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Nepal
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1.0 Introduction Nepal is a rugged, mountainous country located in southern Asia, with most of its territory lying on the southern slopes of the Himalayan Mountains. Nepal is completely land-locked with India surrounding the eastern, western and southern borders. To the northeast lies Sikkim. Along most of the northern border lies Tibet (officially, the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China). Nepal is long but thin measuring about 805km in length and 241km from North to South. It has an area of about 147,182 square kilometres. Despite being such a small country, Nepal has the widest variation in altitude with the highest peak being Mt. Everest (8,848 m) and the lowest being 46 metres above sea level. Nepal has a latitude of 84° East and longitude of 28° North. Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, southeast of Nepal and the equator. 1.1 Aims Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries with a fragile environment that is under serious threat. The aims of this report are to clearly state the problems Nepal is facing and suggesting some recommendations as to how Nepal can overcome these. 1.2 Study Methods Several study methods have been used to compile this report. These include- the use of books, encyclopedias and the Internet for sources of information. Also a video- “Nepal and Bhutan- The United Nations Development Program” outlined the several problems going on in Nepal today. 2.0 Body The Himalayas or the Abode of Snow- are the most stupendous mountain ranges on the face of the earth. These make up the dominant landform features of Nepal. Mt. Everest, Nepal’s highest peak and also the world’s highest mountain belongs to these group of mountains. Nepal is divided into three main landform zones: · The Terai region is a long belt of alluvial plains adjoining India in the south. These range in altitude from 40m to 300m. This belt is between 25 kilometres and 32 kilometres wide. This area takes up 17% of Nepal’s area. · The Hilly region stretches across the middle of Nepal. This makes up 64% of Nepalese land and ranges in altitude of 1525 to 3660 metres. This region contains important valleys and rivers which support most of Nepal’s growing population. · The Himalayan region is Nepal’s highest zone. It ranges between 3660 and 8848 metres in altitude. The Himalayan region is in the north of Nepal, which adjoins the Tibet region of China. In the Himalayan region there are over 240 snow peaks which are more than 6000 metres in altitude. The Himalayas were formed when pressures on the earth’s crust, caused by continental drift become so intense that the surface buckled or cracked. This occurred because two tectonic plates collided. The Himalayas are known as fold mountains because they were formed by the compression of rocks forcing the surface to bend and fold like a crumpled rug. They are formed from the folded former sediments of the Tethys Sea which was trapped in the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian plates. The topography of Nepal has greatly influenced the population distribution of the Nepalese. Due to the high altitude and the extreme weather in the Himalayas very few people live there. It is in the sheltered valleys that lie in the foothills of the Himalayas where two-thirds of the population live. The Kathmandu Valley is an extremely fertile region ideal for growing crops. The valleys have a cool climate, with heavy rain in summer. A low-lying region called Terai, located in southern Nepal, is a hot, wet region with thick forests and steamy swamps. Farmers grow crops such as rice (the most grown product of Nepal) and sugar cane. About a third of Nepal’s people live in the Terai. The high altitude of the Himalayan parts of the country give sub zero temperatures throughout the year, with the result snow, ice and high winds.
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