Geologists
believe that about ten crore years have passed when
Kashmir Valley which was once a lake called Satisar,
the lake of goddess Sati, came into its present
form.
For
hundreds of million years Kashmir Valley remained
under Tethya sea and the
high sedimentary-rock hills seen in the valley now
were once under water. Geologists have come to
believe that Kashmir Valley was earlier affected by
earthquakes. Once there was such a devastating
earthquake that it broke open the mountain wall at
Baramulla. and the water of the Satisar lake flowed
out leaving behind lacustrine mud on the margins of
the mountains known as karewas. Thus came into existence
the oval but irregular Valley of Kashmir. The
karewas being in fact the remnants
of this lake confirm this view. The karewas are
found mostly to the west of the river Jhelum where
these table-lands attain a height of about 380
meters above the level of the Valley. These karewas
protrude towards the east and look like
tongue-shaped spurs with deep ravines.
Ancient
legends and popular traditions say that Samdimat
Nagar, capital of the kingdom of Sundra Sena, was
submerged as a result of an earthquake, and the
water that filled the area formed the Wular Lake,
the largest fresh water lake in India. The oldest
igneous rocks are still found at Shankaracharya
hill. When the whole Valley of Kashmir was under
water this
hillock was the first piece of dry land lying in the
form of an igneous island.
Excerpts from: Geography of Jammu & Kashmir State
by Dr. A. N. Raina
Radha Krishan Anand & Co.
Pacca Danga, Jammu
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