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Geography of Laos
 Satellite view of Laos | |
| Continent | Asia |
|---|---|
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Coordinates | 18°00′N 105°00′E / 18.000°N 105.000°E |
| Area | Ranked 82nd |
| • Total | 236,800 km2 (91,400 sq mi) |
| • Land | 97.47% |
| • Water | 2.53% |
| Borders | Total: 5,274 km (3,277 mi) Vietnam: 2,161 km (1,343 mi) Thailand: 1,845 km (1,146 mi) Cambodia: 555 km (345 mi) China: 475 km (295 mi) Myanmar: 238 km (148 mi) |
| Highest point | Phou Bia 2,817 m (9,242 ft) |
| Lowest point | Mekong 70 m (230 ft) |
| Longest river | Mekong River 1,835 km (1,140 mi) |
| Largest lake | Nam Ngum Lake 370 km2 (140 sq mi) |
| Climate | Mostly tropical |
| Terrain | High mountains, and an upland plateau |
| Natural hazards | Droughts, soil erosion |
Laos is a country in and the only landlocked nation in mainland Southeast Asia, northeast of Thailand and west of Vietnam. It covers approximately 236,800 square kilometers in the center of the Southeast Asian peninsula and it is surrounded by Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
About seventy percent of its geographic area is made up of mountain ranges, highlands, plateaux, and rivers cut through. Historically, its location has often made it a buffer state between more powerful neighboring states, particularly for the ancestral rulers of the modern-day Burmese, Vietnamese and Thais, as well as a crossroads for trade and communication.[1]
- ^ Savada 1995, p. 81.
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