Eastern South Asia is . Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate. The Sundarbans in Bangladesh, which is shared with India, is a UNESCO world heritage site. Cox's Bazar Beach is one of the world's longest beaches. Bhutan is roughly the size of Switzerland. It is located on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas, landlocked between the Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh to the west and south. The land consists mostly of steep and high mountains crisscrossed by a network of swift rivers, which form deep valleys before draining into
Himalayas year). Thus although annual precipitation is generally higher in east than the west, local variations are often more important. The Himalayas have a profound effect on the climate of the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan Plateau. They prevent frigid, dry winds from blowing south into the subcontinent, which keeps South Asia much warmer than corresponding temperate regions in the other continents. It also forms a barrier for the monsoon winds, keeping them from traveling northwards, and causing heavy rainfall in the Terai region. The Himalayas are also believed to play an important part in the formation of Central Asian deserts,