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Nepal, a sovereign independent Kingdom, lies between 80°4' and
88°12' east longitude and 26°22' and 30°27' north latitude. It is bounded on the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the
People's Republic of China; on the east by Sikkim and West Bengal of the Indian Union, on the south by Indian states of Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh and on the west by India's new Himalaya State Uttaranchal.The country can be divided into three main geographical
regions:
The Terai (up to 200 m)
The Middle Zone (1,500 m to 6,000 m)
The High Himalaya (Peaks over 6,000 m)
The Terai (up to 200 m)
The low-land Terai region which has a width of about 26 to 32 kilometres and a altitude of maximum
305 meters occupies about 17% of the total land area. The Terai constitutes the northern belt of the Gangatic Plains. The
Terai is Nepal's most densely populated region. It is the country's most fertile stretch of land. the Terai has more than
one million hectares of paddy fields. The Terai was almost entirely forested and was a zone where malaria was endemic. Today
less than 50% of the forests now remains. Kechanakawal (Jhapa district) is the lowest point of the country with an altitude
of 70 meters above sea level.
The Middle Zone (1,500
m to 6,000 m)
The region of the Himalayan foothills
forms a buffer zone between the Gangatic Plains to the south and the High Himalaya to the north. Immediately north of the
Terai are the forested Churia Hills, whose altitude varies from 610 m to 1524 m. The Churia Hill belt has a lot of river valleys
which can be highly fertile.
To the north of the Churia Hills is the Mahabharat Lekh that soars up to 4877 m. Peak elevations
increase to heights of up to 2,600 m. The slopes are widely forested, sometimes with evergreen oaks and firs. In areas of
higher rainfalls the rhododendron trees flourish in springtime.
The broader Pahar zone extends from the Mahabharat
Lekh to High Himalayas. This region includes both the kathmandu and the Pokhara valleys. The elevation range from 1,000 m
above sea level to 4,000 m and higher. The many river valleys allow often intensive cultivation of land. The slopes often
also are cultivated with intricate terraces. At lower elevations the forest are characteristically sub-tropical. With increasing
in altitude they become moist temperate, consisting largely of pine, spruce, cedars, firs and the attractive rhododendrons
whose white, purple and red flowers blossoms from late March to early May. The Mountain Region accounts for about 45% of a
total land area.
The High Himalaya (Peaks over 6,000
m)
The altitude of this region ranges between 4,800
m and 8850 m. It includes 8 of the existing 14 summits in the world which exceed an altitude of 8,000 m. A series of massifs
are separated from one another by deep gorges: Separating Dhaulagiri from the Annapurnas, the 6,000 m deep Kali Gandaki is
the deepest in the world.
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