The thick deposits of glacial clay and other materials, embedded with moraines, found in the Kashmir valley are known as:

Karewas are thick deposits of lake (lacustrine) clay, silt, sand and gravel, embedded with glacial moraines, found on the flanks of the Kashmir valley, especially along the slopes of the Pir Panjal range. They are flat-topped terraces or plateaus rising above the valley floor.

How Karewas were formed:

• During the Pleistocene (Ice Age) period, the Kashmir valley was occupied by a huge lake, sometimes called Karewa Lake.
• Rivers and glaciers flowing into the lake deposited fine clay, silt and sand, along with coarser material from glaciers (moraines).
• Later, uplift of the Pir Panjal range and the cutting of an outlet by the Jhelum river near Baramulla drained the lake.
• The exposed lake deposits, later cut into terraces by streams, form the Karewas.
• They are about 1,300 to 1,500 metres thick in places.

Importance of Karewas:

Saffron cultivation: the Karewas, especially around Pampore in Pulwama district, are famous for the cultivation of saffron (kesar). Kashmiri saffron has a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

They are also used for growing almonds, walnuts, apples and other orchards.

They contain fossils and archaeological remains that help scientists study past climate and early human activity in the region.

Other landforms of the Himalayan region:

• Bhabar: a narrow belt of pebbles and boulders at the foothills of the Shivaliks, where streams disappear underground.
• Terai: a wet, marshy, forested belt south of the Bhabar, where the underground streams re-emerge.
• Duns (Doons): longitudinal valleys between the Shivaliks and the Lesser Himalayas, such as Dehradun.

Kashmir valley:

It is a broad, flat valley drained by the Jhelum, lying between the Pir Panjal range to the south-west and the Great Himalaya to the north-east. Srinagar is its main city.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bhabar is a belt of coarse gravel at the foot of the Shivaliks.
• ✗Terai is a marshy, forested belt south of the Bhabar.
• ✗Duns are longitudinal valleys between the Shivaliks and the Lesser Himalaya.