District of Nepal · Koshi Province
Sankhuwasabha District: land cover, map and municipalities
Forest land is the largest land cover in Sankhuwasabha District, at 44.4% of its area. Forest covers 44.4% (about the same as the national 41.4%), farmland 9.6%, rangeland 36.1%, built-up land 1.9%, bare land, rock and snow 7.9% and water 0.2%.
Land cover of Sankhuwasabha District
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 1.9 | 0.0–5.0 | 65 |
| Agriculture land | 9.6 | 0.0–20.2 | 335 |
| Rangeland | 36.1 | 21.1–51.1 | 1,251 |
| Forest land | 44.4 | 27.7–61.2 | 1,541 |
| Water | 0.2 | 0.0–0.3 | 6 |
| Barren land | 7.9 | 0.0–17.0 | 273 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 23 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Sankhuwasabha District year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: forest land +2.7 points, barren land −2.0 points, agriculture land −1.3 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 Sankhuwasabha District
| Local unit | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhotkhola | 732 | 44.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Chainapur | 223 | 74.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Chichila | 88 | 89.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Dharmadevi | 133 | 77.3 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Khandabari | 123 | 66.3 | 2.0 | 3.4 |
| Madi | 110 | 73.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Makalu | 1,192 | 43.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Panchakhapan | 148 | 83.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Sabhapokhari | 222 | 71.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Silichong | 501 | 65.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Local-unit land cover is from the 10 m Impact Observatory map (2025), clipped to each boundary.
Fires in Sankhuwasabha District each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Sankhuwasabha District: about 120 a year on average, most in 2024 (300).
Questions about Sankhuwasabha District
- What is the forest cover of Sankhuwasabha District?
- About 44.4% of Sankhuwasabha District is forest (95% interval 27.7–61.2%), roughly 1,541 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 23 sample sites. That ranks 40th of 77 districts.
- How much of Sankhuwasabha District is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 1.9% (64.8 km²). Sankhuwasabha District ranks 38th of 77 districts for built-up share.
- How big is Sankhuwasabha District?
- Sankhuwasabha District covers 3,470 km² and has 10 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.