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Bangladesh
: Land, Resources & Natural Regions
Most of Bangladesh lies within the broad
delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra
rivers and is exceedingly flat, low-lying,
and subject to annual flooding. Much fertile,
alluvial soil is deposited by the floodwaters.
The only significant area of hilly terrain,
constituting less than one-tenth of the
nation's territory, is the Chittagong
Hill Tracts District in the narrow southeastern
panhandle of the country. There, on the
border with Myanmar, is Mowdok Mual (1,003
m/3,291 ft), the country's highest peak.
Small, scattered hills lie along or near
the eastern and northern borders with
India. The eroded remnants of two old
alluvial terraces-the Madhupur Tract,
in the north central part of the country,
and The Barind, straddling the northwestern
boundary with India-attain elevations
of about 30 m (about 100 ft). The soil
here is much less fertile than the annually
replenished alluvium of the surrounding
floodplain.
Land
Total area:
144,000 square kilometers;
Land area: 133,910
square kilometers
Land boundaries:
4,246 km total; 193 km with Myanmar, 4,053
km with India,
Coastline: 580 km.
Land distribution:
arable land 67%
forest and woodland 16%
permanent crops 2%
meadows and pastures 4%
others 11%
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