Nepal is a landlocked country located in South Asia. It lies between latitude 26° 22' to 30° 27' north and longitudes 80° 4' to 88° 12' east. Nepal occupies 0.03% of the total land of the world, 0.3% of Asia, and 3% of South Asia. Nepal lies between two giant countries of Asia: India and China. It is about 1,127 km away from the sea/bay of Bengal.
The total area of Nepal is 147,181 square kilometers i.e. 56,827 square miles. The average length of Nepal from east to west is 885 kilometers and the width from north to south is 193 kilometers. Nepal is surrounded by the states of India in the south, west, and east: Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the south, Uttarakhand in the west and West Bengal and Sikkim in the east; and by Tibet, the autonomous region of China, in the north. Nepal Standard Time is determined on the basis of the longitude 86° 15' east that passes through Mt. Gaurishankar lying in Dolkha district.
The time of Nepal is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. The time was introduced in Nepal from Baishakh 1, 2042 BS. Out of the fourteen higher mountains in the world which are over 8,000 meters, eight lie in Nepal. There are more than 1,300 peaks in Nepal which are 6,000 meters and over.
There are approximately 301 such peaks in the Mustang area alone. There are big rivers such as Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali and beautiful lakes such as Rara, Phewa, Gosaikunda in Nepal along the Himalayas. Tropical, Meso-thermal, Microthermal, Tiaga, and Tundra climates are found in Nepal because of the diversified topography and the wide differences in climate and weather. The altitudinal differences in Nepal's geophysical landscape have created geographical differences. Nepal has been recognized in the world as the land of Mt. Everest, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, the country of the third pole, and also as the country of the unique national flag.
1.2 Geographical Division
1.2.1 Division of Nepal based on Topographical Features
The geographical division of Nepal has been made on different bases. Nepal can be topographically divided into three wide geographical regions starting from north to south.
(A) Himalaya Region
The Himalaya region that is made up of rock and snow in series which looks like rows of teeth in the northern part of Nepal covers 15% of the total land. This region spreading from 25 to 50 kilometers from north to south is located above 3000 meters from the sea level.
The Himalaya is situated not only on the northern side; there are mountain ranges in the south which can be seen from the northern part of the country. For example, Mustang, Manang, etc. lie to the north of Mt. Annapurna and Mt. Gangapurna. Mustang and some parts of Dolpa lie to the north of Dhawalagiri Churen Himalaya.
From those places, the Himalaya is seen in the south. The world's higher and beautiful mountain peaks lie in the Himalaya section of Nepal. Kanchanjungha, Janak, Umbak, Mahalangur, Rolwaling, Pumori, Jugal, Langtang, Ganesh, Serang, Kutang, Mansiri, Pero, Lugula, Damodar, Nilgiri, Annapurna, Dhawalagiri, Mustang, Gautam, Palchung Hamaga, Kanjirowa, Kanti, Gorkha, Changla, Chandi, Nalakanker, and Gunras, are the famous 28 mountain ranges extended serially from east to west of Nepal. Among these, the majority of mountain ranges are located along the border of Bhot (Tibet, China).
The economic activity of the Himalaya region is limited. Although the production is little and agriculture is meager, the region is rich in herbs and in animal husbandry like yak, sheep, mountain goat (Chyangra), horse, etc. The cottage industries that produce woolen carpets, Radi, Pakhi are there in the region. The tourism industry, herbs, and ecological heritage are the main resources of the region.
The region lies in the region of Alpine and Arctic climate. The climate varies according to the elevation and location of the mountains. Potatoes are grown in Chunkung Village of Solukhumbu which lies at an altitude of 4,400 meters. 200 millimeters of rainfall occur in Jomsom of Mustang which is located at an altitude of 2,800 meters. The arable lands the higher Himalaya are found in Solukhumbu, Manang, Mustang, and Dolpa.
Snow remains for 6 to 12 months above 5,000 meters. The areas above 4,000 meters get frost even in a short period of rainfall. Small bushes (herbs) are found at an altitude between 4,000 and 5,000 meters. But due to special reasons, natural vegetation is found in the lands up to 2,800 meters in Mustang and Dolpa. A 12 percent area of higher mountain region is suitable for monsoon pasture. The other areas are not suitable for pasture as they are characterized by steep cliffs, rocky and cold. As it takes a longer time to grow grass there, pasture management is necessary to conserve the lands from excessive pasture. Less than one percent of the land is suitable for agriculture regarding the soil and climate. It has been difficult to take productions to the market because transportation is not available yet.
The higher land that covers 19.7 percent (2,899,500 hectares) of Nepal’s total landmass has mid-hill to the south and higher mountains to the north. Most of the valleys in the region are glaciated. The rivers have bed-cut much and as a result, the river gradient has formed gorges and canyons. There is a variation in height of over 2,000 meters between the top of the mountain peak and base of the valley. Therefore tropical, sub-tropical, and warm temperate and cold sub-temperate plants are found on a single slope. 50% of the land, for this reason, has no use in any kind of agriculture. Out of the remaining 50%, there is a thin layer of soil in 34% of land which is not enough for agriculture and only 16% of the land has maintained agriculture. Even out of such 200,000 hectares of land, only 40% of land has been well cultivated.
There lie 20 districts from east to west in this region: Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Dolakha, Sindhupalchok, Rasuwa, Manang, Mustang, Dolpa, Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Kalikot, Bajura, Bajhang, Dharchula, Dhading, Ramechhap, Gorkha, Rukum (East).
The Himalaya region can be studied by further dividing it into three broader areas:
The Main Himalaya Region The main Himalaya centered on the higher mountains of the Himalaya region has the mountains over 8000 meters. There lie 1,311 mountains over 6,000 meters in the Himalaya range to the south of coastal Himalaya.
Apart from the world's tallest mountain, Mt. Everest and the third tallest mountain, one and a half dozen of peaks out of the world's two dozen peaks including Mt. Kanchanjungha, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Makalu, Mt. Cho Oyu, Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Manaslu, Mt. Annapurna lie in this region. Out of the world's 10 tallest mountains, 8 mountains lie in Kanchanjungha, Khumbu, Mahalangur, Rolwaling, Ganesh, Gorkha, Annapurna,
Dhaulagiri, Kanjirowa, Api and Saipal mountain ranges. Kanchanjungha, Janak, Umbak, Mahalangur, Rolwaling, Pumori, Jugal, Langtang, Ganesh, Serang, Kutang, Mansiri, Peri, Lugula, Damodar, Nilgiri, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Mustang, Gautam, Palchung, Hamga, Kanjirowa, Kanti, Gorkha, Changla, Chandi, Nalakankar, Gurans are the 28 mountain ranges lying serially from east to west in this region.
Inner Himalaya Region:
This region lies to the north of the main Himalayas and to the south of the coastal Tibet region. The higher Himalaya region contains many valleys formed by rivers. There lie the snow-adorned valleys like Purang, Humla, Mugu, Langu, Budhi Khotang, Kerung, Nyanam, Rongsar, Khumbu, Karma, etc. in this region. Lying between the higher mountains in the north and smaller mountains in the south, these valleys lie in the range of 2,400-5,000 meters. In some places, there are deep gorges and small valleys. Since Humla, Jumla, Mugu, Dolpa, Mustang, and Manang fall in the rain shadow area, there occurs very little rainfall. The dry climate is found in this region.
Since there is a cool coniferous forest, fodder grasses are not found here. People of this region transport food grain, clothes, and other goods by mules, horses, yak, etc. Barley, wheat, and potatoes are produced up to the height of 3,000 meters. Very few people live here during the cold winter.
