Peak, Pass and Mountain Ridge in Nepal

There are hundreds of mountain peaks and ranges in Nepal. The chure, the Mahabaharat and the Himalayas are the three major systems of Mountains. The Chure Range lies at the lower elevation in the Tarai. The Mahabharat Range lies above the Chure. The Himalaya Range (Himal) lies in the northern most part of the country. These mountain ranges, i.e. the Himal, the Mahabharat and Chure are horizontally distributed from notrh to south respectively.

There are several mountain ranges in the Himal where the most notable peaks are elevated. Some of the major mountain ranges ae Mahalangur, Kumbhakarna, Rolwaling, Singhalila, Lantang-Lirung, Ganesh, Larke Himal, Annapurna, Dhawalagiri, etc. There are many passes in the mountain ranges. Mount Everest (8848m), Choyu (8153 m), Lhotse (8501 m), lie in the Singhalila mountain range, Machhapuchhre (6993m) and Annapurna (8091m) are in the Annapurna mountain range and Dhawalagiri (8137m) lies in the Dhawalagiri mountain range.

Physiography in Nepal

Physiography refers to the study of surface landform charactristics. Physiography on Nepal has been mainly divided on the basis of river, felief, structure, altitude and georaphical distribution.

Nepal has diverse geological and geographical structure. The country has thousand of rivers flowing from north to south forming gorges, river basins and valleys. There is a maximum relief, steep slope and rugged terrain that have resulted in distinct landforms and topography. For the sake of convenience, the physiography of Nepal is divided as high Himal, High Mountain, Middle Mountain, Siwalik and Tarai from north to south.

The Tarai is the flat land velow 300m elevation formed by alluvial deposition. The Siwalik, Churiya, lies just abobe Tarai. It ranges from 300-900 metre elevation in general. It is formed with conglomerates.

Soil Types in Nepal

There are different types of soil in Nepal. Various factors such as geology, climate and vegetation types have resulted in variations in soil properties. There is very limited research about soils in Nepal. So far, soils of Nepal can be divided into six broad types such as alluvial soil, sandy gravel soil, lacustrine soil, rocky soil and mountain soil. 

Alluvial soil is found in Tarai and in river basins. It is formed by the materials deposited by rivers and it's very fertile. The sandy gravel and gravel soils are found in Churiya where gravel and conglomerate are predominantly found. This is not fertile soil. There are various types of soil in the middle Hill. But rocky soil is predominant. The lacustrine soil is found in the Kathmandu Valley.

Minerals Distribution in Nepal

The Mountan, Hill and Tarai regions of Nepal have varied geological structures. Thus, various types of minerals are found in the country. Most of the minerals are concentrated in the Hill area of the Central and western development Regions. Among various minerals, copper, magnesite, iron, lead and mica are common minerals found in different parts of the country. Gold is found in Ilam and Kathmandu. Similarly, coal is found in Western and Eastern Tarai. However, there are several other pospective areas where different types of minerals can be found.

So far, very limited minerals are explored and used for industrial purposes. Limestone and marble have been explored to some extent for industry. Because of limited survey, research and studies, one has still not been able to explore the condition of those minerals in the country.

Protected Areas and Major Tourist Places in Nepal

Along with her natural beauty, Nepal is the country of cultural and biological diviersity. Nepal has different types of conservation areas for the protection and management of endangered species and other valuable mammals, flora and fauna such as one horn rhino, spotted tiger, red panda and many plants species.

There are nine national parks, four conservation arreas, three wildlife reserves and one hunting reserve in Nepal. The different types of conservation areas have covered 16.49 percent (24284 sqkm) area of the country. The Royal Chitwan National Park is the oldest National Park, it is also included in the world heritage site.

Among the national parks, She-phoksundo national park is the largest (3,555 sqkm) and Rara National park is the smallest (106 sqkm). Out of the four conservation areas, Annapurna Conservation Area (7,629 sqkm) is the largest and Makalu Barun Conservation Area (800 sqkm) is the smallest.

Nepal is famous for trekking, mountaineering and wildlife tourism. About 85 percent tourist visit Nepal for the purpose of pleasure and for trekking. Besides these conservation areas in the different parts of the country, there are several places of historical, cultural and religious importance. Not only the green tea garden but the beauty of landscape as a whole in Ilam in the east is outstanding. Similatly, Dharan, Dhankuta, Hile and Basantapur, the Kathmandu valley. Helambu, Dolakha, Shivapuri, Gorkha, Chitwan, pokhara, Palpa, Lumbini, Bardiya, the Marnali region are the most attractive places of interest. In addition, the mountain region as a whole is very beautiful and attravtive.

Mean Summer Temperature in Nepal

Summer remain hot and moist in Nepal in general. But the generalization of climatic condition is too difficult. Variation can be noticed in places within the same altitude and latitude. This variation is resulted by the physical diversities of the country. Like the winter season, the temperature zones in summer also run in east we4st direction parallel to the topographic leatures. The temperature in May, June and July remains the highest throughout the country. 

In summer, southern Tarai belt experiences hot weather condition with 27 to 30 degree temperature. Western Tarai experiences even higher temperature than the average of Tarai and sometimes 'hot wave' also takes place.

Airports in Nepal

The importance of air service is immense in our country. It carries people and goods to and from different places very quickly. Air service in Nepal was started after establishing the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC). it provides both domestic and internaltional services. In addition to RANC, there are also many private airlines in Nepal.

There are 45 airports in Nepal. The Tribhuwan Internation Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu is the only international airport. The big jets at first land here and tourist and other people fly to other places by small aircrafts operating as domestic flights. Most of the domestic flights to Hill and Mountain areas operate from Kathmandu and a few from Biratnagar, Pokhara and Nepalgunj too.

In additional to TIA, there are 33 all weather airports from where flights operate in the rainy season too. Out of the total aorports, 13 are in tarai districts, 16 in Hill and remaining 15 airports in Mountain districs.

Tea and Coffee Production in Nepal

Tea and Coffee are the most important cash crops which are getting higher importance in the country. Tea is cultivated in Ilam, Jhapa, Panchthar, Terathum, and Dhankuta districts of the Eastern Development Region. Ilam and Jhapa districts are famous for tea cultivation. Now, Tea is cultivated in 11,997 hectares area and its total production is about 6,638 metric tons.
Out of the total production of tea, Jhapa district produces 5538 mt (83%). It is produced 927 mt (14%) in Ilam and 137
% mt (2%) in Panchthar.

Coffee is mainly produced in Jhapa, Gulmi, palpa, Syangja and parbat districts. It is also produced in Nuwakot, Lalitpur and Ilam districts. Coffee is cultivated in 424 hectares in Nepal. Out of total production, 50 percent (50 mt) is produced in Jhapa followed by Gulmi with 18 mt, Palpa and Lalitpur come third and fourth in coffee production.

Maize Production in Nepal

Maize is the second most inportant crop on Nepal. It is cultivated in 824525 hectare area. Its total production as about 1484112 metric tons. Its average productivity is 1800 kilograms per hectare. The Hill area that extendeds from eats to west is the most important maize growing area. Eastern, Central and Western Hill are the highest maize growing areas of the country.

Chitwan district ranks first in maize production. It produces 4.12 percent of the total maize production. Kavre and Tanahun districts rank second and third position which produce 3.44 percent and 3.2 percent of this total maize productions respectively. Maize production is less in Munsang, Humla, Rupandehi and Siraha districts. The prodctivity of maize is observed highest in Kahtmandu while it is lowest in Manang and Gulmi.

Population Growth Rate in Nepal

Nepal has high population growth rate. The average population growth rate of 1991-2001 is 2.24 percent. The pattern of growth rate is very uneven.  A higher growth rate is noticed in Tarai (2.61%) and Inner Tarai (2.53%) followed by Hill (1.9%) . However, the growth rate of the Mountain is low (1.56%). In the context of district, Manang district has the highest (5.81%) population growth rate that is followed by Kathmandu district (4.71%). The other districts with high population growth rate are kailali (3.89%), Rupandehi (3.05%) and Banke (3.01%). The districts such as Mustang, Bhojpur and Khotang have the lowest population growth rate, that is less than one percent.