Rajasthan is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area but encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert) which has an edge that parallels the Sutlej-Indus river valley along it’s border with Pakistan. The region borders Pakistan to the west, Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers an area of 342,239 km² (132,139 mi²).