Geography of Laos

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 / 18.000; 105.000
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]