Myanmar covers an area of 671,000 sq km, sandwiched
between Thailand and Laos to the east and Bangladesh to the
west with India and China bordering country to the north.
The country extends from approximately 28*N to 10*N
latitude; the Tropic of Cancer crosses the country just
above Mogok in the Mandalay Division and also interescts the
Chin, Kachin and Shan states.
The shape has been likened to a parrot facing west, with the
beak touching Sittwe(Akyab), the claws gripping Yangon, the
tail extending down the Tanintharyi peninsula, and
outstretched wings forming the three northernmost states.
Its greatest length from north to south is approximately
2000km, while east distance is around 100km.
The Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea form the southern
boundaries of the country. The central part of the country
is marked by expansive plains and wide rivers emptying into
the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Martaban (the upper
Andaman Sea). Mountains rise to the east along the Thai
border and to the north, where you find the easternmost end
of the Himalayas (highest elevations around 6000m).
River
Most of the country's agriculture is centred along the
floodplains of the 2000km Ayeyarwady River (spelt Irrawaddy
in former times), which flows south from its source
(actually the confluence of two rivers), 27km north of
Myitkyina, to a vast delta region along the Gulf of Martaban
south-west of Yangon. Navigable year round for at least
1500km, the Ayeyarwady has played a major rolein domestic
transport and communications for centuries. At the height of
British rule, as many as nine million passengers a year were
carried along this huge river by the colonial Irrawaddy
Flotilla Company. The company even operated a class of
luxury paddle wheelers fitted with polished brass-and-wood
trim.
Other major rivers are the chindwin (navigable for 792km),
which joins the Ayeyarwady between Mandalay and Bagan; the
Kaladan (navigable for 177km), which flows from Paletwa in
the southern Chin State to the Bay of Bengal at Sittwe; the
Sittoung (formerly Sittang; non-navigable due to strong
currents), which flows through Taungoo and meets the sea
between Bago and Mawlamyaing; and the Thanlwin (formerly
Salween; navigable for just 89km), which has its headwaters
in China, and for some distance forms the border between
Myanmar and Thailand before eventually reaching the sea at
Mawlamyaing. The Mekong River forms the border between
Myanmar and Laos.
Mountains
The Himalayas rise in the north of Myanmar, and Hkakabo
Razi, right on the border between Myanmar and Tibet, is the
highest mountain in South-East Asia at 5889m. Gamlang Razi
is only slightly lower at 5835m. West of Bagan towards
Rakhaing, Mt Victoria rises to 3053m. A wide expanse of
Yangon, but hill ranges running north-south separate the
central plain from Myanmar's neighbours.
Coastline
Myanmar's coastline extends 2832km from the mouth of the
Naaf River near Bangladesh to the southern tip of
Tanintharyi Division near Tanong, Thailand. Coastal barrier
and delta islands are common in the estuarial areas
stretching from the Rakhaing State to Mawlamyaing. Off
peninsular Myanmar, farther south, over a thousand
continental islands dot the littoral sea, forming a mostly
uninhabited island group sometimes called the Mergui
Archipelago.
