GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF NEPAL

Location:-

Location between 80⁰ and 88⁰ east longitude and between 26⁰ and 30⁰ 27’ north latitude, the kingdom of Nepal extends along the south slope of the Himalayan in central Asia. Its total land area is 147,181 square kilometers and its borders are contiguous with india in the west, south and east with Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of china in the north. Nepal’s boundary limits are as followos:

In the east, the Mechi river and singalila range separate the country from Sikkim to west Bengal.

In the south, boundary pollars and about nine meters of no man’s land on either side demarcate Nepalese territory and the Indian states of west Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pardesh.

In the west, the Mahakali river is the natural border separating the kingdom from Utter Pardesh.

In the north the boundry markers set up in accordance with in Boundry Agreement of 1961 demarcate the border between Nepalese territory and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. Nepal is a land locked country, the nearest sea coast being 1,120 kilometers away at Calcutta in india.

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Natural Features

The Tera

In the southern part of the country the Terai region is composed of a 26 to 32 Kilometre wide belt of fertile alluvial plain. This belt extends all the way from the western to the eastern border, and covers about 17 percent of the local area.

Between In churia hills, rising abruptly to the north of the southern plains, and the Mahabharat range, are a number of low valleys called Duns. The Duns resemble the Terai in relief and climate and are called the inner Terai. The Churia range runs east-west across the country and has a hogback profile with a step south face. It averages 600 to 1220 meters in altitude and 8 to 16 kilometers in breadth. The soil is immature and dry.

The Hills:-

The mahabharat rangem running closely parallel to the Churia ranges, separates the Terai from the Hill regioin. This range average 1,525 to 3,660 meters in altitude and 16 kilometers in breadth. Its structures is synclinal and topography is steep and jagged.

Forests are usually found on the higher elevations whereas the lower and gentle slopes are used for terraced cultivation. North of this range and south of the Himalaya lies the extensively cultivated braod hill complex of the Pahad or Hill region which covers about 64 percent of the total land area, the major area of Nepalese settlement. Topographically rather subdued in character, the Hill region has a generally salubrious climate.

Braod fertile valleys including the kathmandu valley are the areas of densest settlement in this ragion.

The Himalaya:-

The Himalaya or’ abode of snow is the youngest and highest mountain system in the world. It extends over 2,400 kilometres as a vast south-facing are between the Indus and Brahmaputra river with Nanga parabat (8,125m) in the west, in india, and Namcha Barwa (7,755m) in the east in Tibet, as it’s terminal high points. Fully a third or 800 kilometres of it’s central section traverses Nepal and is known as the Nepal Himalaya. Here congregate more than 250 peaks that exceed 6,000 meters in height-a unique concentration of lofty dazzling summits. Of the thirty-one Himalayan peaks over 7,600 meters, 22 lie in the Nepal Himalaya, including eight of the world’s 14 highest giants. These are :-

Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest)              8,848m

Kangchenjunga                                 8,586m

Lhotse 8,516

ChuOyou 8201m

Dhaulagiri 8167m

Manaslu8,163

Annapurna 8,091

The Himalayan range within Nepal is the culmination of a series of parallel ranges. The main range lies about 90 kilometres north of the Mahabharat Lekh. The intervening space between the two parallel ranges is made up of a lower belt of low hills Pahad and a higher belt of elevated ridges Lekh that provide the first intimation of the high snow peaks Himal. The main Himalayas do not from a continuous chain, but are a series of lofty peaks or Himals in turn sends out a maze of spurs studded with numerous peaks.

In western and central Nepal, there is yet another mountain range that defines the boundary between Nepal and China. The border range has elevations ranging from 5,000 to 6,000 meters with comparatively less rugged but a harsh

Climate. Between the main Himalayan range and these border ranges lie some of the elevated Bhot Valleys.

Much of the high country above 5,000 meters is under snow and ice, although the permanent snow-line varies according to aspect and gradient. Winters snowfall occurs up to an elevation of 2,000 meters and is much heavier In the west. While winter is harsh and bitter, summer is the season of alpine flowers, when the high pastures teem with grazing animals form lower valleys. For the mountain communities, it is the time for harvesting their main crops before the winter migration to wormer climates.

The Himalaya. The koshi river system consists of the Tamor, Arun, Dudkoshi, Likhu, Tamakoshi and Sunkosh originate in Tibet. The confluence of these rivers is at Tribeni (near Dharan) in Sagarmatha Zone. Flowing for almost 10 Kilometres through a narrow gorge before entering the plains, the ‘Sapta Koshi, or ‘ seven koshis’ as it is swollen with the waters of the seven rivers, finally merges with the Ganges in India.