BHUTAN
Bhutan – the land of the thunder Dragon –
is located in the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas;
the kingdom is landlocked between the two great Asian
civilizations, Tibet (China) to the north and the Indian
States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim & West
Bengal in the East, West, & South. The country lies
between latitudes 26' 45’N & 280" 10’N,
and longitudes 88' 45'E & 92' 10’E. It has
a total area of 38,394 square kilometers.
Topography: Its physical
geography consists mostly of steep and high mountains
crisscrossed by a network of swift rivers, which form
deep valleys before draining into the Indian plains.
The land rises from 200 in the southern foothills to
7000 meters high northern mountains. Within this latitudinal
range are found a diverse biodiversity rich enough to
be considered as one of ten global environmental ‘hotspots’.
About 72.5 per cent of the area is under forests, and
the law requires the country to maintain 60 per cent
forests cover for all times to come.
Climate: The climate
varies hot subtropical climate in south to cold alpine
slopes in the north. Human settlement is confined mostly
to interior river valleys and a swath of southern plains;
nomads and other tribes live in the north, raising sheep,
cattle and yaks. |
