Editing Geography of Nepal (section)

=== {{anchor|The Hilly |Hilly}} Hilly ===
[[File:Pame-pokhara - Flickr - thapa.laxman.jpg|thumb|Middle Hills]]
Hilly Region is a mountain region which does not generally contain snow. It is situated to the south of the Himal Region (the snowy mountain region). This region begins at the [[Lower Himalayan Range]], where a fault system called the ''Main Boundary Thrust'' creates an escarpment {{convert|1000|to|1500|m|ft|-3}} high, to a crest between {{convert|1500|and|2700|m|ft|-3}}. It covers 68% of the total area of Nepal.

These steep southern slopes are nearly uninhabited, thus an effective buffer between languages and culture in the Terai and Hilly. [[Pahari people (Nepal)|Paharis]] mainly populate river and stream bottoms that enable [[Paddy field|rice cultivation]] and are warm enough for winter/spring crops of [[wheat]] and [[potato]]. The increasingly urbanized [[Kathmandu Valley|Kathmandu]] and [[Pokhara Valley|Pokhara]] valleys fall within the Hill region. [[Newa people|Newars]] are an [[Adivasi|indigenous]] ethnic group with their own [[Tibeto-Burman]] [[Newar language|language]]. The Newar were originally indigenous to the Kathmandu valley but have spread into Pokhara and [[Newa people#Settlements|other towns]] alongside urbanized Pahari.

Other indigenous Janajati ethnic groups -— natively speaking highly localized Tibeto-Burman languages and dialects -— populate hillsides up to about {{convert|2500|m|ft|-3}}. This group includes [[Magar people|Magar]] and [[Kham Magar]] west of Pokhara, [[Gurung]] south of the Annapurnas, [[Tamang people|Tamang]] around the periphery of Kathmandu Valley and [[Rai people|Rai]], [[Sunuwar|Koinch Sunuwar]] and [[Limbu people|Limbu]] further east. Temperate and subtropical fruits are grown as cash crops. [[Cannabis (drug)|Marijuana]] was grown and processed into ''[[Charas]]'' ([[hashish]]) until international pressure persuaded the [[Kingdom of Nepal|government]] to outlaw it in 1976. There is increasing reliance on animal husbandry with elevation, using land above {{convert|2000|m|ft|-3}} for summer grazing and [[Transhumance|moving herds to lower elevations in winter]]. Grain production has not kept pace with population growth at elevations above {{convert|1000|m|ft|-2}} where colder temperatures inhibit [[Multiple cropping|double cropping]]. Food deficits drive emigration out of the Pahad in search of employment.

The Hilly ends where ridges begin substantially rising out of the [[temperate climate]] zone into [[subalpine zone]] above {{convert|3000|m|ft|-3}}.

{{Anchor|Terai}}