Prachuap Khiri Khan Province (Changwat Prachuap Khiri Khan)
Prachuap Khiri Khan covers an area totaling 6,367 km2. The province is on the Kra Isthmus, the narrow land bridge connecting the Malay Peninsula with mainland Asia. The province has the narrowest part of Thailand, just 12.38 km from the Gulf of Thailand to the border with Myanmar in the Tenasserim Hills. Geographically, Prachuap Khiri Khan is a moderate plain with elevations varying from sea level to 1200 m. The maximum elevations are found in the northeastern and central west regions, which make up approximately 30 percent of the province. The total forest area is 2,485 km² or 38.7 percent of provincial area.
The long coast of the Gulf of Thailand has many sandy beaches. One of the best known, Hua Hin, has been a popular resort town since King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) built a summer palace there. From the coast the land quickly rises into the Tenasserim Hills, the mountain chain that forms the border with Myanmar. Due to its narrow watershed, the rivers in the province are all small. The only one of significance is the Pranburi River in the north. Among the smaller rivers is the Khlong Kui.
Prachuap Khiri Khan has a dubbed as "Mueang Sam Ao", which meaning "city of three bays", refers to Ao Noi, Ao Prachup, and Ao Manao all three bays are lined up and are located in the area of Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan District.
Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park was established in 1966 to protect Thailand's largest freshwater marshes. The park contains some mangrove forests and mudflats. Most of the marshes were converted into shrimp farms, despite being in a national park. There are a total of six national parks, make up region 3 (Phetchaburi branch) of Thailand's protected areas. There is Prince Chumphon North Park (upper) Wildlife Sanctuary, 378 km2
* Kaeng Krachan National Park, 2915 km2
* Kui Buri National Park, 969 km2
* Namtok Huai Yang National Park, 161 km2
* Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, 98 km2
* Hat Wanakom National Park, 38 km2
Map - Prachuap Khiri Khan Province (Changwat Prachuap Khiri Khan)
Map
Country - Thailand
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Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which also rivalled each other. European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya, which became a regional power by the end of the 15th century. Ayutthaya reached its peak during the 18th century, until it was destroyed in the Burmese–Siamese War. Taksin quickly reunified the fragmented territory and established the short-lived Thonburi Kingdom. He was succeeded in 1782 by Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the first monarch of the current Chakri dynasty. Throughout the era of Western imperialism in Asia, Siam remained the only nation in the region to avoid colonization by foreign powers, although it was often forced to make territorial, trade and legal concessions in unequal treaties. The Siamese system of government was centralised and transformed into a modern unitary absolute monarchy in the reign of Chulalongkorn. In World War I, Siam sided with the Allies, a political decision made in order to amend the unequal treaties. Following a bloodless revolution in 1932, it became a constitutional monarchy and changed its official name to Thailand, becoming an ally of Japan in World War II. In the late 1950s, a military coup under Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat revived the monarchy's historically influential role in politics. Thailand became a major ally of the United States, and played an anti-communist role in the region as a member of the failed SEATO, but from 1975 sought to improve relations with Communist China and Thailand's neighbours.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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THB | Thai baht | ฿ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |
TH | Thai language |