Cirque development in the Pir Panjal Range of North Western Himalaya, India.

• Pir Panjal Range, an active mountain, has been home to large glaciers in the past. • Cirques are the dominant glacial geomorphic features present in the range. • Morphometry helps to identify the plausible causes of varied cirque geometry. • NE-facing cirques are the best developed in the Pir Panjal Range. Cirques are prominent features of alpine glacial landscapes, and they often form as a result of the glacial climate and follow the general aspect of the mountain ranges on which these develop. The role of controlling factors on the development of 143 cirques located in the Pir Panjal Range (PPR), NW Himalaya was investigated using morphometric analyses. The PPR, trending SE to NW, is of Pliocene to Quaternary age and largely deglaciated, except a few small debris-covered cirque glaciers. The role played by glaciers in sculpting the geomorphology of the PPR is evident from the presence of various erosional and depositional glacial landforms. The NE-, NW-, SW- and SE-oriented cirques account for ∼44%, ∼35%, ∼16% and 5% of the cirques investigated, respectively. In comparison to the NW cirques, the NE-oriented cirques are deeper, longer and more circular. Regardless of the dominant aspect or slope of the mountain range the trend of geological structures can influence the direction of erosion and define the shape and direction of cirque development. The cirque morphometry analyses described in this research back up the combined influence of climate and topography, on cirque development in the PPR. The study, which is first of its kind in the Himalaya, adds to the body of knowledge about uplift-driven climate change and explains the topographic and glacial geomorphic evolution in the PPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]