With an area of about 144,000 sq km, Bangladesh
is situated between latitudes 20°34' and 26°38' north and latitudes
88°01' and 92°41' east. The country is bordered by India on the
east, west and north and by the Bay of Bengal on the south. There is
also a small strip of frontier with Burma on the southeastern edge.
The land is a deltaic plain with a network of numerous rivers and
canals.
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal,
between Burma and India.Bangladesh lies in the northeastern part of
South Asia between 20° 34’ and 26° 38’ North latitude and 88° 01’
and 92° 41’ East longitude.
Area Total: 144,000 sq km Land: 133,910 sq km Water: 10,090 sq km
Land boundaries total: 4,246 km
Border Countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
Contiguous zone: 18 nautical miles.Continental shelf: up to the
outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200
nautical miles.Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles.
The total forest area covers about 14% of
the land area. The country produces timber, bamboo and cane.
Bamboos grow in almost all areas but quality timber grows mostly
in the valleys. Among the timber sal, gamari, chaplish, telsu,
jarui, teak, garjan, chandon and sundori are important. Sundari
trees grow in the Sundarbans located in the South Western part
of the country bordering the Bay of Bengal. Plantation of rubber
in the hilly regions of the country was undertaken recently and
extraction of rubber had already started.Varieties of wild
animals are found in the forest areas. Sundarban is the home of
the world famous “Royal Bengal Tiger” and Cheetas. Of other
animals’ elephants, bears,deer, monkeys, boars, leopard and
crocodiles are worth mentioning. A few hundred species and
sub-species of bird are found in the country. Some of them are
seasonal and migratory types.
Except the hilly regions the Northeast and the Southeast, some
areas of high lands in the North and North Western part, the
country consists of low, flat and fertile land. A network of
rivers of which the Padma, the Jamuna, the Teesta, the
Brahmaputra, the Surma, the Meghna and the Karnaphuli are
important, and their tributaries numbering about 230 with a
total length of about 24140 km. Covering the country flow down
to the Bay of Bengal. Heavy silts deposited by rivers during the
rainy season are thus continuously enriching the alluvial soil.
