Arakan Yoma Mountain, Key Features, Ecology, Significance

Arakan Yoma Mountain, also known as the Rakhine Yoma, is a mountain range in Western Myanmar. It is a southern extension of the Eastern Himalayas. It stretches from the hills of Manipur in India down to Cape Negrais on the coast of Myanmar, forming a natural barrier between Myanmar and the Indian subcontinent.

Arakan Yoma Mountains Key Features

• Geologically, Arakan Yoma is a young fold mountain system formed due to tectonic interaction between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. 
• Because of the continuous tectonic interaction, it is a seismically active region.  
• The highest point of Arakan Yoma Mountain is Nat Ma Taung (Mount Victoria) with an elevation of about 3,000 metres.
• It forms a natural boundary between Coastal Rakhine (Arakan) region and Central Myanmar plains.

Arakan Yoma Mountain Ecology

• The Arakan Yoma Mountain range is an ecologically significant region of Southeast Asia and forms an important part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot, one of the world’s richest ecological zones.
• The range is covered predominantly by tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in areas receiving high rainfall, especially along the western slopes. In drier eastern parts, moist and dry deciduous forests are more common.
• Flora: The Arakan Yoma supports high floral diversity, including valuable timber species such as teak, bamboo, and medicinal plants.
• Fauna: The forests provide habitat to elephants, leopards, clouded leopards, barking deer, hoolock gibbons, and numerous bird species. The region also acts as an important wildlife corridor between South Asia and Southeast Asia.

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Arakan Yoma Mountain Climatic Significance

The Arakan Yoma Mountain range plays a crucial role in shaping the climate of Myanmar and the adjoining Bay of Bengal region.

• It acts as a natural barrier to the southwest monsoon winds originating from the Bay of Bengal. When these moisture-laden winds strike the western slopes of the Arakan Yoma, they are forced to rise, leading to orographic rainfall along the coastal Rakhine region. As a result, the western coastal belt of Myanmar receives very heavy rainfall, making it one of the wettest parts of the country during the monsoon season.
• It creates a rain-shadow effect on its eastern side. The central Irrawaddy basin, lying leeward of the Arakan Yoma, receives comparatively low and irregular rainfall, leading to drier climatic conditions.