Rivers & National Parks

Rivers:

Nepal’s rivers can be broadly divided into three categories in accordance with their origins. The first category comprises the three main river systems of the country the Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali river systems, all of them originating from glaciers and snow-fed lakes.

Glaciers of Nepal:

The Himalayan region abounds in glaciers. Most of the big glaciers lie in the eastern Himalayans. As the western Himalayas receive only a small amount of rainfall, barring the formation of vast snowfields, the source of some of the big rives of Nepal are in fact glaciers.

Nepal’s largest glacier lies in the mahalangur and the Kunbhakarna ranges. Khumbu is the biggest glacier and Langtang the longest. Kanchenjunga, Yalung, Nupchu and Langtang are some other glaciers belonging to the eastern Himalayans. Tukche and hidden valley glaciers belong to the central Himalayas but these are comparatively small. Eating into the land long their course, the glaciers have been partly responsible for changing the Himalayan landscape, and for evolving various geo-patterns ranging from big cirques and rock basins to hanging valleys and morainic ridges.

National Parks:

1. Bardia National Park (968 sq. kms.) 2. Langtang National Park (1710 sq. kms.) 3. Shey-phoksundo National Park (355 sq km.) 4. Rara National Park (106 sq kms.) 5. Khapted National Park (255 sq. kms.) 6. Makalu- Barun National Park (2330 sq.kms.) 7. Chitwan National Park (923 sq.kms.) 8. Sagarmatha National Park (1448 sq.kms.)

Wildlife Reserve:

1. Sukla phanta Reserve (305 sq kms) 2. Parsa Reserve (499 sq kms.) 3. Koshi-Tappu Reserve (175 sq kms.)

Conservatin Areas:

1. Annapurna (2600 sq. kms.) 2. Makalu- Barun (2330 sq kms.)

Hunting Reserve:

Dhorpatan (1325 sq kms.)

Endangered Species:

This country harbors one of the world best habitat for one horned rhino, Royal Bengal tiger, Show-Leopard, Clounded- Leopard, Red panda, Blud-sheep and long snouted fish eating Gharial. Other wildlife includes wild elephant, buffaloes, bisons, blue bell, Brown bear, sloth bear, Leopard, Crocodiles and many varieties of cat, dog, deer and antelope families.