The
Terai is a plain landscape south of the outer foothills of the
Himalaya, the
Siwalik Hills, and north of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain of the
Ganges,
Brahmaputra and their tributaries. This lowland belt is characterised by tall
grasslands, scrub
savannah,
sal forests and clay rich
swamps. In northern
India, the Terai spreads eastward from the
Yamuna River across
Himachal Pradesh,
Haryana,
Uttarakhand,
Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar. The Terai is part the
Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion. Corresponding parts in
West Bengal,
Bangladesh,
Bhutan and
Assam east to the
Brahmaputra River are called '
Dooars'. In Nepal, the Terai lies at an altitude of between and comprises more than 50
wetlands. North of the Terai rises the
Bhabhar, a narrow but continuous belt of forest about wide.