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LAOS
LOCATION AND TERRAIN |
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Flora & fauna
The Lao PDR. is located in the heart of the Indochina
Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It lies between latitude 14
to 23 degrees North and longitude 100 to 108 degrees
East. It is the only Southeast Asian country without
direct access to the sea, stretching North to South
1,700 kilometers.
Laos encompasses a total of 236,800 square kilometers
with the terrain characterized by three distinct regions
- mountains, plateaus, and plains. The mountains and
plateaus make up three-quarters of the total area.
High mountains rising to an average height of 1,500
meters dominate the Northern region. The three highest
mountains in the country are all located in the Phou Ane
Plateau in Xieng Khouang Province. They are Phou Bia at
2,820 meters, Phou Xao at 2,690 meters and Phou Xamxum
at 2,620 meters. The Phou Luang (Annamite Range)
stretches from Southeast on the Phouane Plateau down to
the Cambodian border; the others are the Nakai Plateau
in Khammouane Province and the Bolaven Plateau in
Southern Laos, which is over 1,000 meters above sea
level.
The plain region consists of large and small plain areas
distributed along the Mekong River. The Vientiane Plain,
the largest, is situated on the lower reaches of the Nam
Ngum River. The Savannakhet Plain is situated on the
lower reaches of the Sebangfai River and Sebanghieng
River, while the Champasack Plain on the Mekong River
stretches out to the Thai and Cambodian borders. Blessed
with rich and fertile soil, these plains represent one
quarter of the total area known as the granaries of the
country.
The Lao PDR is criss-crossed with a myriad of rivers and
streams. The largest is the Mekong River, flowing for
1,898 kilometers from the North to the South, with 919
kilometers of the river forming the major portion of the
border with Thailand. It is estimated that some 60% of
all the water entering the Mekong River system
originates in Laos. These rivers and streams provide
great potential for hydropower development with 51% of
the power potential in the lower Mekong basin contained
within Laos.
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Source: Lao National Tourism Administration
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