Physical Features

Nepal has four physiographic belts: the Terai plain, the sylvan Churia foothills & Inner Terai zone to the north, the mid mountain region, and the Great Himalayan Range. The Terai plain is low in elevation, flat, and fertile, being a northern extension of the Gangetic Plain. In the south, it is agricultural, , it is marshy and forested where it joins the Hilly region. The sparsely populated Churia Hills and the Inner Terai region rise to the rugged Mahabharata Mountain Range, which has elevations of 600-910 m; the intermountain basins are covered with forests. The mid-mountain region, between the Mahabharata Range and the Great Himalayas has ranging between 2,400 and 4,300 m that enclose the Kathmandu and the Pokhara valleys, two flat basins drained by the Baghmati and Seti rivers, respectively. The densely populated Kathmandu valley is the political and cultural pot of the nation. The Great Himalayan Range, from 4,300 to 8,800 m in elevation, contains several of the world's highest peaks like Mt. Everest, Kanchenjunga I, Makalu I, Dhaulagiri I, Manaslu I, and Annapurna I-all above 8,040 m. The Kosi, Narayani (Gandak), and Karnali rivers run southward through transverse valleys of the Himalayan chain. They are Nepal's major rivers and have large reserves of hydroelectric power.