Geography of Tibet: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:38, 9 December 2005

Revision as of 04:40, 9 December 2005

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[[Image:Himalaya composite.jpg|thumb|300px|The Tibetan plateau lies between the [[Himalaya]]n range to the south and the [[Taklamakan]] plain to the north]]

[[Tibet]] is a region of central [[Asia]]. It is often called "the roof of the world", comprising table-lands averaging over 4950 metres above the sea with peaks at 60006,000 to 75007,500 [[Metre|m]], including [[Mount Everest]]. It is bounded on the north and east by [[China]], on the west by the [[Kashmir]] Region of [[India]] and on the south by [[Nepal]], [[Bangladesh]] and [[Bhutan]]. Most of Tibet sits atop a geological structure known as the [[Tibetan Plateau]] which includes the [[Himalaya]] and many of the highest mountain peaks in the world.

Physically, Tibet may be divided into two parts, the "lake region" in the west and north-west, and the "river region", which spreads out on three sides of the former on the east, south, and west. Both regions receive limited amounts of rainfall as they lie in the [[rain shadow]] of the Himalayas, however the region names are useful in contrasting their [[hydrology|hydrological]] structures, and also in contrasting their different cultural uses which is [[nomad|nomadic]] in the lake region and [[agriculture|agricultural]] in the river region (see map of the [http://www.tew.org/geography/t2000.agricultural.html land use patterns of historic Tibet])