District of Nepal · Madhesh Province
Mahottari District: land cover, map and municipalities
Forest land is the largest land cover in Mahottari District, at 43.1% of its area. Forest covers 43.1% (about the same as the national 41.4%), farmland 35.7%, rangeland 7.4%, built-up land 12.0%, bare land, rock and snow 0.6% and water 1.2%.
Land cover of Mahottari District
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 12.0 | 0.0–27.2 | 120 |
| Agriculture land | 35.7 | 2.1–69.3 | 358 |
| Rangeland | 7.4 | 0.0–21.9 | 74 |
| Forest land | 43.1 | 4.4–81.9 | 432 |
| Water | 1.2 | 0.0–2.7 | 12 |
| Barren land | 0.6 | 0.0–1.7 | 6 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 8 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Mahottari District year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: agriculture land −4.8 points, urban land +4.3 points, rangeland +1.0 points.
Coloured lines: the U-Net on each year's Sentinel-2 cloudless mosaic, with 95% intervals. Grey: the independent 10 m Impact Observatory map at the same sites. Differences of a few points between years can come from how each year's mosaic was processed, and the 2016 and 2018 mosaics are read less reliably (too little built-up land, too much bare land and water); compare from 2019 on.
Municipalities and rural municipalities of Mahottari District
| Local unit | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurahi | 36 | 4.7 | 78.7 | 14.3 |
| Balawa | 44 | 6.3 | 71.9 | 18.0 |
| Bardibas | 315 | 63.1 | 13.4 | 6.0 |
| Bhangaha | 77 | 3.1 | 80.5 | 10.7 |
| Ekadara | 24 | 4.7 | 79.6 | 14.9 |
| Gaushala | 145 | 35.4 | 44.9 | 10.8 |
| Jaleshwor | 44 | 6.8 | 71.5 | 20.6 |
| Loharpatti | 50 | 7.7 | 77.5 | 11.7 |
| Mahottari | 28 | 6.1 | 80.0 | 12.9 |
| Manara Shisawa | 50 | 5.0 | 78.0 | 15.3 |
| Matihani | 29 | 9.4 | 75.7 | 12.7 |
| Pipara | 40 | 13.5 | 73.7 | 11.1 |
| Ram Gopalpur | 40 | 4.5 | 77.5 | 16.2 |
| Samsi | 22 | 8.2 | 62.9 | 28.0 |
| Sonama | 58 | 12.9 | 73.1 | 13.0 |
Local-unit land cover is from the 10 m Impact Observatory map (2025), clipped to each boundary.
Fires in Mahottari District each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Mahottari District: about 204 a year on average, most in 2016 (344).
Questions about Mahottari District
- What is the forest cover of Mahottari District?
- About 43.1% of Mahottari District is forest (95% interval 4.4–81.9%), roughly 432 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 8 sample sites. That ranks 42nd of 77 districts.
- How much of Mahottari District is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 12.0% (120 km²). Mahottari District ranks 16th of 77 districts for built-up share.
- How big is Mahottari District?
- Mahottari District covers 1,001 km² and has 15 local units (municipalities and rural municipalities).
Source: Nepal-adapted U-Net (Khadka & Pradhan 2026) on Esri and EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery; Impact Observatory/Esri 10 m land cover; boundaries: Survey Department of Nepal via OCHA.