Merra, or Merrā, is a mountain in
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
.
Description
Merra is a glaciated summit in the Nepalese
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
. It is situated west-northwest of
Kangchenjunga
Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and ...
in the
Kanchenjunga Conservation Area
Kanchenjunga Conservation Area is a protected area in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that was established in 1997. It covers in the Taplejung District and comprises two peaks of Kanchenjunga. In the north it adjoins the Qomolangma National Nat ...
. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into the Ghunsa River which is a tributary of the
Tamur River.
Topographic relief
Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...
is significant as the summit rises 2,130 metres (6,988 ft) above the Ghunsa River in . The first ascent of the summit was made on October 18, 2006, by Claus Ostergaard.
[''Merra Overview'']
Nepal Himal Peak Profile, Retrieved April 14, 2025.
Climate
Based on the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, Merra is located in a
tundra climate
The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. It is classified as ET according to the Köppen climate classification. It is a climate which at least one month has an average temperature high enough ...
zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool summers.
Weather systems coming off the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region.
Many South Asian and Southe ...
are forced upwards by the Himalaya mountains (
orographic lift
Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...
), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall. Mid-June through early-August is the monsoon season. The months of April, May, September, and October offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.
''Everest Treks: A Month By Month Review of the Best Seasons''
Brinley Clark, Himalayanwonders.com, Retrieved April 14, 2025.
Gallery
File:Merra (Nepal).jpg, West aspect viewed from Khambachen
File:Merra west slope.jpg, Lower west slope of Merra with Ghunsa River at bottom of frame
File:Merra.jpg, Merra in upper left, viewed with Kanchanjangha Glacier
File:Merra from west.jpg, West slope
See also
* Geology of the Himalayas
References
External links
* Merra
weather
* Account of first ascent
American Alpine Club
{{Portal bar, Mountains, Geography, Geology, Nepal
Mountains of Koshi Province
Six-thousanders of the Himalayas
Taplejung District
Mountains of the Himalayas
Mountains of Nepal