Natural sources
Fertile soils are limited
to the Tarāi and some of the larger valleys of the Middle Himalayas.
Some 20.3 percent of the country’s total land area is cultivated—a
figure that includes hillsides with thin, poor soils terraced for
farming. Due to population pressure, the percentage of Nepal’s
cultivated area has increased from only 10 percent in the 1960s.
Nepal’s mineral resources
are limited. Low-grade deposits of iron ore are found in the mountains
near Kathmandu. Small deposits of copper exist in many areas and small
reserves of mica have been found in the hills northeast of Kathmandu.
Mineral extraction and transport is a major problem due to the country’s
rugged terrain.
Nepal’s climate varies
according to elevation. The Tarāi of southern Nepal has a tropical
monsoon climate characterized by rainy summers and the southwest winds
of the monsoon, and almost dry winters. The effect of the southern
monsoon climate extends northward into mountain valleys. In the Middle
Himalayan valleys the amount of precipitation varies with the extent of
exposure to the rain-bearing monsoon winds. Several high valleys located
in the rain shadow (area where precipitation is partially blocked by
mountains) are dry. In the Kathmandu Valley the average rainfall is
about 2,300 mm (about 90 in), most of which occurs from June to
September. Between elevations of about 500 and 2,700 m (about 1,640 and
8,860 ft) there is a warm temperate climate; between about 2,700 and
3,000 m (about 8,860 and 9,840 ft) a cool temperate climate prevails.
Between about 3,500 and 4,100 m (about 11,480 and 13,450 ft) summers are
cool and winters are very cold. Above 4,100 m (about 13,450 ft) a
severely cold, alpine climate prevails
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