The region lies within the territory where the Indian tectonic plate meets the Eurasian Plate. The collision between the two plates created the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan Mountains. Several major mountain ranges of the Himalayas in a west-northwest to east-southeast direction through the region; the Karakoram Range in Gilgit-Baltistan, the Ladakh Range, the Zanskar Range, the Great Himalaya Range, and the Pir Panjal Range in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state.
Remained underneath the water
Geologists believe that about 10 crore years have passed since the Kashmir valley remained underneath the water. The high sedimentary rock seen in the valley was once below the water.
Geologists believe that Kashmir valley was earlier affected by earthquakes. Once there was such a devastating earthquake that it bust the mountain wall at Baramulla. And therefore the water of the lake flowed out leaving behind lacustrine mud. Thus came into existence the oval-shaped Valley of Kashmir.
In fact, the remnants of the lake confirm to the west of the river Jhelum where these highlands attains a height of about 380 meters on top of the level of the valley.
The lake protrudes towards the east and the valley looks like a tongue-shaped ravine. Ancient legends and widespread traditions say, the Kashmir valley, was submerged as a result of an earthquake, the water that stuffed the area shaped the Dal Lake, Nageen lake, and Wular Lake, the biggest freshwater lake in India.
The oldest igneous rocks are still found at Shankaracharya hill. when the whole valley of Kashmir was underwater. The Shankaracharya hill was the primary piece of land, lying in the form of an igneous island.
Human History
The history of the Kashmir region is certainly long and disruptive, as can be seen in the modern-day conflicts surrounding the region. Early Neolithic sites in the valley have been dated back to 3000 BC, during which inhabitants mainly lived on hunting and fishing, though it is likely they cultivated lentils, wheat, and barley as well.
During the Vedic period, taking place between 1500 and 1100 BC, Kashmir was newly settled by the Uttara-Kurus kingdom. Then, in the third century BC, Kashmir was enveloped in the Maurya Empire, which spread Buddhism throughout the subcontinent and thus into Kashmir. This inspired the building of Buddhist structures, alongside Hindu shrines as well.
During the second century BC, however, it was the Kushan dynasty who took control of Kashmir and continued to support Buddhist tradition. Kashmir became a major location for both Buddhist and Hindu academics in the coming centuries, but when White Huns conquered Kashmir in the 6th century AD, many Buddhist sites in Kashmir were destroyed, and Buddhists themselves were subject to cruelty.
Hinduism in Kashmir continued to develop, birthing numerous scholars and artists who would emerge as important culturally and religiously. The Karkota Empire took the power in Kashmir in the 8th century, a normally Hindu empire that used to be nevertheless accepting of Buddhism and allowed for Buddhist constructions into their cities.
Throughout this time, Kashmir grew to be an imperial limit into the region, though the importance would downfall afterwards 855-856 AC once the dynasty ended. This was succeeded by the Utpala dynasty and after the Lohara dynasty, an apparently unpopular government so much fostered instability ideal for foreign forces after exploitation.
The last Lohara king fled Kashmir with trouble from a Turkic-Mongol chief concerning the kingdom since a man named Rinchana committed himself as ruler and converted to Islam. This was part of a greater Islamization of Kashmir, along with Islam turning into the most important worship in Kashmir during the 1300s.
A sequence of Sultans ruled Kashmir throughout the next centuries, and was often tolerant of other religions, although Sultan Sikandar was once specifically infamous because of his torment concerning non-Muslims. In the 1500s came the Mughals, a predominance that lasted until the 1750s so Sikh armies conquered the region or established anti-Muslim laws.
The First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845 resulted in the new princely regime of Jammu and Kashmir loosening in the hands of the British East India Company and British Raj, combining numerous disparate regions of various cultures and populations.
