The majority of settlements are located on the steep sides of the valley cut by the Karnali River over many millennia. The remainder are situated on the numerous tributaries and watersheds that feed the Karnali River.
The altitude causes pronounced climatic influences on crop productivity. This effect increases with altitude, with settlements above 2500m being entirely dependent on snow and glacial meltwater.
Although very little land can be devoted to food production, agriculture is the main occupation. The climatic and hydrological constraints, coupled with a lack of suitable flat land, lack of fertiliser and poor irrigation, cause very low overall agricultural productivity.
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