Geographical location & physiography of sikkim

Geo location of sikkim

Sikkim, at present the 22nd state of the Indian Republic, is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, lying between 27°5´ and 28°9´ and 87°59´ and 88°56´ E covering an area of 2,818 sq. miles. The state measures approximately 70 miles from North to South and 40 miles from East to West. It is bounded on the North and East by Tibet, on the South-East by Bhutan, on the South by the Darjeeling district of West Bengal and on the West by Nepal.

Sikkim is a land of varied elevations ranging from 800 ft above sea level at the southern foorhills to over 20,000 ft along it’s northern and north western boundaries. Again, from the eastern flank of the Singalila Range rise the great snow peaks of Mt. Kanchenjunga (18,146 ft), one of the highest mountains in the world. According to a Lepcha tradition, the original home of the Lepchas was in the neighbourhood of the great mountain range Khang-Chhen-Dzonga which is the Tibetian name for the Mt. Kanchenjunga, and which means ‘Five Repositories of the Great Snows’. The Lepcha name of this snow range is King-tZum-song-bu literally ‘the highest over our head’. This snowclad mountain is believed by the Lepchas to be the habitat of their God’s and Spirits. For ‘King-tZum-Rum’ is the Lepcha God of Happiness and ‘Rum-King-tZum’ is the Lepcha God of Destiny.

Between the Singalila and the Chola ranges there are succession of deep valleys, the largest being the valley of the Tista which is also the principal river of Sikkim. The tributaries of the Tista are Lachen, Lachung, Rangit and Rangpo. These rivers pass through mountaineous terrain and are not navigable, but they can easily be exploited for hydroelectric power projects.