Geography
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a Himalayan nation, located towards the eastern extreme of the Himalayas mountain range. It is situated between the sovereign territory of two nations: first, the People's Republic of China on the north and northwest (with approximately 470 kilometres of border with the Tibet Autonomous Region) and second, the Republic of India on the south, southwest, and east (with approximately 605 kilometres of borders with the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, and Sikkim). Bhutan's total borders amount to 1,075 kilometres.
Other close neighbours include the Kingdom of Nepal to the west, the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the south, and the Union of Myanmar to the southeast.
Bhutan is a very compact nation, with a total area of 47,000 sq km. Because of its inland, landlocked status, it controls no territorial waters. Its shape, area and mountainous location are comparable to that of Switzerland. Bhutan's territory used to extend south into present-day Assam, including the protectorate of Cooch Behar, but in 1772, the British East India Company began to push back the borders through a number of wars and treaties, severely reducing Bhutan's size until the Treaty of Sinchulu of 1865, when some border land was ceded back.
Natural Geography
The Mountains
The Himalayas dominate the north of the country, where mountain peaks can easily reach seven thousand metres; the highest point is claimed to be the Kula Kangri, at 7,553 m, but detailed topographic studies claim Kula Kangri is wholly in Tibet and modern Chinese measurements claim that Gangkhar Puensum, which has the distinction of being the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, is higher at 7,570 m (vs 7,538m for Kula Kangri).
Weather is extreme in the mountains: the high peaks have perpetual snow, and the lesser mountains and hewn gorges have high winds all year round, making them barren brown wind tunnels in summer, and frozen wastelands in winter. The blizzards generated in the north each winter often drift southward into the central highlands.
Bhutan controls several strategic mountain passes through the Himalayas, allowing travel between Tibet and Assam. These passes are also the only way into the kingdom, and, coupled with its centuries-old policies of isolationism, it has been called the 'Mountain Fortress of the Gods.' The heartland of Bhutan has never been successfully invaded; the British, while establishing a protectorate over the nation, did so with threats to the low-lying territories below the highlands.
The Highlands
The highlands are the most populous part of the nation; the capital of Thimphu lies in the western region. The region is characterised by its many rivers (flowing into India's Brahmaputra), its isolated valleys that house most of the population, and the expansive forests that cover 70% of the nation. Winters are cold, summer are hot; the rainy season is accompanied with frequent landslides.
The Tropical Plains
The extreme southern strip of the nation consists mostly of tropical plains, more typical of India. It is largely agricultural land, producing mostly rice. Only two percent of Bhutan is arable land, with most of it focused here.
Glaciers
Glaciers in northern Bhutan, which cover about 10% of the total surface area, are an important renewable source of water for Bhutan's rivers. Fed by fresh snow each winter and slow melting in the summer, the glaciers bring millions of litres of fresh water to Bhutan and downriver areas each year. Glacial melt added to monsoon-swollen rivers, however, also contributes to flooding and potential disaster.
River Systems
Bhutan has four major river systems:
- the Drangme Chhu
- the Puna Tsang Chhu, also called the Sankosh
- the Wang Chhu
- the Amo Chhu
Each flows swiftly out of the Himalayas, southerly through the Dooars to join the Brahmaputra River in India, and thence through Bangladesh where the Brahmaputra (or Jamuna in Bangladesh) joins the mighty Ganges (or Padma in Bangladesh) to flow into the Bay of Bengal.
The largest river system, the Drangme Chhu, flows southwesterly from India's state of Arunachal Pradesh and has three major branches: the Drangme Chhu, Mangde Chhu, and Bumthang Chhu. These branches form the Drangme Chhu basin, which spreads over most of eastern Bhutan and drains the Tongsa and Bumthang valleys. In the Duars, where eight tributaries join it, the Drangme Chhu is called the Manas Chhu.
The 320-kilometre-long Puna Tsang Chhu rises in northwestern Bhutan as the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu, which are fed by the snows from the Great Himalayan Range. They flow southerly to Punakha, where they join to form the Puna Tsang Chhu, which flows southerly into India's state of West Bengal.
The tributaries of the 370-kilometre-long Wang Chhu rise in Tibet. The Wang Chhu itself flows southeasterly through west-central Bhutan, drains the Ha, Paro, and Thimphu valleys, and continues into the Duars, where it enters West Bengal as the Raigye Chhu.
The smallest river system, the Torsa Chhu, known as the Amo Chhu in its northern reaches, also flows out of Tibet into the Chumbi Valley and swiftly through western Bhutan before broadening near Phuntsholing and then flowing into India.
