Morphological characteristics of high mountain settlements a case study of Jakhol, Uttarkashi

The high mountains have small and scattered settlements. These settlements are heterogeneous in their social, cultural and economic characteristics. These settlements are also distinct in their morphology. The morphology of the landscape; the relief (or the topography) of the settled area have an imprint on the morphology of these settlements. The morphology of these ridge and valley settlements is, thus, geographically determined (constrained). It gives birth to a unique characteristic. In general, the vertical settlement is the normal pattern of mountainous regions. This research is a study of the morphology of these mountain settlements. It aims to identify the pattern and explore the unique characteristics of the morphology of the high mountain settlements. The study area for this research is an isolated mountain valley in the high Himalayan region. It is the Har ki Dun valley of Uttarkashi, India. The aim of this research is to map the morphology of these remote mountain villages. This research is based on an idiographic approach. The methodology used in this study is qualitative and descriptive. It examines the morphology of the mountain settlement of Jakhol. It can be interpreted as representative of the morphology of the rural settlements in the high Himalayan region.