SSC
Before the formation of the Himalayas, the region where they now stand was occupied by the:
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Answer: Option C — Tethys Sea
Detailed Solution
The Tethys Sea was a long, narrow sea (or ocean) that existed between the two great landmasses formed by the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea: Laurasia in the north and Gondwanaland in the south. It is named after Tethys, a sea goddess in Greek mythology.
About 200 million years ago, Pangaea began to break apart. Over millions of years, the Indian plate, which was part of Gondwanaland, broke away and began moving northward towards the Eurasian plate at a fast pace for a continental plate, about 15-20 centimetres a year at times. As India moved north, the floor of the Tethys Sea was pushed beneath Eurasia (subducted).
About 50 million years ago, the Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate. The thick layers of sediments that had accumulated on the floor of the Tethys Sea were squeezed, folded and pushed upward, forming the Himalayas. This is why marine fossils, such as ammonites (called "shaligrams" in Nepal and India and considered sacred) and fossils of fish and shellfish, are found high in the Himalayas, even near the summit of Mount Everest, whose top is made of marine limestone.
The Himalayas are young fold mountains and are still rising, by a few millimetres every year, because the Indian plate continues to push northward into Eurasia at about 4-5 centimetres a year. This movement also causes frequent earthquakes in the Himalayan region, such as the Nepal earthquake of 2015.
Remnants of the Tethys Sea today include parts of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Alps of Europe were also formed by the closing of the Tethys.
The theory that explains these movements is plate tectonics, developed in the 1960s from Wegener's continental drift theory and Hess's sea-floor spreading.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Panthalassa was the single global ocean surrounding Pangaea.
- ✗The Arabian Sea is part of the present-day Indian Ocean.
- ✗Paratethys was a smaller sea north of the Tethys in Europe.
Quick tip
Remember: Himalayas rose from the Tethys Sea (between Laurasia and Gondwanaland) after the Indian plate hit Eurasia about 50 million years ago; marine fossils found on Everest; Himalayas still rising.
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Oceans & Hydrosphere — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Oceans & Hydrosphere, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the hydrosphere: the oceans and seas of the world, ocean relief features such as trenches and ridges, ocean currents, tides, waves, salinity, and the world's major lakes, straits, gulfs and islands. Questions commonly ask about the largest and deepest ocean (the Pacific, with the Mariana Trench), warm and cold ocean currents, the causes of tides, and which water bodies a strait connects. For example, the Palk Strait separates India and Sri Lanka, and the Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Practise the oceans and hydrosphere questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.