Editing Geography of Laos (section)

==Topography==
{{See also|List of mountains in Laos}}
Most of the western border of [[Laos]] is demarcated by the [[Mekong]] river, which is an artery for transportation.<ref name="Savada 1995" /> The Dong Falls at the southern end of the country prevent access to the sea, and cargo boats travel along the entire length of the Mekong in Laos during most of the year.<ref name="Savada 1995" /> Smaller power boats and [[pirogue]]s provide an important means of transportation on many of the tributaries of the Mekong.<ref name="Savada 1995" />

Prior to the twentieth century, kingdoms and principalities encompassed areas on both sides of the Mekong, and Thai control in the nineteenth century extended to the left bank.<ref name="Savada 1995" /> While the Mekong was established as a border by French colonial forces, travel from 1 side to the other has been more limited since the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR, or Laos) in 1975.<ref name="Savada 1995" />

The eastern border with Vietnam extends for 2,130 kilometres, mostly along the crest of the Annamite Chain, and serves as a physical barrier between the Chinese-influenced culture of Vietnam and the Indianized states of Laos and Thailand.<ref name="Savada 1995" /> These mountains are populated by tribal minorities who traditionally have not acknowledged the border with Vietnam any more than lowland Lao have been constrained by the 1,754-kilometre Mekong River border with Thailand.<ref name="Savada 1995" /> Thus, ethnic minority populations are found on both the Laotian and Vietnamese sides of the frontier.<ref name="Savada 1995" /> Because of their "relative isolation", contact between these groups and lowland Lao has been mostly confined to trading.<ref name="Savada 1995" />

Laos shares a 541 kilometres—southern border with Cambodia, and Khmer ruins at Wat Pho and other southern locations attest to the history of contact between the Lao and the Khmer.<ref name="Savada 1995" /> In the north, the country is bounded by a 423-kilometre border with China and shares the 235-kilometre-long Mekong River border with [[Myanmar]].<ref name="Savada 1995" />

The topography of Laos is "largely mountainous", with the [[Annamite Range]] in the northeast and east and the [[Luang Prabang Range]] in the northwest, among other ranges typically characterized by "steep terrain".<ref name="Savada 1995-2">{{Harvnb|Savada|1995|p=82}}.</ref> Elevations are typically above 500 metres with river valleys.<ref name="Savada 1995-2" /> This landscape extends across most of the north of the country, except for the plain of Vientiane and the [[Plain of Jars]] in the [[Xiangkhoang Plateau]].<ref name="Savada 1995-2" />

The southern "panhandle" of the country contains areas in Savannakhét and Champasak provinces that are more suited for paddy rice cultivation and livestock raising.<ref name="Savada 1995-2" /> Most of Khammouan Province and the eastern part of all the southern provinces are "mountainous".<ref name="Savada 1995-2" /> Together, the alluvial plains and terraces of the Mekong and its tributaries cover about 20% of the land area.<ref name="Savada 1995-2" />

About 4% of the total land area is classified as arable.<ref name="Savada 1995-2" /> The forested land area has declined since the 1970s as a result of commercial logging and expanded [[swidden]], or [[slash-and-burn]], farming.<ref name="Savada 1995-2" />