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Geography
The people’s Democratic
Republic of Laos is located in the center of Indochina, sharing
borders with China to the north, Thailand to the West, Cambodia
to the south, and Vietnam to the east.
Cambodia shares 236.800
square kilometres, around 70% of its terrain is mountains,reaching
a maximum elevations for 2820 m in the province of Xieng Khoung.
The landscape of northern Laos and the regions adjacent to Vietnam
in particular are dominated by hills.
The Mekong River
is the main geographical feature in the West and in fact, forms
a natural border with Thailand in some areas. The Mekong River flows
through nearly 1,900 km of Lao territory and shapes much of the
lifestyle of the people of Laos. In the south the Mekong reaches
a breadth of 14 km, creating an area with thousands of islands.
Climate
Laos enjoys a tropical
climate with two distinct seasons, that is the rainy season from
the beginning of May to the end of September.And the dry season
is from October to throughout April.
The yearly average
temperature is about 28 C, rising to a maximum temperatures of 38
C in April and May.In Vientiane minimum temperature of 19 C are
to be expected in January. In mountainous areas. However, tempreatures
drop to 14 to 15 C during the winter months and in cold nights easily
reach the freezing point.
The average precipitation
is highest in southern Laos, where the Annamite Mountains receive
over 3000 mm annually. In Vientiane rainfall is about 1500 to about
2000 mm. And in the northern province only 1000 to about 1500 mm.
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