Editing Geography of Bhutan (section)

==Valleys==
{{main|Valleys of Bhutan}}

[[Valleys of Bhutan|Bhutan's valleys]] are carved into the Himalaya by its [[list of rivers of Bhutan|rivers]], fed by glacial melt and monsoon rains. Much of the Bhutanese population is concentrated in valleys and lowlands, separated by rugged southward spurs of the Inner Himalaya.<ref name=CS1>{{country study|country=Bhutan |abbr=bt |editor=Savada, Andrea Matles |date=1991 |section=The Land |author=Worden, Robert L. |pd=yes}}</ref><ref name=CS2>{{country study|country=Bhutan |abbr=bt |editor=Savada, Andrea Matles |date=1991 |section=Population – Size, Structure, and Settlement Patterns |author=Worden, Robert L. |pd=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sikhim & Bhutan: Twenty-One Years on the North-East Frontier, 1887-1908 |first=John Claude |last=White |publisher=E. Arnold |year=1909 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279230/page/n21 3]–6 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279230 |access-date=15 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=BWK>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHAnAtNrUQoC |title=Bhutan: Ways of Knowing |first1=Frank |last1=Rennie |first2=Robin |last2=Mason |publisher=IAP |page=58 |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-59311-734-4 |access-date=10 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Bhutan Foreign Policy and Government Guide |volume=20 |series=World Foreign Policy and Government Library |author=Global Investment and Business Center |publisher=International Business Publications |year=2000 |isbn=0-7397-3719-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_EWuvGysPSIC |access-date=15 October 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=LP>{{cite book|title=Bhutan |first1=Lindsay |last1=Brown |first2=Stan |last2=Armington |edition=3 |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-74059-529-2 |pages=62, 105, 108, 113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s-L8NUlW_QgC |access-date=25 November 2011}}</ref>{{rp|72, 84, 91}} Despite modernization and development of [[transport in Bhutan]], including a national highway system, travel from one valley to the next remains difficult.<ref name=CS3>{{country study|country=Bhutan |abbr=bt |editor=Savada, Andrea Matles |date=1991 |section=Transportation and Communications – Roads |author=Worden, Robert L. |pd=yes}}</ref> Western valleys are bound to the east by the [[Black Mountains (Bhutan)|Black Mountains]] in central Bhutan, which form a watershed between two major river systems, the [[Mo Chhu]] ([[Sankosh River]]) and the [[Drangme Chhu]]. Central valleys are separated from the east by the [[Mountains of Bhutan|Donga Range]].<ref name=CS1/><ref name=CS4>{{country study|country=Bhutan |abbr=bt |editor=Savada, Andrea Matles |date=1991 |section=River Systems |author=Worden, Robert L. |pd=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Women in South Asia: Bhutan |volume=7 |series=Encyclopaedia of Women in South Asia |first=Bachchan |last=Kumar |publisher=Gyan |year=2004 |isbn=81-7835-194-3 |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=89gPZeNyFyIC |access-date=15 October 2011}}</ref> The more isolated mountain valleys protect several tiny, distinct cultural and [[languages of Bhutan|linguistic groups]].<ref name=LP2>{{cite book |title=Bhutan |series=Country Guides |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |first1=Lindsay |last1=Brown |first2=Stan |last2=Armington |edition=3 |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-74059-529-2 |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shop_pickandmix/previews/bhutan-3-eastern-bhutan-preview.pdf |pages=182–183 |access-date=15 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607073544/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shop_pickandmix/previews/bhutan-3-eastern-bhutan-preview.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2011 }}</ref>