Geography of Thailand

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The geography of Thailand is the description of the physical condition of the national territory of Thailand as well as the resulting interaction between this habitat and its inhabitants.

Thailand lies in the middle of the mainland of Southeast Asia and stretches from the southeastern foothills of the Himalayan Mountains to the Mekong , further south to the Gulf of Thailand and to about the middle of the Malay Peninsula and the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean .

facts and figures

Topography of Thailand
  • Area: 514,000 km²
  • Land area: 511,770 km²
  • Water surface: 2230 km²
  • Borders (in total): 4863 km
  • Borders by country (length): Myanmar 1800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1754 km, Malaysia 506 km
  • Coastline: 3219 km
  • Territorial claim at sea:
  • Continental shelf: the water surface up to 200 m deep
  • Exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km)
  • Territorial Sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km)
  • Highest elevation: 2565 meters

The axial position of Thailand between East Asia and Malaysia and Singapore determined Thai society and culture for a long time. The only accessible land connection between China and India passed through here. But the sea connection between the two important nations of Asia also led via Siam, as around half of the route is covered here.

The geographical coordinates will be around 15 °  N , 100 °  O .

Limits

Thailand borders Myanmar (formerly Burma), Malaysia , Laos and Cambodia . It is within the sphere of influence of both China and Vietnam , which come within 100 km of Thailand. Many of Thailand's border lines follow natural topographical features, such as B. the course of the Mekong. Most of the boundaries were established and stabilized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries , with the underlying treaties coming about through pressure from both France and Great Britain . In individual areas, such as on the eastern border with Laos and Cambodia, the course of the border is still controversial.

The best known problem is the border at the Preah Vihear temple , the solution of which went as far as the International Court of Justice , which ruled in 1962 in favor of Cambodia.

Topography and drainage

The most striking features of the soil in Thailand are the mountains in the north, the central plain of the Chao Phraya and a plateau.

Mountains are mainly found in northern Thailand and stretch along the border with Burma in the south of the Malay Peninsula. The central plain is a low plain that is drained by the Mae Nam Chao Phraya and its tributaries into the Bay of Bangkok (Gulf of Thailand). This river system is also the main body of water in Thailand, draining about 30% of the total land area. The plateau is formed by the Khorat Plateau , which is located in the northeast region of Thailand ( Isan ) . Here you will find a hilly landscape with shallow lakes and tributaries to the Mekong, which also forms the eastern border river of the region. The Mekong flows into the South China Sea in Vietnam .

The Chao Phraya and Mekong rivers form the backbone of the Thai rice economy and inland waterway transport. Along the coastline there are a lot of interesting and unique sights, such as limestone rocks, cone mountains, extensive cave systems, mangrove forests , salt lakes and brackish water areas.

  • Height differences:
    • Lowest point: 0 m
    • Highest point: 2576 m

For the individual regions of the country, see

climate

Thailand has a tropical - monsoonal climate. The typical temperature range is between 28 ° C and 19 ° C with an annual average. The southwest monsoon comes between May / July and heralds the rainy season (ruedu fon). The rainy season ends around October to early December. This is followed by the dry season, which has relatively low average temperatures.

Temperatures begin to rise in January and peak in April and May. The dry season lasts the longest in the northeast of the country. Most areas of Thailand receive sufficient rainfall, but the northeast is disadvantaged by the red laterite soil, which can only insufficiently store water. This significantly limits the possibilities of agriculture.

Resources and land use

The natural occurrences include in particular:

Land consumption:

  • Land suitable for cultivation: 34%
  • Fields: 6%
  • Meadows: 2%
  • Woodland: 26%
  • Other: 32%

Artificially irrigated land: 44,000 km² (as of 1993, estimated)

environmental issues

Natural disasters: floods , drought (in Issan), subsidence of land in the Bangkok area as a result of the lowering of the groundwater level
Environment: air pollution from emissions of pollutants, water pollution from factories, degradation of tropical rainforests , soil erosion , endangerment of animal species by illegal hunting

literature