Bangladesh

Geography of Bangladesh: Important Geographical Information about Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a very fertile country, with about 700 rivers traversing it. But since it is generally flat and low-lying, it is prone to floods that occur annually. Bangladesh lies across the Tropic of Cancer, which gives the country a tropical monsoon climate, bringing in high temperatures, high humidity and quite heavy seasonal rainfall. Cyclones, tornadoes and floods are basically common annual occurrences in Bangladesh. These natural phenomena, although destructive also leave the flood plains fertile and very well suited for agriculture, with 67% of the land arable. The river system in Bangladesh is the country’s main source of water for drinking, for irrigation, fishing and transportation. Some of the water is also harnessed in the Kharnapuli Dam for hydroelectric power.

:: Bangladesh’s Geography ::

Bangladeshis consider their country as having six seasons, although technically the classification only falls into three categories – summer season, rainy season and winter season. But for the locals, the subdivisions include spring or bashonto in the local language, summer or grismo, rainy or barsha, sharat or autumn, hernanto or cool and winter or sheet.

Summer in Bangladesh is rainy and hot while winter is quite dry. Cool temperatures are experienced in January, when the average is about 26 °C or roughly 78 °F. April is very warm and the average temperature reaches to about 33 °C to 36 °C which is about 91 °F to 96 °F. The monsoon months are from June to September while winter is from November to February. Bangladesh is one of the wettest countries in the world, receiving over 1,525 millimeter of rain annually, and higher still on the areas near the hills, which receive over 5,080 millimeters. In Dhaka, the country’s capital, the average temperature during the coolest month of the year, January, is 19 °C or about 66 °F while May is the warmest, with temperatures averaging 29 °C which is about 84 °F.

Bangladesh is visited by cyclones regularly, coming from the Bay of Bengal. April to May and September to November are the months when cyclones are frequent. Most of these are destructive and cause damage not only to crops and properties but also to people.

Three important areas in Bangladesh are the Madhupur Tract, the Sundarbans and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Sundari, which gave the name to the Sundarbans is a commercially valuable tree that grows in the area, while gewa and sal, also commercially valuable are found in the Madhapur Tract and garan grow in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Groves of jackfruit, mango, betel nuts and date as well as several varieties of bamboo are grown in villages. The Sundarbans is particularly important because this is one of the remaining principal territories of the Royal Bengal Tiger. It is also the largest mangrove forest in the world, occupying the southwest portion of Bangladesh and covering about 6,017 kilometers. On the other hand elephants and leopards still consider the Chittagong Hill Tracts their home.

:: References ::
http://www.banglaembassy.com.bh/Geography.htm
http://www.bangla2000.com/bangladesh/geography.shtm
http://www.bangladesh.com/geography/
Photo credit: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook