Nepal
is landlocked between China and India; total land
area 147,181 km² (56,827 mi²). The terrain
is mountainous and hilly, although with physical diversity.
Three broad physiographic areas run laterally — lowland
Terai Region in the
south; central lower mountains and hills constituting
the Hill Region; the high Himalaya,
with 8,850-metre (29,035-foot) high
Mount Everest and other peaks forming Mountain Region
in north. Of Nepal's total land area, only 20 percent
is cultivatable. Deforestation is a severe problem.
Sagarmatha
(also known as Mt. Everest in English and Chomolongma
in Tibetan), the highest mountain in the world, straddles
the Nepal - China border. The vista and majesty of
Sagarmatha and the Himalayan
range, including eight of the world's top ten peaks,
(the eight-thousanders
(mountains over 8,000 metres), are major tourist attractions
and are cited as wonders of the
natural world.
Nepal
has five climatic zones based on altitude that range
from subtropical in the south, to cool summers and
severe winters in the north. There is annual rainfall
with seasonal variations depending on the monsoon
cycle, which provides 60 to 80 percent of the
total annual rainfall: 2,500 mm (98.5 in) in eastern part of country;
1,420 mm (56 in) around Kathmandu; 1,000 mm (39 in)
in western Nepal. In some areas of Nepal annual rainfall
totals over 4,000 mm, sometimes even 6,000 mm p. a.
