or the Himalaya
Mountain system, southern Asia.
It forms a barrier between the Tibetan Plateau to the north and the plains of the Indian subcontinent to the south. It constitutes the greatest mountain system on earth and includes 30 mountains rising to heights above 24,000 ft (7,300 m), including Mount Tibet , and represents at many points a virtually impassable barrier, even by air. The mountains' glaciers and snows are the source of 19 major rivers, including the Indus , Ganges , and {{link=Brahmaputra River">Brahmaputra .