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Geography ▼
Myanmar has the total area of 676,577 sq. km, it is twice
the size of Vietnam and about the size of United Kingdom and
France combined. Geographically, Myanmar is the largest
country in South-East Asia Peninsula sharing borders with
Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand.
Myanmar is forest-clad mountainous country. Three parallel
chains of mountain ranges run from north to south: the
Western Yoma or Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma and the Shan
Plateau. They begin from the eastern extremity of the
Himalaya mountain range. The peak of the Hkakabo-Razi at
5,881 meters (18,000 feet) is the highest in South-East
Asia. These mountain chains divide the country into three
river systems: the Ayeyarwaddy, the Sittaung and the
Thanlwin. The Ayeyarwaddy , the most important river, about
2,170 km (1350 miles) long, and its major tributary, the
Chindwinn, 960 km (600 miles) long, constitute the greatest
rivering system in the country. As it joins the sea, the
Ayeyarwaddy forms a vast delta of 240 km (150 miles) by 210
km (130 miles). According to these mountain chains and river
systems, the country can be divided into seven major
topographic regions : the Northern Hills, the Western Hills,
the Shan plateau, the Central Belt, the Lower Myanmar Delta,
the Rakhine Coastal Region and Tanintharyi Coastal Strip
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