Myanmar (Burma) covers a land
area of 676,552 sq km and stretches for over 1,930
km from the inaccessible N Himalayan region to the S
tip of the Tenasserim region, which extends down the
Kra of Isthmus and faces the Andaman Sea. Myanmar
borders India and Bangladesh to the NW and W, China
and Laos to the NE and Thailand to the E and SE. Its
borders do not correspond to ethnic boundaries -
they are mainly defined by mountain ranges, which
surround Myanmar on 3 sides and form a great
horseshoe enclosing the Irrawaddy, Chindwin and
Sittang river systems.