People and Economy of the Hilly Region of Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India

Uttarkashi, a hill district in the state of Uttarakhand holds the grace of having the origin of rivers Ganga and Yamuna, the lifelines of India. Also known as the 'Devbhumi' (The land of gods and goddesses), Uttarkashi is the land of two famous Hindu pilgrimages namely 'Gangotri' and 'Yamunotri'. Here the nature expresses itself in breath-taking variations from charming valleys, natural lakes, fountains and beauteous landscapes luxuriously decked with vegetation punctuated by streams, brooks and rivers to high rise awesome rocky ridges and mountains with snow-capped peaks. All this makes the district an utmost attraction for the tourists, the pilgrims and for those having a zeal for adventures of trekking and mountaineering. Lying in the upper Himalayas, Uttarkashi contains within itself varying geographic environments ranging from snow free valleys and outer hills to the high peaks with perpetual snow and glaciers. The terrain runs into series of ridges and valleys. Each ridge leads to another coiling up in seemingly unending chains. Most of the terrain is mountainous consisting of high-rise ridges, hills and plateaus and flat pieces of land are rare. The land in these areas is now in fertility due to large content of out crops of boulders and gravels. Made-up of alluvial soil, valley is a streambed. Generally forests occur on the upper ridges that bound the valleys. On their sloping hillsides lie chains of sparsely populated settlements interspersed with terrace cultivation.