Karewa formations are found in:

Question

Karewa formations are found in:

1. A. Tarai region
2. B. Ganga delta
3. C. Kashmir valley (Correct answer)
4. D. Rann of Kutch

Correct Answer

Option C — Kashmir valley

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Kashmir valley.

Key Points

• Karewas are the thick deposits of glacial clay, silt, sand and lacustrine sediment found in the Kashmir valley, and on the flanks of the Pir Panjal range.
• They were laid down in a Pleistocene lake that once filled the valley — a lake formed when the rising Pir Panjal blocked the drainage of the Jhelum. When the lake finally drained, its flat-topped, terraced sediment beds were left behind.
• The deposits are hundreds of metres thick in places, and are dissected by the Jhelum and its tributaries into distinct plateau-like terraces.

Additional Information

• Karewas are famous for saffron. The well-drained, moisture-retaining karewa soils of Pampore in Pulwama district produce **Kashmiri saffron (*Crocus sativus*), which holds a Geographical Indication** tag and is prized for its high crocin content. Almonds, walnuts, apples and cherries also grow on karewa terraces.
• Local names: in Kashmiri the deposits are called *wudar*. They are broadly divided into the Lower Karewas and the younger Upper Karewas.
• Why the other options are wrong:
  • Tarai — the marshy, damp belt of the Himalayan foothills south of the Bhabar, formed where streams that vanished into the porous Bhabar re-emerge.
  • Ganga delta — new alluvium (*khadar*) deposited by the Ganga–Brahmaputra system, the world's largest delta.
  • Rann of Kutch — a salt marsh of Gujarat, formed from a silted-up arm of the Arabian Sea.
• The Kashmir valley itself is a synclinal basin roughly 135 km long and 40 km wide, lying between the Pir Panjal to the south-west and the Greater Himalayas (Zaskar range) to the north-east, drained by the Jhelum, which leaves the valley through the Baramulla gorge.