“Sikkim: Eastern Himalayas, northeastern India, Mt. Kanchenjunga, third-highest peak in the world, forms its western border. It has an area of 2,744 square miles (7,107 square kilometers); the capital, Gangtok, is the only urban center. As an independent country, it fought prolonged wars in the 18th and 19th centuries with Bhutan and Nepal. It first came under British influence in 1817, though it remained an independent buffer between British India and Tibet. In 1950 it became an Indian protectorate, and in 1975, a state of India. One of India’s smallest states, it exports agricultural products and is one of the world’s main producers of cardamom. Its mineral resources include copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron ore, and garnets.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Mark's Text Terminal 