Terai 1717661 225544307 2008-07-14T06:30:14Z Fconaway 2327880 /* Terai in Nepal */ Sivalik Hills {{dablink|This article is about the regions of India and Nepal. For specific Terai/Tarai region of Nepal, see [[Madhesh]]. For the former town in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, see [[Terai, Ishikawa]].}} The '''Terai''' ("moist land") is a belt of marshy [[grassland]]s, [[savanna]]s, and [[forest]]s at the base of the [[Himalaya]] range in [[India]], [[Nepal]], and [[Bhutan]], from the [[Yamuna River]] in the west to the [[Brahmaputra River]] in the east. Above the Terai belt lies the [[Bhabhar]], a forested belt of rock, gravel, and soil eroded from the Himalayas, where the water table lies from 5 to 37 meters deep. The Terai zone lies below the Bhabhar, and is composed of alternate layers of clay and sand, with a high water table that creates many springs and [[wetland]]s. The Terai zone is inundated yearly by the [[monsoon]]-swollen rivers of the Himalaya. Below the Terai lies the great [[alluvial plain]] of the [[Yamuna]], [[Ganges]], [[Brahmaputra]], and their tributaries. ==Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands== {{Main|Dooars}} The '''Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands''' is an ecoregion that stretches across the middle of the Terai belt, from [[Uttarakhand]] state through southern [[Nepal]] to northern [[West Bengal]]. The Terai-Duar savanna and wetlands are a mosaic of tall grasslands, savannas and evergreen and deciduous forests. The grasslands are among the tallest in the world, and are maintained by silt deposited by the yearly monsoon floods. Important grasses include [[Kans grass]] ''(Saccharum spontaneum)'' and [[Baruwa grass]] ''(Saccharum benghalensis)''. The ecoregion is home to the endangered [[Indian Rhinoceros]] ''(Rhinoceros unicornis)'', as well as [[elephant]]s, [[tiger]]s, [[bear]]s, [[leopard]]s and other wild animals. Much of the ecoregion has been converted to farmland, although [[Royal Chitwan National Park]] and [[Royal Bardia National Park]] preserve significant sections of habitat, and are home to some of the greatest concentrations of rhinoceros and tiger remaining in South Asia. ==Terai in Nepal== In Nepal the Terai is differentiated: There is an "outer" and an "inner" Terai. "Outer Terai" refers to the alluvial, generally forested and often marshy terrain that is transitional between the 1,000 metre [[Sivalik Hills|Siwalak Range]] -- the first and lowest range of Himalayan foothills -- and the Gangeatic plain proper. In Nepal, it is conventionally taken to include any extent of Gangeatic Plains proper extending from this transition zone south to the Indian border. "[[Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal]]" refers to various elongated valleys lying between the Siwalak Range and the 2-3,000 metre [[Mahabharat]] Range further north. In India these valleys are also called "Duns", e.g. "Dehra Dun". In some places these two mountain ranges lie next to one another, but in other places they are separated by valleys approximately five to ten kilometres wide and tens of kilometres long. Major examples in Nepal are Chitwan southwest of Kathmandu and the parallel Dang and Deukhuri valleys in western Nepal. Inner Terai valleys were agriculturally productive, but infested with malaria. The indigenous people of the Tharu had a degree of inherited resistance and populated these areas. After an eradication campaign people migrated to the Terai from the mountains and from neighbouring India. Today more than half the population and by far the most cities can be found there. ==See also== * [[Bhabhar]] ==External links== *[http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/im/im0701_full.html Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands (World Wildlife Fund)] [[Category:Grasslands of India]] [[Category:Grasslands of Nepal]] [[Category:Grasslands of Bhutan]] [[Category:Ecoregions in India]] [[Category:Global 200 ecoregions]] [[Category:Indomalaya]] [[Category:Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]] [[Category:Geography of Uttarakhand]] [[bn:তরাই]] [[de:Terai]] [[fr:Teraï]] [[ne:तराई]] [[no:Tarai]] [[pl:Teraj]] [[ru:Тераи]] [[sv:Terai]] [[uk:Тераі]]