highest Screen or Curtain of Snows.'" (Waddell, Among the Himalayas, 1899.)
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
