THE WINTER LINE IN MUSSOORIE - THE QUEEN OF HILLS
I live in the small city of Mussoorie in the Himalayas of Northern India. This city is at a distance of about 250 miles from New Delhi. It is a Hill Resort built by the British in 1827. It was dubbed the Queen of the Hills by the British and is often described as the "Switzerland of India".
I live in the small city of Mussoorie in the Himalayas of Northern India. This city is at a distance of about 250 miles from New Delhi. It is a Hill Resort built by the British in 1827. It was dubbed the Queen of the Hills by the British and is often described as the "Switzerland of India".
It was a place frequented by high officers of the British Army and the
Maharajas of India in the years gone by. Such cities were built by the
British in the hills because the upper British classes could not stand
the heat of the plains in India. For the Maharajas it was a playground
where many a royal intrigue was enacted between them and the wives of
the British Officers! lol. It is a popular hill resort for honeymooners
and generally people from the plains seeking to escape the intense heat
of May and June, especially from New Delhi and the Punjab.
The city is located at 6500 feet above sea level which is pretty high from Indian Standards. However, Mount Everest which is a part of the Himalayan mountain range is about 29,000 feet above sea level and one of the tallest peaks in the world.
Around winter time, as November sets in, a phenomenon is witnessed in the hills of Mussoorie which is known as a Winter Line. If one looks at the horizon where the sun has just set, one finds a line drawn in the sky, as if with a ruler, by God Himself! It is as straight a line as straight can be.
There is darkness below the line and light above it. It is a phenomenun witnessed in only two parts of the world - one in Mussoorie and the other in Burn Valley in Switzerland.
The geological wonder is due to the variation in the temperature that formulates a suppressed buffer layer between the cold wind in the sky and the thick warm smog that envelops the Valley below. The warm smog, which is laden heavily with carbon molecules, acts as a dark screen, the edge of which prisms the hues of yellow, orange, red and magenta which come from the red setting sun.
I was able to capture this sight on my camera from my home just today on November 28, 2011, at 6 pm after the sun had set in the western sky, as I wished to share it with my friends.
The city is located at 6500 feet above sea level which is pretty high from Indian Standards. However, Mount Everest which is a part of the Himalayan mountain range is about 29,000 feet above sea level and one of the tallest peaks in the world.
Around winter time, as November sets in, a phenomenon is witnessed in the hills of Mussoorie which is known as a Winter Line. If one looks at the horizon where the sun has just set, one finds a line drawn in the sky, as if with a ruler, by God Himself! It is as straight a line as straight can be.
There is darkness below the line and light above it. It is a phenomenun witnessed in only two parts of the world - one in Mussoorie and the other in Burn Valley in Switzerland.
The geological wonder is due to the variation in the temperature that formulates a suppressed buffer layer between the cold wind in the sky and the thick warm smog that envelops the Valley below. The warm smog, which is laden heavily with carbon molecules, acts as a dark screen, the edge of which prisms the hues of yellow, orange, red and magenta which come from the red setting sun.
I was able to capture this sight on my camera from my home just today on November 28, 2011, at 6 pm after the sun had set in the western sky, as I wished to share it with my friends.
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