ABSTRACT
Nepal is a landlocked country extending 800 km from east to west in the central Himalayas, sharing a border with India to the south and Tibet to the north. The land area of 141,181 km2 covers some of the most varied terrain to be found within one country. Broadly speaking, there are three geographically distinct regions. To the south, and as part of the Gangetic Plain, is the plains region commonly referred to as the Tarai, with elevations below 300 m and a tropical climate. Northwards from the plains, is the hilly region, lying between 300–3,000 m, which has a climate that is subtropical to warm temperate. Finally, the northern frontiers of the country consist of the mountain region, lying above 3,000 m and including the main Himalayan range, its high spurs and the trans-Himalayan areas; the climate varies from the temperate to the arctic, with pronounced aridity north of the main Himalayan range. A map of the country is given in Figure 8.1. and an elevation profile in Figure 8.2. In relative terms, 12 per cent of the country’s land area consists of the plains region, about 60 per cent in the hills region and the remaining 18 per cent in the mountains. These mountains consist of a succession of ranges running east to west across the country and separating and confining various depression areas that form the main settlement zones. Lateral communication between these zones has always been, and stili is, difficult.
