Geography of Nepal
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| Continent | Asia |
|---|---|
| Region | coordinates = 28°00′N 84°00′E / 28.000°N 84.000°E |
| Area | Ranked 93rd |
| • Total | 147,181 km2 (56,827 sq mi) |
| • Land | 92.94% |
| • Water | 7.06% |
| Coastline | 0 km (0 mi) |
| Borders |
Total land borders: 2,926 km (1,818 mi) China (PRC): 1,236 km (768 mi) India: 1,690 km (1,050 mi) |
| Highest point |
Mount Everest 8,848 m (29,029 ft) |
| Longest river | Karnali |
| Largest lake | Rara Lake |
Nepal measures about 800 kilometers (497 mi) along its Himalayan axis by 150 to 250 kilometers (93 to 155 mi) across. Nepal has an area of 147,181 square kilometers (56,827 sq mi).
Nepal is landlocked by India on three sides and China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the north. West Bengal's narrow Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck separate Nepal and Bangladesh. To the east are India and Bhutan. Nepal depends on India for goods transport facilities and access to the sea, even for most goods imported from China.
For a small country, Nepal has tremendous geographic diversity. It rises from as low as 59 metres (194 ft) elevation in the tropical Terai—the northern rim of the Gangetic Plain, beyond the perpetual snow line to some 90 peaks over 7,000 metres (22,966 ft) including Earth's highest 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) Mount Everest or Sagarmatha. In addition to the continuum from tropical warmth to cold comparable to polar regions, average annual precipitation varies from as little as 160 millimetres (6.3 in) in the rainshadow north of the Himalaya to as much as 5,500 millimetres (216.5 in) on windward slopes.
Along a south-to-north transect, Nepal can be divided into three belts: Terai, Hill and Mountain Regions. In the other direction, it is divided into three major river systems, from east to west: Koshi, Gandaki/Narayani and Karnali (including the Mahakali/Sarda along the western border), all tributaries of the Ganges. The Ganges-Yarlung Zangbo/Brahmaputra watershed largely coincides with the Nepal-Tibet border, however several Ganges tributaries rise inside Tibet.
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Wikipedia