Southeast Asia Map Geoguessr

[Hadi Sapre]

Myanmaralso known as Burma) is the northwesternmost country of mainland Southeast Asia located on the Indochinese peninsula. With an area of 261,228 sq mi (676,578 km2), it is the second largest country in Southeast Asia and the largest on mainland Southeast Asia.[2] The kite-shaped country stretches from 10'N to 20'N for 1,275 miles (2,050 km) with a long tail running along the western coast of the Malay Peninsula.[3]

Myanmar lies along the Indian and Eurasian Plates, to the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau. To its west is the Bay of Bengal and to its south is the Andaman Sea. The country is nestled between several mountain ranges with the Arakan Mountains on the west and the Shan Plateau dominating the east.[3] The central valley follows the Irrawaddy River, the most economically important river to the country with 39.5 million people, including the largest city Yangon, living within its basin.[4] The country is home to many diverse ethnic groups, with 135 officially recognized groups. It is strategically located near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes and was historically home to overland trade routes into China from the Bay of Bengal. The neighboring countries are China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos.

The southern maritime boundary follows coordinates marked by both Myanmar and Thailand towards the maritime tripoint with India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The maritime India-Myanmar border resumes end south of Coco Islands before heading towards Myanmar's narrow boundary with international Bay of Bengal waters. Myanmar has a total coastline of 1,384 mi (2,227 km) and has several islands and archipelagos- most notably the Mergui Archipelago. The county has a total water area is 8,910 square miles (23,100 km2) and an Exclusive Economic Zone covering 205,706 sq mi (532,780 km2).[2]

The Bangladesh-Myanmar border begins at the mouth of the Naf River at the Bay of Bengal and head north around the Mayu Range in a wide arc before head back north through the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the tripoint with India at the peak of Teen Matha for a total of 168 miles (270 km).

The India-Myanmar border heads north through the Chin Hills towards the Tiau River. It follows this river upstream and then through various rivers near Manipur before going northeast through the Patkai range to the Chaukan Pass and the Mishmi Hills for a total of 912 miles (1,468 km).[5]

The tripoint with China and India is disputed due to the Sino-Indian border dispute but lies de facto north of the Diphu Pass. The China-Myanmar border heads northeast to Hkakabo Razi just one mile west of its summit. It then turns southeast following the Hengduan and Gaoligong Mountains through many irregular lines towards the Taping River and Shweli River. It then heads south-eastwards across the far Shan Hills, following hills and rivers, until it reaches the Mekong river. It follows the Mekong until the tripoint with Laos for a grand total of 1,333 miles (2,145 km).

The Myanmar-Thailand border follows the Kok River and Sai River briefly before continuing overland on a series of irregular lines southwards through the Daen Lao Range before heading southwest to the Salween River. The border follows the Salween and then the Moei River before going overland again through the Tenasserim Hills towards the Malay Peninsula. Near Prachuap Khiri Khan, the border comes within 6.81 mi (10.96 km) to the Gulf of Thailand. It then heads south towards the Kraburi River which it then follows towards a wide estuary before ending in the Andaman Sea, forming Myanmar's longest border at 1,501 miles (2,416 km).

Myanmar has three seasons: the cool and drier northeast monsoon running from late October to mid-February, the hot and dry intermonsoonal season from mid-February to mid-May and the rainy southwest monsoon from mid-May to late-October.[3] Colloquially, they are called the winter, summer and rainy seasons respectively.[6] The alternating mountain ranges and valleys create alternate zones of heavy and subdued precipitation during the monsoon season, with the majority of the country's precipitation coming from the southwest monsoons.

The Northern Mountains are characterised by complex ranges centred around the eastern ends of the Himalayas and the northeastern limit of the Indian-Australian Plate.[3] The ranges at the southern end of the Hengduan System form the border between Myanmar and China. Hkakabo Razi, the country's highest point at 5,881 m (19,295 ft), is located at the northern end of the country. This mountain is part of a series of parallel ranges that run from the foothills of the Himalaya through the border areas with Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram.

The Western Ranges are characterized by the Arakan Mountains running from Manipur into western Myanmar southwards through Rakhine State almost to Cape Negrais in the shores of the Bay of Bengal in Ayeyarwady Region. The mountains reappear as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands further within the Andaman Sea. These mountains are old crystalline rocks separating the Arakan Coast from the rest of the country.[3] The Arakan Range includes the Naga Hills, the Chin Hills, and the Patkai range which includes the Lushai Hills.[22] The Arakan Coast of the Bay of Bengal lays west of these mountains with prominent island archipelagos and coral reefs.

Myanmar's Southeastern Hills and see the Tenasserim Plains have western shores backed by the Tenasserim Range respectively.[3] The Tenessarim Plains consists largely of the western slopes of the Bilauktaung, the highest part of the Tenasserim Range, which extends southwards forming the central range of the Malay Peninsula.[28] The Dawna Range also stretches along the northern parts of the Tenasserim tail of Myanmar. Many hills in this area, like Mount Zwegabin and Kyaiktiyo, are important cultural and religious sites. The coastal islands rise prominently from the sea and form multiple island archipelago with coral reefs, especially in the Mergui Archipelago.

The Irrawaddy, the main river of Burma, flows from north to south through the Central Burma Basin and ends in a wide delta. The Mekong river runs from the Tibetan Plateau through China's Yunnan and northeastern Burma into Laos. The basin has significant mining resources and forest ecosystems. Its fertile delta also create 60% of annual rice harvests. The river is historically significant with the Bagan temples on their banks and the Kachin people's homeland near the river's source- the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers.[29][4]

Myanmar lies at the confluence of the Indian Plate, Eurasian Plate and the Burma microplate. Both the Indian-Eurasian subduction zone and the Indian-Burma plate boundaries are frequent hypocenters for earthquakes.[33] The continental right-lateral transform Sagaing Fault responsible for many damaging earthquakes through the country's history like the 1839 Ava earthquake.[34]

Environmental issues include deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment that contributes to disease. Climate change is also projected to have major impacts on Myanmar, such as increasing the prevalence and intensity of drought and extreme weather.[37]

An IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Assessment was conducted for Myanmar in 2020 that assessed 64 terrestrial ecosystem types across 10 biomes. Of these 64 ecosystem types, 1 was confirmed as collapsed, 8 were considered Critically Endangered, 9 were considered Endangered, 12 were considered Vulnerable, 3 were considered Near Threatened, 14 were considered of Least Concern, and 17 were deemed Data Deficient.[38] The 64 terrestrial ecosystem types included five brackish tidal systems, one dry subterranean system, one lake, five palustrine wetlands, four polar/alpine systems, twelve savannas and grasslands, two shoreline systems, two supralittoral coastal systems, seven temperate-boreal forests and woodlands, and twenty five tropical and subtropical forests.[39]

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