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Yunnan is located in southwestern China, between 97° 31' 39" - 106° 11' 47" east longtitude and 21° 8' 32" - 29° 15' 8" north latitude. It is a highland province with a terraced topographical feature stretching from the northwest to the southeast, resulting in a diversity of elevations and climates. The province has an area of 394,000 square km, 4.1 % of the nation's total. Yunnan borders Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guizhou Province in the east, Sichuan Province in the north, and Tibet Autonomous Region in the northwest. It shares a border of 4,060 km with Myanmar in the west, Laos in the south, and Vietnam in the southeast.
Yunnan consists of two geographically different regions, which are divided by the Ai-lao Mountains. They are a limestone plateau to the east, and a mountainous area with serveral peaks above 5,000 metres, to the west. The highest point is the 6,740 metre Kagebo Peak on the Yunnan-Tibet border.
The torrential rivers are too swift for navigation, but have huge largely untapped hydroelectric potential. The elevation of the eastern plateau varies from 2,130 metres its western end, to 1,370 metres on the Kweichow border, where intermontane basins and broad fertile valleys facilitate intensive farming. More than 40 freshwater lakes, the highest number in Southwest China, lie in geological faults on the plateau. Larger lakes include Dianchi, Erhai, Fuxian, Yangzonghai and Lagu. About 30 percent of the land area is forested, and is home to a large variety of flora and fauna.
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