Bangladesh

Lyn Michaud

BANGLADESH IS SITUATED in the northeastern portion of the Indian subcontinent on the Bay of Bengal. It borders India on the west, north, and south and Myanmar on the southeast. The area of Bangladesh is 56,977 sq. mi. (147,579 sq. km.). It is a low-lying country, with numerous rivers situated principally on the large delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers, and scattered hills on the northern and eastern borders. Approximately 10 percent of Bangladesh is still forested with teak, banyan, and kapok, and forests in the tidal zone along the coast include mangroves and sometimes hardwood. Mangroves blunted the destructive power of a cyclone and tidal wave that hit Bangladesh in 1991. Mangroves are able to grow in salt water, but depend on nutrients from silt from inland rivers, and have the ability to adapt to changing conditions (including salinity and rough waves). The extended roots stabilize coasts, ...

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