Bangladesh is dominated by the low-lying
Ganges Delta, alongside highlands in the north and south-east. The Ganges delta is formed by the confluence of the Ganges (local name
Padma or
Pôdda),
Brahmaputra (
Jamuna or
Jomuna), and
Meghna
rivers and their respective tributaries. The Ganges unites with the
Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to
eventually empty into the
Bay of Bengal. The
alluvial soil deposited by these rivers has created some of the most fertile plains in the world. Bangladesh has 57
trans-boundary rivers, making water issues politically complicated to resolve – in most cases as the lower
riparian state to India.
[34]
Most parts of Bangladesh are less than 12 m (39.4 ft) above the sea
level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if
the sea level were to rise by 1 m (3.28 ft).
[35]
Sylhet Division,
Chittagong Division and parts of
Rangpur Division,
Mymensingh District and
Gazipur District
feature topographically hilly areas, which are part of various regional
mountain ranges and highland formations, including the Garo, Khasi and
Tripura Hills, the Bhawal highlands, the
Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Arakan mountains.
In southeast Bangladesh, experiments have been done since the 1960s
to 'build with nature'. By implementing cross dams, the natural
accretion of silt has created new land. With Dutch funding, the
Bangladeshi government began to help develop this new land in the late
1970s. The effort has since become a multiagency operation building
roads, culverts, embankments, cyclone shelters, toilets and ponds, as
well as distributing land to settlers. By fall 2010, the program will
have allotted some 27,000 acres (10,927 ha) to 21,000 families.
[36]
The highest peak in Bangladesh is
Saka Haphong in Mowdok range at 1,052 m (3,451 ft) in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country.
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