Geography and Environment of Laos

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic, a landlocked nation, lies in the center of the Southeast Asian Peninsula and borders on five countries. Dense jungle and rugged mountains in the north and east cover 6% of the country’s surface. Mountainous topography is characteristic of all of Laos outside the Mekong River Basin. Phu Bia, in Xieng Khouang Province, the highest point in the country, rises 9,249 feet above sea level. The Mekong River, with its headwaters in Tibet, flows over 2,600 miles to its mouth in the south of Vietnam. One of the world's great rivers, it forms the country’s western boundary for the greater part of its length and is the cradle of Lao culture. Most major Lao towns are on its banks. The largest population center in Laos removed from the Mekong River is Phonsavanh in Xieng Khouang Province. Lately, the Lao Government has encouraged the establishment of new towns and villages in the country's interior.

Detailed geography