1.
Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Body of water
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A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planets surface. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, a body of water does not have to be still or contained, Rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water. Most are naturally occurring geographical features, but some are artificial, there are types that can be either. For example, most reservoirs are created by engineering dams, similarly, most harbors are naturally occurring bays, but some harbors have been created through construction. Bodies of water that are navigable are known as waterways, some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans. The term body of water can also refer to a reservoir of water held by a plant, note that there are some geographical features involving water that are not bodies of water, for example waterfalls, geysers and rapids. Arm of the sea - also sea arm, used to describe a sea loch, arroyo - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. Artificial lake or artificial pond - see reservoir or impoundment, barachois - a lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar. Bay - an area of water bordered by land on three sides, similar to, but smaller than a gulf, bayou - a slow-moving stream or a marshy lake. Bight - a large and often only slightly receding bay, or a bend in any geographical feature, billabong - see Oxbow lake, a pond or still body of water created when a river changes course and some water becomes trapped. Boil - see Seep Brook - a small stream, canal - an artificial waterway, usually connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Channel - the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean consisting of a bed. See also stream bed and strait, earth scientists generally use the term to describe a circular or round inlet with a narrow entrance, though colloquially the term is sometimes used to describe any sheltered bay. Basin - a region of land where water from rain or snowmelt drains downhill into another body of water, such as a river, lake, creek - an inlet of the sea, narrower than a cove. Delta - the location where a river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, distributary or distributary channel - a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Draw - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, fjord - a submergent landform which has occurred due to glacial activity. Glacier - a large collection of ice or a river that moves slowly down a mountain. Glacial Pothole - see Kettle Gulf - a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on three sides, similar to, but larger than a bay, headland - an area of water bordered by land on three sides
4.
Inflow (hydrology)
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In hydrology, the inflow of a body of water is the source of the water in the body of water. It can also refer to the volume of incoming water in unit time. All bodies of water have multiple inflows, but often, one inflow may predominate, however, in many cases, no single inflow will predominate and there will be multiple primary inflows. For a lake, the inflow may be a river or stream that flows into the lake. Inflow may also be, strictly speaking, not flows, but rather precipitation, inflow can also be used to refer to groundwater recharge. The dictionary definition of inflow at Wiktionary
5.
South China Sea
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The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres. The areas importance largely results from one-third of the worlds shipping sailing through its waters, the sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are reflected in the variety of names used for the islands. South China Sea is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and this name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea, the International Hydrographic Organization refers to the sea as South China Sea. The Classic of Poetry, Zuo Zhuan, and Guoyu classics of the Spring and Autumn period also referred to the sea, Nan Hai, the South Sea, was one of the Four Seas of Chinese literature. There are three other seas, one for each of the four cardinal directions, during the Eastern Han dynasty, Chinas rulers called the Sea Zhang Hai. Fei Hai became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, usage of the current Chinese name, Nan Hai, became gradually widespread during the Qing Dynasty. In Southeast Asia it was called the Champa Sea or Sea of Cham. The majority of the sea came under Japanese naval control during World War II following the acquisition of many surrounding South East Asian territories in 1941. Japan calls the sea Minami Shina Kai South China Sea and this was written 南支那海 until 2004, when the Japanese Foreign Ministry and other departments switched the spelling 南シナ海, which has become the standard usage in Japan. In China, it is called the South Sea, 南海 Nánhǎi, in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it was long called the South China Sea, with the part within Philippine territorial waters often called the Luzon Sea, Dagat Luzon, by the Philippines. However, following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea to the east of the Philippines will continue to be called the Philippine Sea. In September 2012, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order No, states and territories with borders on the sea include, the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Major rivers that flow into the South China Sea include the Pearl, Min, Jiulong, Red, Mekong, Rajang, Pahang, Pampanga, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the South China Sea as follows, On the South. From Fuki Kaku the North point of Formosa to Kiushan Tao on to the South point of Haitan Tao, the Mainland, the Southern limit of the Gulf of Thailand and the East coast of the Malay Peninsula. The sea lies above a drowned continental shelf, during recent ice ages global sea level was hundreds of metres lower, the South China Sea opened around 45 million years ago when the Dangerous Ground rifted away from southern China. Extension culminated in seafloor spreading around 30 million years ago, a process that propagated to the SW resulting in the V-shaped basin we see today, extension ceased around 17 million years ago
6.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
7.
Thai language
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Thai, also known as Siamese or Central Thai, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people and the vast majority of Thai Chinese. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family, over half of the words in Thai are borrowed from Pali, Sanskrit and Old Khmer. It is a tonal and analytic language, Thai also has a complex orthography and relational markers. Spoken Thai is mutually intelligible with Laotian, Thai is the official language of Thailand, natively spoken by over 20 million people. Standard Thai is based on the register of the classes of Bangkok. In addition to Central Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages, Isan, the language of the Isan region of Thailand, a collective term for the various Lao dialects spoken in Thailand that show some Siamese Thai influences, which is written with the Thai script. It is spoken by about 20 million people, Thais from both inside and outside the Isan region often simply call this variant Lao when speaking informally. Northern Thai, spoken by about 6 million in the independent kingdom of Lanna. Shares strong similarities with Lao to the point that in the past the Siamese Thais referred to it as Lao. Southern Thai, spoken by about 4.5 million Phu Thai, spoken by half a million around Nakhon Phanom Province. Phuan, spoken by 200,000 in central Thailand and Isan, Shan, spoken by about 100,000 in north-west Thailand along the border with the Shan States of Burma, and by 3.2 million in Burma. Lü, spoken by about 1,000,000 in northern Thailand, and 600,000 more in Sipsong Panna, Burma, nyaw language, spoken by 50,000 in Nakhon Phanom Province, Sakhon Nakhon Province, Udon Thani Province of Northeast Thailand. Song, spoken by about 30,000 in central and northern Thailand, Elegant or Formal Thai, official and written version, includes respectful terms of address, used in simplified form in newspapers. Rhetorical Thai, used for public speaking, religious Thai, used when discussing Buddhism or addressing monks. Royal Thai, influenced by Khmer, this is used when addressing members of the family or describing their activities. Most Thais can speak and understand all of these contexts, street and Elegant Thai are the basis of all conversations. Rhetorical, religious, and royal Thai are taught in schools as the national curriculum, many scholars believe that the Thai script is derived from the Khmer script, which is modeled after the Brahmic script from the Indic family. However, in appearance, Thai is closer to Thai Dam script, the language and its script are closely related to the Lao language and script
8.
International Hydrographic Organization
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The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing hydrography. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the seas, oceans. It does this through the setting of standards, the co-ordination of the endeavours of the worlds national hydrographic offices. The IHO enjoys observer status at the United Nations where it is the competent authority on hydrographic surveying. When referring to hydrography and nautical charting in Conventions and similar Instruments, it is the IHO standards, the IHO was established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau. The present name was adopted in 1970 as part of a new international Convention on the IHO adopted by the member nations. The former name International Hydrographic Bureau was retained to describe the IHO secretariat until 8 November 2016, there were substantial differences in hydrographic procedures charts, and publications. In 1889, an International Maritime Conference was held at Washington, D. C. similar proposals were made at the sessions of the International Congress of Navigation held at Saint Petersburg in 1908 and the International Maritime Conference held at Saint Petersburg in 1912. In 1919 the hydrographers of Great Britain and France cooperated in taking the steps to convene an international conference of hydrographers. London was selected as the most suitable place for this conference, and on 24 July 1919 and this is still the major purpose of the IHO. As a result of the conference, a permanent organization was formed, the IHB, now the IHO, began its activities in 1921 with 18 nations as members. The Principality of Monaco was selected as the seat of the organization as a result of the offer of Albert I, the IHO develops hydrographic and nautical charting standards. These standards are adopted and used by its 86 member countries and others in their surveys, nautical charts. Much has been done in the field of standardisation since the Bureau was founded, the IHO has encouraged the formation of Regional Hydrographic Commissions. Each RHC coordinates the national surveying and charting activities of countries within each region, the 15 RHCs plus the IHO Hydrographic Commission on Antarctica effectively cover the world. The IHO, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, directs the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans programme, in 2010 the IHO introduced a new, contemporary hydrographic geospatial standard for modelling marine data and information, known as S-100. S-100 and any dependent product specifications are underpinned by an on-line registry accessible via the IHO website, S-100 is aligned with the ISO19100 series of geographic standards, thereby making it fully compatible with contemporary geospatial data standards. Because S-100 is based on ISO19100, it can be used by other providers for their maritime-related data
9.
Malay language
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Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It has a status in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia. As the Bahasa Kebangsaan or Bahasa Nasional of several states, Standard Malay has various official names, in Singapore and Brunei it is called Bahasa Melayu, in Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia, and in Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesia and is designated the Bahasa Persatuan/Pemersatu. However, in areas of central to southern Sumatra where the language is indigenous, Indonesians refer to it as Bahasa Melayu and consider it one of their regional languages. There are also several Malay trade and creole languages which are based on a lingua franca derived from Classical Malay, as well as Macassar Malay, Malay historical linguists agree on the likelihood of the Malay homeland being in western Borneo stretching to the Bruneian coast. A form known as Proto-Malay language was spoken in Borneo at least by 1000 BCE and was, it has been argued, the ancestral language of all subsequent Malayan languages. The history of the Malay language can be divided into five periods, Old Malay, the Transitional Period, the Malacca Period, Late Modern Malay and it is not clear that Old Malay was actually the ancestor of Classical Malay, but this is thought to be quite possible. Old Malay was influenced by Sanskrit literary language of Classical India, Sanskrit loanwords can be found in Old Malay vocabulary. Batenburg on November 29,1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, on the banks of the Tatang and it is a small stone of 45 by 80 centimetres. The earliest surviving manuscript in Malay is the Tanjong Tanah Law in post-Pallava letters and this 14th-century pre-Islamic legal text produced in the Adityawarman era of Dharmasraya, a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that arose after the end of Srivijayan rule in Sumatra. The laws were for the Minangkabau people, who still live in the highlands of Sumatra. The Malay language came into use as the lingua franca of the Malacca Sultanate. During this period, the Malay language developed rapidly under the influence of Islamic literature, the development changed the nature of the language with massive infusion of Arabic, Malayalam and Sanskrit vocabularies, called Classical Malay. Under the Sultanate of Malacca the language evolved into a form recognisable to speakers of modern Malay, however, there is no connection between Malaccan Malay as used on Riau and the Riau vernacular. One of the oldest surviving letters written in Malay is a letter from Sultan Abu Hayat of Ternate, Maluku Islands in present-day Indonesia, the letter is addressed to the king of Portugal, following contact with Portuguese explorer Francisco Serrão. The letters show sign of non-native usage, the Ternateans used the unrelated Ternate language, Malay was used solely as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes languages from Southeast Asia, malagasy, a geographic outlier spoken in Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is also a member of this language family. Although each language of the family is mutually unintelligible, their similarities are rather striking, many roots have come virtually unchanged from their common ancestor, Proto-Austronesian language
10.
Khmer language
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Khmer /kmɛər/ or Cambodian is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. With approximately 16 million speakers, it is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language, Khmer has been influenced considerably by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious registers, through Hinduism and Buddhism. The vast majority of Khmer speakers speak Central Khmer, the dialect of the plain where the Khmer are most heavily concentrated. Within Cambodia, regional accents exist in remote areas but these are regarded as varieties of Central Khmer, outside of Cambodia, three distinct dialects are spoken by ethnic Khmers native to areas that were historically part of the Khmer Empire. The Northern Khmer dialect is spoken by over a million Khmers in the regions of Northeast Thailand and is treated by some linguists as a separate language. Khmer is primarily an analytic, isolating language, there are no inflections, conjugations or case endings. Instead, particles and auxiliary words are used to indicate grammatical relationships, general word order is subject–verb–object, and modifiers follow the word they modify. Classifiers appear after numbers when used to count nouns, though not always so consistently as in languages like Chinese, in spoken Khmer, topic-comment structure is common and the perceived social relation between participants determines which sets of vocabulary, such as pronouns and honorifics, are proper. Khmer differs from neighboring languages such as Thai, Burmese, Lao, words are stressed on the final syllable, hence many words conform to the typical Mon–Khmer pattern of a stressed syllable preceded by a minor syllable. The language has been written in the Khmer script, an abugida descended from the Brahmi script via the southern Indian Pallava script, approximately 79% of Cambodians are able to read Khmer. Khmer is a member of the Austroasiatic language family, the family in an area that stretches from the Malay Peninsula through Southeast Asia to East India. Austroasiatic, which also includes Mon, Vietnamese and Munda, has been studied since 1856 and was first proposed as a family in 1907. Despite the amount of research, there is doubt about the internal relationship of the languages of Austroasiatic. Diffloth places Khmer in a branch of the Mon-Khmer languages. In these classification schemes Khmers closest genetic relatives are the Bahnaric and Pearic languages, more recent classifications doubt the validity of the Mon-Khmer sub-grouping and place the Khmer language as its own branch of Austroasiatic equidistant from the other 12 branches of the family. Khmer is spoken by some 13 million people in Cambodia, where it is the official language and it is also a second language for most of the minority groups and indigenous hill tribes there. Additionally there are a million speakers of Khmer native to southern Vietnam and 1.4 million in northeast Thailand, Khmer dialects, although mutually intelligible, are sometimes quite marked. The dialects form a continuum running roughly north to south, the following is a classification scheme showing the development of the modern Khmer dialects
11.
Vietnamese language
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Vietnamese /ˌviɛtnəˈmiːz/ is an Austroasiatic language that originated in the north of modern-day Vietnam, where it is the national and official language. It is the language of the Vietnamese people, as well as a first or second language for the many ethnic minorities of Vietnam. As the result of Vietnamese emigration and cultural influence, Vietnamese speakers are found throughout the world, notably in East and Southeast Asia, North America, Australia, Vietnamese has also been officially recognized as a minority language in the Czech Republic. It is part of the Austroasiatic language family of which it has by far the most speakers, Vietnamese vocabulary has borrowings from Chinese, and it formerly used a modified set of Chinese characters called chữ nôm given vernacular pronunciation. The Vietnamese alphabet in use today is a Latin alphabet with diacritics for tones. As the national language, Vietnamese is spoken throughout Vietnam by ethnic Vietnamese, Vietnamese is also the native language of the Gin minority group in southern Guangxi Province in China. A significant number of speakers also reside in neighboring Cambodia. In the United States, Vietnamese is the sixth most spoken language, with over 1.5 million speakers and it is the third most spoken language in Texas, fourth in Arkansas and Louisiana, and fifth in California. Vietnamese is the seventh most spoken language in Australia, in France, it is the most spoken Asian language and the eighth most spoken immigrant language at home. Vietnamese is the official and national language of Vietnam. It is the first language of the majority of the Vietnamese population, in the Czech Republic, Vietnamese has been recognized as one of 14 minority languages, on the basis of communities that have either traditionally or on a long-term basis resided in the country. This status grants Czech citizens from the Vietnamese community the right to use Vietnamese with public authorities, Vietnamese is increasingly being taught in schools and institutions outside of Vietnam. Since the 1980s, Vietnamese language schools have been established for youth in many Vietnamese-speaking communities around the world, furthermore, there has also been a number of Germans studying Vietnamese due to increased economic investment in Vietnam. Vietnamese is taught in schools in the form of immersion to a varying degree in Cambodia, Laos. Classes teach students subjects in Vietnamese and another language, furthermore, in Thailand, Vietnamese is one of the most popular foreign languages in schools and colleges. Vietnamese was identified more than 150 years ago as part of the Mon–Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic language family. Later, Muong was found to be closely related to Vietnamese than other Mon–Khmer languages. The term Vietic was proposed by Hayes, who proposed to redefine Viet–Muong as referring to a subbranch of Vietic containing only Vietnamese and Muong
12.
Magnus Sinus
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It was then briefly conflated with the Pacific Ocean before disappearing from maps. The gulf and its port of Cattigara had supposedly been reached by a 1st-century Greek trader named Alexander. His account that Cattigara was some days sail from Zaba was taken by Marinus of Tyre to mean numberless days, both Alexander and Marinuss works have been lost, but were claimed as authorities by Ptolemy in his Geography. Ptolemy followed Hipparchus in making the Indian Ocean a landlocked sea, the expanse formed between it and the Malay Peninsula, he called the Great Gulf. Ptolemys Geography was translated into Arabic by a team of scholars including al-Khwārizmī in the 9th century during the reign of al-Maʿmūn, african traders similarly showed that the coastline did not turn sharply east south of Cape Prasum below Zanzibar as Ptolemy held. Al-Khwārizmīs influential Book of the Description of the Earth, therefore, the robustly-described lands east of the Great Gulf, however, were retained as a phantom peninsula. Just after 1295, Maximus Planudes restored Ptolemys Greek text and maps at Chora Monastery in Constantinople and this was translated into Latin at Florence by Jacobus Angelus around 1406 and quickly spread the works information and misinformation throughout Western Europe. The maps initially repeated Ptolemys enclosed Indian Sea, the idea was repeated by Ortelius and others. The Great Gulf was finally dispensed with in all its forms as more accurate accounts returned from both the East and West Indies, medieval Islamic cartographers followed al-Khwārizmī in having a strait southeast of the gulf communicating with the Sea of Darkness. Its Cottiaris River would then be a course of the Mekong which once passed the site to enter the Gulf of Thailand. Its Cottiaris River would have been Vietnams Red River, Ἀγαθήμερος, τῆς γεωγραφίας ὑποτυπώσεις ἐν ἐπιτομῇ. DAnville, Jean Baptiste Bourguignon, Orbis Veteribus Notus, Paris Bunbury, Edward Herbert, Beazley, raymond, Ptolemy, Geography, in Chisholm, Hugh, Encyclopædia Britannica,22, Cambridge University Press, pp. 623–626. South America on Maps before Columbus, I, London, Hakluyt Society, pp. cxlvi–cliii
13.
Medieval Arab geographers
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Medieval Islamic geography was based on Hellenistic geography and reached its apex with Muhammad al-Idrisi in the 12th century. After its beginnings in the 8th century based on Hellenistic geography, various Islamic scholars contributed to its development, and the most notable include Al-Khwārizmī, Abū Zayd al-Balkhī, and Abu Rayhan Biruni. Islamic cartographers inherited Ptolemys Almagest and Geography in the 9th century and these works stimulated an interest in geography but were not slavishly followed. Having received Greek writings directly and without Latin intermediation, Arabian and Persian geographers made no use of European-style T-O maps, muslim scientists made many of their own contributions to geography and the earth sciences. In the 11th century, the Uyghur scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari was the first to draw a map of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. These medieval developments influenced Chinese geography under the Mongol Empire and they also provided the underpinnings of the cartographic work of the Ottoman cartographer Piri Reis. History of geography History of cartography Notes Citations Bibliography How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs by De Lacy OLeary Islamic Geography in the Middle Ages
14.
Medieval Persian geographers
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Medieval Islamic geography was based on Hellenistic geography and reached its apex with Muhammad al-Idrisi in the 12th century. After its beginnings in the 8th century based on Hellenistic geography, various Islamic scholars contributed to its development, and the most notable include Al-Khwārizmī, Abū Zayd al-Balkhī, and Abu Rayhan Biruni. Islamic cartographers inherited Ptolemys Almagest and Geography in the 9th century and these works stimulated an interest in geography but were not slavishly followed. Having received Greek writings directly and without Latin intermediation, Arabian and Persian geographers made no use of European-style T-O maps, muslim scientists made many of their own contributions to geography and the earth sciences. In the 11th century, the Uyghur scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari was the first to draw a map of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. These medieval developments influenced Chinese geography under the Mongol Empire and they also provided the underpinnings of the cartographic work of the Ottoman cartographer Piri Reis. History of geography History of cartography Notes Citations Bibliography How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs by De Lacy OLeary Islamic Geography in the Middle Ages
15.
Age of Discovery
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It also marks the rise of the period of widespread adoption in Europe of colonialism and mercantilism. Many lands previously unknown to Europeans were discovered during this period, from the perspective of many non-Europeans, the Age of Discovery marked the arrival of settlers and invaders from a previously unknown continent. This represented one of the most-significant global events concerning ecology, agriculture and it also allowed for the expansion of Christianity throughout the world with the spread of missionary activity, becoming the worlds largest religion. The Portuguese began systematically exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa from 1418, in 1488 Bartolomeu Dias reached the Indian Ocean by this route. In 1492 the Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon funded Christopher Columbuss plan to sail west to reach the Indies by crossing the Atlantic and he landed on a continent uncharted by Europeans and seen as a new world, the Americas. In 1498, a Portuguese expedition commanded by Vasco da Gama reached India by sailing around Africa, soon, the Portuguese sailed further eastward, to the valuable Spice Islands in 1512, landing in China one year later. In 1513, Spanish Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama, thus, Europe first received news of the eastern and western Pacific within a one-year span around 1512. Meanwhile, from the 1580s to the 1640s, Russians explored and conquered almost the whole of Siberia, another source was the Radhanite Jewish trade networks of merchants established as go-betweens between Europe and the Muslim world during the time of the Crusader states. Knowledge about the Atlantic African coast was fragmented and derived mainly from old Greek and Roman maps based on Carthaginian knowledge, the Red Sea was barely known and only trade links with the Maritime republics, the Republic of Venice especially, fostered collection of accurate maritime knowledge. Indian Ocean trade routes were sailed by Arab traders, between 1405 and 1421, the Yongle Emperor of Ming China sponsored a series of long range tributary missions under the command of Zheng He. The fleets visited Arabia, East Africa, India, Maritime Southeast Asia, by 1400 a Latin translation of Ptolemys Geographia reached Italy coming from Constantinople. The rediscovery of Roman geographical knowledge was a revelation, both for mapmaking and worldview, although reinforcing the idea that the Indian Ocean was landlocked, a prelude to the Age of Discovery was a series of European expeditions crossing Eurasia by land in the late Middle Ages. A series of Europeans took advantage of these to explore eastwards, most were Italians, as trade between Europe and the Middle East was controlled mainly by the Maritime republics. The close Italian links to the Levant raised great curiosity and commercial interest in countries which lay further east, christian embassies were sent as far as Karakorum during the Mongol invasions of the Levant, from which they gained a greater understanding of the world. The first of these travellers was Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, dispatched by Pope Innocent IV to the Great Khan, about the same time, Russian prince Yaroslav of Vladimir, and subsequently his sons Alexander Nevsky and Andrey II of Vladimir, travelled to the Mongolian capital. Though having strong political implications, their journeys left no detailed accounts, other travellers followed, like French André de Longjumeau and Flemish William of Rubruck, who reached China through Central Asia. After returning, he dictated an account of his journeys to a scholar he met in Granada, the Rihla, between 1357 and 1371 a book of supposed travels compiled by John Mandeville acquired extraordinary popularity. These overland journeys had little immediate effect, the Mongol Empire collapsed almost as quickly as it formed and soon the route to the east became more difficult and dangerous
16.
Portuguese explorers
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Portuguese discoveries are the numerous territories and maritime routes discovered by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime exploration during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European overseas exploration, discovering and mapping the coasts of Africa, Canada, Asia and Brazil, in what became known as the Age of Discovery. Ten years later, in 1498, Vasco da Gama led the first fleet around Africa to India, arriving in Calicut, Portuguese explorations then proceeded to southeast Asia, where they reached Japan in 1542, forty-four years after their first arrival in India. In 1500, the Portuguese nobleman Pedro Álvares Cabral became the first European to discover Brazil, in 1139 the Kingdom of Portugal achieved independence from León, having doubled its area with the Reconquista under Afonso Henriques. In 1297 king Denis of Portugal took personal interest in the development of exports, on May 10,1293 he instituted a maritime insurance fund for Portuguese traders living in the County of Flanders, which were to pay certain sums according to tonnage, accrued to them when necessary. Portuguese imported armors and munitions, fine clothes and several manufactured products from Flanders, Genoese and Florentine communities established since then in Portugal, who profited from the enterprise and financial experience of these rivals of the Republic of Venice. Only the sea offered alternatives, with most people settling in fishing and trading coastal areas, young prince Henry the Navigator was there and became aware of profit possibilities in the Saharan trade routes. Later his brother Prince Pedro, granted him a Royal Flush of all profits from trading within the areas discovered, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores were reached. There wheat and later sugarcane were cultivated, like in Algarve, by the Genoese and this helped them become more wealthy. Henry the Navigator took the role in encouraging Portuguese maritime exploration until his death in 1460. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast, in 1420 Zarco and Teixeira returned with Bartolomeu Perestrelo and began Portuguese settlement of the islands. A Portuguese attempt to capture Grand Canary, one of the nearby Canary Islands, at around the same time as the unsuccessful attack on the Canary Islands, the Portuguese began to explore the North African coast. Sailors feared what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, in 1434 one of Prince Henrys captains, Gil Eanes, passed this obstacle. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to further along the coast. Within two decades of exploration, Portuguese ships bypassed the Sahara, Henry suffered a serious setback in 1437 after the failure of an expedition to capture Tangier, having encouraged his brother, King Edward, to mount an overland attack from Ceuta. The Portuguese army was defeated and only escaped destruction by surrendering Prince Ferdinand, after the defeat at Tangier, Henry retired to Sagres on the southern tip of Portugal where he continued to direct Portuguese exploration until his death in 1460. In 1443 Prince Pedro, Henrys brother, granted him the monopoly of navigation, war, using this new maritime technology, Portuguese navigators reached ever more southerly latitudes, advancing at an average rate of one degree a year. Senegal and Cape Verde Peninsula were reached in 1445, in 1446, Álvaro Fernandes pushed on almost as far as present-day Sierra Leone and the Gulf of Guinea was reached in the 1460s
17.
Dragon Tail (peninsula)
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The Dragons Tail is a modern name for the phantom peninsula in southeast Asia which appeared in medieval Arabian and Renaissance European world maps. It formed the shore of the Great Gulf east of the Golden Chersonese, replacing the unknown lands which Ptolemy. The peninsula known to modern cartographers as the Dragons Tail or Tigers Tail appeared under various names on different maps, the peninsula does not appear in any surviving manuscript of Ptolemys Geography or other Greek geographers. Instead, it is first attested in the Ptolemaic-influenced Book of the Description of the Earth compiled by al-Khwārizmī around 833 AD, merchants such as Soleiman showed Al-Khwārizmī that the Indian Ocean was not closed as Hipparchus and Ptolemy had held but opened either narrowly or broadly. Al-Khwārizmī left most of Ptolemys eastern coast but the creation of the created a new peninsula, beyond which he placed the Sea of Darkness. The area was detailed with locations from Marco Polo and other travelers, a similar peninsula then appeared on the Erdapfel globe drafted by Martin of Bohemia in 1492, just prior to Columbuss return. Some South American scholars have taken this at face value as evidence of early and thorough exploration of the Americas and he may have been guided directly by Martelluss maps. Columbus considered himself to have arrived at Champa and cartographers began to draw discoveries in Central America on the shore of the phantom peninsula. Amerigo Vespucci also considered himself to have arrived at this rather than a new world. Another form of this appeared in the 1502 Cantino Planisphere smuggled out of Portugal for the Duke of Ferrara. The Portuguese were aware of the peninsulas likely nonexistence by shortly after the fall of Malacca, the original was lost aboard the Froll de la Mar shortly afterwards but a tracing by Francisco Rodrigues was sent in its place as part of a letter to the king. Nonetheless, published maps continued to include it in different forms for another century, the southern end of the peninsula was generally known as the Cape of Cattigara. Martelluss world maps include labels marking the areas of Upper India, Champa, Al-Khwārizmī, The Book of the Description of the Earth. Galvano, Antonio, The Discoveries of the World, from Their First Original unto the Year of Our Lord 1555, Translated & edited by Richard Hakluyt, bethune, London, T. Richards for the Hakluyt Society. & Lester, Toby, The Fourth Part of the World, The Epic Story of Historys Greatest Map, London, Profile Books, miller, Greg, Uncovering Hidden Text on a 500-Year-Old Map that Guided Columbus, Wired. The Book of Curiosities and a Unique Map of the World, Cartography in Antiquity, South America on Maps before Columbus. Martelluss Dragons Tail Peninsula, Imago Mundi, Vol.55, pp. 25–37, Terra Australis, Java la Grande, and Australia, Identity Problems and Fiction, European Perceptions of Terra Australis, Farnham, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 93–110, ISBN9781409426059. Siebold, Jim, #256, Martellus World Maps, Cartographic Images, Oviedo, Henry Davis Consulting, retrieved 15 March 2015
18.
Cambodia
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Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, the countrys minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, the kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, after the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north, the Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the king gave his support to his former enemies. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission, the UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian Peoples Party, important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall, Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, the Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea, Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the countrys official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa, composed of देश, desa and कम्बोज, Kambujas, colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer, meaning Khmers Land, or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea, literally Country of Kampuchea. The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more used in the East. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of dates as of 6000 BC
19.
Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
20.
Vietnam
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
21.
Chao Phraya River
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The Chao Phraya is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand, on many old European maps, the river is named Menam or Mae Nam, Thai for river. H. Warington Smyth, who served as Director of the Department of Mines in Siam from 1891 to 1896, in the English-language media in Thailand, the name Chao Phraya River is often translated as river of kings. The Chao Phraya begins at the confluence of the Ping and Nan rivers at Nakhon Sawan in Nakhon Sawan Province, after this it flows south for 372 kilometres from the central plains to Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand. In the low alluvial plain which begins below the Chainat Dam, the khlongs are used for the irrigation of the regions rice paddies. The rough coordinates of the river are 13 N,100 E and this area has a wet monsoon climate, with over 1,400 millimetres of rainfall per year. Temperatures range from 24 to 33 °C in Bangkok, the lower Chao Phraya underwent several man-made modifications during the Ayutthaya period. Several shortcut canals were constructed to bypass large loops in the river, the course of the river has since changed to follow many of these canals. In 1538, Thailands first river engineering of a 3 km long canal was dug at the order of King Chairachathirat and it was called khlong lat, today known as Khlong Bangkok Noi. It shortened the route by 13–14 km for ships from the Gulf of Siam to the then-capital city, in 1542, a two kilometre-long canal, khlong lat Bangkok, was completed. Today its called Khlong Bangkok Yai and it is said to have shortened the river route by 14 km. In 1608, a seven kilometre-long Khlong Bang Phrao canal was completed and has shortened the Chao Phrayas original route by 18 km, in 1636, the khlong lat mueang Nonthaburi was completed. In 1722, the two kilometre long khlong lat Kret Noi shortened the Chao Phraya by 7 km and this route was from the island of Ko Kret. Cities along the Chao Phraya include, from north to south, Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Bangkok, and Samut Prakan. These cities are among the most historically significant and densely populated settlements of Thailand due to their access to the waterway, in Bangkok, the Chao Phraya is a major transportation artery for a network of river buses, cross-river ferries, and water taxis. More than 15 boat lines operate on the rivers and canals of the city, the principal tributaries of the Chao Phraya River are the Pa Sak River, the Sakae Krang River, the Nan River, the Ping River, and the Tha Chin River. Each of these tributaries is augmented by minor tributaries referred to as khwae, all of the tributaries, including the lesser khwae, form an extensive tree-like pattern, with branches flowing through nearly every province in central and northern Thailand. None of the tributaries of the Chao Phraya extend beyond the nations borders, the Nan and the Yom River flow nearly parallel from Phitsanulok to Chumsaeng in the north of Nakhon Sawan Province
22.
Mekong
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The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the worlds 12th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia and its estimated length is 4,350 km, and it drains an area of 795,000 km2, discharging 475 km3 of water annually. From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through Chinas Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, in 1995, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam established the Mekong River Commission to assist in the management and coordinated use of the Mekongs resources. In 1996 China and Myanmar became dialogue partners of the MRC, the extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a trade route between western China and Southeast Asia. The English name Mekong derives from a form of Thai. In Thai and Lao, mae nam is used for any major river, as such, Thai and Lao locals often refer to it in English as the River Khong. In Khmer, Mékôngk is itself glossed as mother of water, from mé and taking kôngk as a form of kôngkea. The local names for the river include, Burmese, မဲခေါင်မြစ်, IPA, Chinese, 加果空桑贡玛曲, 扎那曲 and 扎曲 Zā Qū, upper reaches, 澜沧江, 瀾滄江 Láncāng Jiāng, middle and lower reaches, Khmer, មេគង្គ Mékôngk, ទន្លេមេគង្គ Tônlé Mékôngk, ទន្លេធំ Tônlé Thum. Tai of Sipsong Panna, น้ำแม่ของ, น้ำของ, the Mekong Basin has one of the worlds largest and most productive inland fisheries. An estimated two million tonnes of fish are landed a year, in addition to almost 500,000 tonnes of aquatic animals. Aquaculture yields about two tonnes of fish a year. Hence, the lower Mekong basin yields about 4.5 million tonnes of fish, the total economic value of the fishery is between US$3.9 and US$7 billion a year. Wild capture fisheries alone have been valued at US$2 billion a year and this value increases considerably when the multiplier effect is included, but estimates vary widely. An estimated 2.56 million tonnes of fish and other aquatic animals are consumed in the lower Mekong every year. Aquatic resources make up between 47 and 80 percent of protein in rural diets for people who live in the Lower Mekong Basin. Fish are the cheapest source of protein in the region and any decline in the fishery is likely to significantly impact nutrition. Fisheries contribute significantly to a diversified livelihood strategy for many people, particularly the poor and they provide a principal form of income for numerous people and act as a safety net and coping strategy in times of poor agricultural harvests or other difficulties
23.
Kota Bharu
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Kota Bharu is a city in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is also the name of the territory or district in which Kota Bharu City is situated, the name means new city or new castle/fort in Malay. Kota Bharu is situated in the part of Peninsular Malaysia. The northeastern Malaysian city is close to the Thailand border, Kota Bharu is home to many mosques, various museums, the unique architecture of the old royal palaces and former royal buildings in the centre of town. Kota Bharu was founded during the late 19th century, prior to this, Kota Bharu was known as Kuala Kelantan. Before Kota Bharu assumed the role, the Kelantanese capital was divided into two which were Kota Kubang Labu and Kota Pengkalan Datu. During the 19th century, Kelantan was a prosperous and populous state which holds a population of around 30,000 to 50,000 people including a thousands of Chinese. One of the production from the state are gold, tin ore, black pepper, areca nut, rice, rattan, bamboo, agarwood, Kota Bharu act as entepot for goods due to its strategic location on the beside the Kelantan River. Besides that, there are also minority Tamil, Siamese and Orang Asli that resides in the city, the total population of Kota Bharu as at 2010 is 491,237. Ranking Population Kota Bharu District Kota Bharus population is 70% Muslim with the remainder consisting of Buddhists, the indigenous peoples that reside in the citys outskirts are generally practicing Christians. The predominantly urban local Chinese community mainly practices Buddhism, morality police are common and apprehend people who engaged in acts perceived as immoral. The Jawi script is used in names and restaurants. Social activities that do not contradict Islamic norms are allowed, government offices and many stores are closed on Fridays and Saturdays, but the vibrant markets remain open except for Islamic prayer times. The conservative Kelantanese state government under PAS has implemented some Islamic laws, however, these regulations apply only to Muslims. The Kota Bharu Municipal Council, the government authority, discourages the use of indecent attire by female employees in retail outlets and restaurants. Those who are caught for dressing indecently may be fined up to RM500, the definition of indecent dressing includes body hugging outfits which show off the body, blouses which show the navel, see through blouses, mini-skirts and tight pants. The Kelantanese culture is influenced by Thai culture because of its geographical proximity to Thailand. The Chinese are much more assimilated to local culture than those in parts of Malaysia
24.
Salinity
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Salinity is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water. This is usually measured in g salt k g sea water, a contour line of constant salinity is called an isohaline – or sometimes isohale. Salinity in rivers, lakes, and the ocean is conceptually simple, conceptually the salinity is the quantity of dissolved salt content of the water. Salts are compounds like sodium chloride, magnesium sulfate, potassium nitrate, the concentration of dissolved chloride ions is sometimes referred to as chlorinity. Operationally, dissolved matter is defined as that which can pass through a fine filter. Salinity can be expressed in the form of a mass fraction, Seawater typically has a mass salinity of around 35 g/kg, although lower values are typical near coasts where rivers enter the ocean. Rivers and lakes can have a range of salinities, from less than 0.01 g/kg to a few g/kg. The Dead Sea has a salinity of more than 200 g/kg, whatever pore size is used in the definition, the resulting salinity value of a given sample of natural water will not vary by more than a few percent. A bottled seawater product known as IAPSO Standard Seawater is used by oceanographers to standardize their measurements with enough precision to meet this requirement, measurement and definition difficulties arise because natural waters contain a complex mixture of many different elements from different sources in different molecular forms. The chemical properties of some of these depend on temperature and pressure. Many of these forms are difficult to measure with high accuracy, different practical definitions of salinity result from different attempts to account for these problems, to different levels of precision, while still remaining reasonably easy to use. For many purposes this sum can be limited to a set of eight major ions in natural waters, the major ions dominate the inorganic composition of most natural waters. Exceptions include some pit lakes and waters from some hydrothermal springs, the concentrations of dissolved gases like oxygen and nitrogen are not usually included in descriptions of salinity. However, carbon dioxide gas, which when dissolved is partially converted into carbonates and bicarbonates, is often included. Silicon in the form of acid, which usually appears as a neutral molecule in the pH range of most natural waters. The term salinity is, for oceanographers, usually associated with one of a set of measurement techniques. As the dominant techniques evolve, so do different descriptions of salinity, the distinctions between these different descriptions are important to physical oceanographers but are obscure and confusing to nonspecialists. Salinities were largely measured using titration-based techniques before the 1980s, titration with silver nitrate could be used to determine the concentration of halide ions to give a chlorinity
25.
Sediment
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For sediment in beverages, see dregs. For example, sand and silt can be carried in suspension in water and on reaching the sea be deposited by sedimentation. Sediments are most often transported by water, but also wind, beach sands and river channel deposits are examples of fluvial transport and deposition, though sediment also often settles out of slow-moving or standing water in lakes and oceans. Desert sand dunes and loess are examples of transport and deposition. Glacial moraine deposits and till are ice-transported sediments, sediment can be classified based on its grain size and/or its composition. Sediment size is measured on a log base 2 scale, called the Phi scale, composition of sediment can be measured in terms of, parent rock lithology mineral composition chemical make-up. This leads to an ambiguity in which clay can be used as both a size-range and a composition, sediment is transported based on the strength of the flow that carries it and its own size, volume, density, and shape. Stronger flows will increase the lift and drag on the particle, causing it to rise, rivers and streams carry sediment in their flows. This sediment can be in a variety of locations within the flow and these relationships are shown in the following table for the Rouse number, which is a ratio of sediment fall velocity to upwards velocity. If the upwards velocity is less than the settling velocity, but still high enough for the sediment to move, it will move along the bed as bed load by rolling, sliding. If the upwards velocity is higher than the velocity, the sediment will be transported high in the flow as wash load. As there are generally a range of different particle sizes in the flow, sediment motion can create self-organized structures such as ripples, dunes, antidunes on the river or stream bed. These bedforms are often preserved in rocks and can be used to estimate the direction. Overland flow can erode soil particles and transport them downslope, the erosion associated with overland flow may occur through different methods depending on meteorological and flow conditions. If the initial impact of rain droplets dislodges soil, the phenomenon is called rainsplash erosion, if overland flow is directly responsible for sediment entrainment but does not form gullies, it is called sheet erosion. If the flow and the substrate permit channelization, gullies may form, glaciers carry a wide range of sediment sizes, and deposit it in moraines. The overall balance between sediment in transport and sediment being deposited on the bed is given by the Exner equation and this expression states that the rate of increase in bed elevation due to deposition is proportional to the amount of sediment that falls out of the flow. This can be localized, and simply due to obstacles, examples are scour holes behind boulders, where flow accelerates
26.
Tha Chin River
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The Tha Chin river is a distributary of the Chao Phraya river, Thailand. It splits near the province of Chai Nat and then flows west from the Chao Phraya through the central plains, the Tha Chin river has many regional names. After it splits from Chao Phraya river at Chai Nat, it is called Makham Thao River, while passing Suphan Buri it is the Suphan River, only near its mouth at Samut Sakhon does it become the Tha Chin River, named after the former name of Samut Sakhon. The name Tha Chin is the used in most scientific documents. Tributaries of the Tha Chin include the Kra Sieo, Yang, Tawip, Chorakhe Sam, Bang Len, the Tha Chin drains a total area of 13,681 square kilometers. The Tha Chin Basin is part of the Chao Phraya Watershed, the Thai Pollution Control Department has reported that the water quality of rivers flowing into the upper Gulf of Thailand has seriously deteriorated in the past decade. The department found the Tha Chin estuary contains bacteria and nutrient pollution from phosphates, phosphorus, nutrient pollution causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, harming water quality, food resources for aquatic animals, and marine habitats. It also decreases the oxygen that fish need to survive, PCD rated water quality in the river in 2015 as poor. The PCD findings indicated large amounts of wastewater were discharged into the river from households, industry, and agriculture
27.
Mae Klong
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The Mae Klong, sometimes spelled Mae Khlong or Meklong, is a river in western Thailand. In the 1960s the upper stretch of the river to the town of Kanchanaburi was renamed Khwae Yai, as the famous Bridge on the River Kwai spanned the Mae Klong and not the Khwae river. However the actual origin of the river is in the Tenasserim Hills, an early portion of Khwae Yai River in Amphoe Umphang, Tak Province is also called Klong River. It becomes known as Khwae Yai River when it flows into Kanchanaburi Province and it feeds the giant Umphang Thee Lor Sue Waterfall in its upper reaches. Giant freshwater stingrays have inhabited the river for years, a sudden die-off of 45 animals in September 2016 may threaten them with local extinction. Authorities suspected that pollution was the cause of the die-off and it was later attributed to molasses waste water which leaked from a sugar/ethanol factory in Ban Pong District of Ratchaburi Province on 30 September that continued until 7 October. High levels of ammonia killed the animals. The waste water was have been reused by farms and not discharged into the environment, the Pollution Control Department will sue Rajburi Ethanol Co for allowing molasses wastewater to leak. Maeklong River - FishSiam. com The Life at Mae Klong River Thailand
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Bandon Bay
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Bandon Bay is a bay in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani Province, extending from the Sui cape in Chaiya District in the northwest to Kanchanadit District to the east. The total coastline is about 100 km, the bay is dominated by the estuary of the rivers Tapi and Phum Duang. The islands of Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao enclose the bay on its eastern side, the bay is relatively shallow, with water depths ranging from one to five meters. Along the coast are mudflats owing to the rate of sedimentation, which were naturally overgrown with mangroves
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Kelantan River
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The Kelantan River is the major river in Kelantan, Malaysia. It drains a catchment area of about 11900 km² in north-east Malaysia including part of the Taman Negara National Park, the rainfall over the area varies between 0 mm in the dry season to 1750 mm in the monsoon season. The average runoff from the area is about 500 m³/s, the same naming convention applies to these tributaries. Thus to describe the river from source to mouth involves four names, the River Betis, then the River Nenggiri, then the River Galas. The river tributaries rise in the mountains where many Orang Asli tribes live. The area is known for its limestone outcrops and caves, along the River Nenggeri section some cave systems show evidence of habitation going back 9000 years, such as Gua Cha near Kuala Betis. The river flows past four important towns, Pasir Mas, Tumpat, Kuala Krai and the state capital Kota Bharu, towards the estuary there are several islands in the river. The area around the estuary, known as Kuala Besar, is dotted with picturesque fishing villages. The Kelantan River regularly overspills its banks during the months of November to February because of the northeast monsoon season, the estimate flood volume under the 50 year flood condition at Kusial Bridge is about 6 billion m3. Severe flooding occurred in 1926 and 1967, in the 1967 floods 84% of the Kelantan population were badly affected. Some 125,000 people were evacuated and 38 drowned, more recently a telemetric flood forecasting system has been installed to give warning of high river levels
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Oceanic basin
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In hydrology, an oceanic basin may be anywhere on Earth that is covered by seawater, but geologically ocean basins are large geologic basins that are below sea level. Older references consider the oceanic basins to be the complement to the continents, with dominating the latter. Earth is the known planet in the solar system where hypsography is characterized by different kinds of crust, oceanic crust. Oceans cover 70% of the Earths surface, because oceans lie lower than continents, the former serve as sedimentary basins that collect sediment eroded from the continents, known as clastic sediments, as well as precipitation sediments. Ocean basins also serve as repositories for the skeletons of carbonate- and silica-secreting organisms such as reefs, diatoms, radiolarians. Geologically, a basin may be actively changing size or may be relatively, tectonically inactive. The elements of an active - and growing - oceanic basin include an elevated mid-ocean ridge, the elements of an active oceanic basin often include the oceanic trench associated with a subduction zone. The Atlantic ocean and the Arctic ocean are good examples of active, growing oceanic basins, the Pacific Ocean is also an active, shrinking oceanic basin, even though it has both spreading ridge and oceanic trenches. Perhaps the best example of an oceanic basin is the Gulf of Mexico. The Aleutian Basin is another example of an inactive oceanic basin. The Japan Basin in the Sea of Japan which formed in the Miocene, is still active although recent changes have been relatively mild. List of abyssal plains and oceanic basins List of oceanic landforms Solid Earth Wright, John et al
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Ocean current
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Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a currents direction and strength. Therefore ocean currents are primarily horizontal water movements, Ocean currents flow for great distances, and together, create the global conveyor belt which plays a dominant role in determining the climate of many of the Earth’s regions. More specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the regions through which they travel, for example, warm currents traveling along more temperate coasts increase the temperature of the area by warming the sea breezes that blow over them. Perhaps the most striking example is the Gulf Stream, which makes northwest Europe much more temperate than any region at the same latitude. Another example is Lima, Peru where the climate is cooler than the tropical latitudes in which the area is located, in these wind driven currents, the Ekman spiral effect results in the currents flowing at an angle to the driving winds. In addition, the areas of ocean currents move somewhat with the seasons. Deep ocean basins generally have a surface current, in that the eastern equatorward-flowing branch is broad. These western boundary currents are a consequence of the rotation of the Earth, Deep ocean currents are driven by density and temperature gradients. Thermohaline circulation is known as the oceans conveyor belt. These currents, called submarine rivers, flow under the surface of the ocean and are hidden from immediate detection, where significant vertical movement of ocean currents is observed, this is known as upwelling and downwelling. Deep ocean currents are currently being researched using a fleet of robots called Argo. The South Equatorial Currents of the Atlantic and Pacific straddle the equator, though the Coriolis effect is weak near the equator, water moving in the currents on either side of the equator is deflected slightly poleward and replaced by deeper water. Thus, equatorial upwelling occurs in these westward flowing equatorial surface currents, upwelling is an important process because this water from within and below the pycnocline is often rich in nutrients and greatly benefits the growth of marine organisms. By contrast, generally poor conditions for growth prevail in most of the tropical ocean because strong layering isolates deep. Ocean currents are measured in sverdrup, where 1 sv is equivalent to a flow rate of 1,000,000 m3 per second. Surface currents are found on the surface of an ocean, and are driven by large scale wind currents and they are directly affected by the wind—the Coriolis effect plays a role in their behaviors. Horizontal and vertical currents also exist below the pycnocline in the deeper waters. The movement of water due to differences in density as a function of water temperature, ripple marks in sediments, scour lines, and the erosion of rocky outcrops on deep-ocean floors are evidence that relatively strong, localized bottom currents exist
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Prachuap Bay
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Prachuap Bay is a bay in the western side of the Gulf of Siam or Gulf of Thailand. It is located in Prachuap Khiri Khan town, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, Prachuap Bay lies north of Ao Manao. It is open towards the east and is bound by limestone outcrops forming peninsulas to the north, at Khao Ta Mong Lai. There are four islands in the bay area, Ko Lak, Ko La and Ko Rom located towards the end of the mouth of the bay. Ko Lak Island in Prachuap Bay was the center of administration of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. West Coast Islands Media related to Prachuap Bay at Wikimedia Commons Prachuap Khiri Khan - Lonely Planet
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Ao Manao
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Ao Manao, meaning Lime Bay, is a bay in the west side of the Gulf of Thailand. It is five kilometres to the south of Prachuap Khiri Khan in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, the bay lies south of Prachuap Bay. It is open towards the east and is bounded by steep limestone outcrops forming peninsulas to the north and to the south. There are two islands in the bay, Ko Lueam about 3.6 km offshore, and smaller Ko Aen, Ao Manao has a good beach which is a popular tourist destination. It can be reached by road through the Wing 5 Royal Thai Air Force base, battle of Prachuap Khiri Khan List of islands of Thailand Prachuap Khiri Khan travel guide from Wikivoyage Media related to Ao Manao at Wikimedia Commons
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Sattahip Bay
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Sattahip Bay is a bay in the eastern side of the Gulf of Siam or Gulf of Thailand. It is located in Sattahip District, Chonburi Province, Thailand, prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, son of King Chulalongkorn, inspected Sattahip Bay in 1922 and saw that it was an ideal place to establish a Naval base. Nowadays the Bay is part of the Sattahip Naval Base area, occasionally Sattahip Bay has been invaded by jellyfish. Much to their chagrin, the Thai Navy is often referred to as the Jellyfish Patrol, Sattahip Bay lies at the southern end of Chonburi Province. It is open towards the southwest and is bound by limestone rock formations forming peninsulas to the west over Laem Chalak, there are several islands in the bay area, the largest being Ko Tao Mo, located towards the western end of the mouth of the bay. Smaller Ko I Lao is the island located further off the shore, list of islands of Thailand Media related to Sattahip Bay at Wikimedia Commons Sattahip Bay view
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Ko Chang District
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Koh Chang is an amphoe in Trat Province, Thailand. It is on the Gulf of Thailands eastern seaboard,310 km from Bangkok and it is the countrys third largest island, after Phuket and Ko Samui, and the largest island in the Mu Koh Chang National Park archipelago. The name means Elephant Island, and comes from its elephant-shaped headland, despite the presence of elephants on the island, they are not indigenous. At present, there are nine villages on the island, prior to World War II, Koh Chang was little known. During this period, the few families there made a living growing coconuts, Koh Chang is part of an archipelago of 51 islands, and is approximately 30 km long by 14 km, wide with a total area of 429 km². It is part of the Mu Koh Chang National Park, which covers an area of 650 km² and it is a mountainous island, with Khao Salak Phet being the highest peak at 744 metres. The island is known for waterfalls, thriving coral reefs. The main settlements on the west coast are around Sai Khao, Hat Kai Mook, Hat Kai Bae, Ban Klong Prao, the islands administrative centre is Ban Dan Mai on the east coast. Koh Chang is home to populations of the macaque, the small Indian civet, the small Asian mongoose,61 bird species. The Koh Chang frog was thought to be an endemic species. The island forms a district in the province of Trat and it was formed on 30 April 1994, when it was split off from Laem Ngop District, at first being classed as a minor district. Following a decision of the Thai government on 15 May 2007, with its publication in the Royal Gazette on 24 August, the upgrade became official. Ko Chang District is subdivided into two subdistricts, which are further subdivided nine villages, a. )Koh Chang, consisting of four villages with 3,010 inhabitants, Ban Khlong Nonsi Ban Dan Mai Ban Khlong Son Ban Khlong Phrao b. )Koh Chang Tai, consisting of five villages with 2,346 inhabitants, Bang Bao Ban Salak Phet Ban Chek Bae Ban Salak Khok Ban Salak Phet Nuea Koh Chang has no airport. The nearest airport is Trat Airport located 17km from the Ao Thammachat Koh Chang ferry terminal on the mainland, a minibus service runs from the airport to hotels on Koh Chang. There are two roads on Koh Chang, running the length of the east and west coasts. Both roads start at Ao Sapparot in the north, near the ferry piers, shorter roads branch out to Ploytalay Resort and Keereephet, Khlong Nueng, and Klong Phu waterfalls. Songthaew operate on the two roads, providing both public transport and taxi services. This is the form of public transport on the island
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Ko Mak
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Ko Mak is a small island of Trat Province, Thailand. The island is named after the Areca nut, the first settler on the island was Chao Sua Seng, a Chinese Affairs Officer during the reign of King Rama V, who established a coconut plantation. He then sold the plantation to Luang Prompakdii, also a Chinese Affairs Officer whose descendants still own the land to this day. Luang Prompakdii and his children are known to have established more coconut and rubber plantations, the first attempt at attracting a tourism market was in 1974, when bungalows were built at Ban Ao Nid on the east of the island. Infrastructure, specifically transport and telecommunications were in their early stages and as a result, by 1987 certain beaches and land were cleared and the first resorts were built. Originally the area of the Ko Kut district was part of the subdistrict Ko Chang, in 1952 the subdistrict Ko Mak was established covering the whole island, at that time subdivided into 4 villages. In 1980 three villages of Ko Mak were split off to create the subdistrict Ko Kut, on 1 April 1990 the government upgraded tambon Ko Kut together with tambon Ko Mak to a minor district. Following a decision of the Thai government on 15 May 2007, with the publishing in the Royal Gazette on 24 August the upgrade became official. As local government entities the two Tambon administrative organizations were created in 2003 and 2004 respectively, the Tambon Council Ko Kut was upgraded to a TAO in 2003, and for Ko Mak in 2004. The island of Ko Mak is in the east of the Gulf of Thailand,35 kilometers from the mainland, with an area of 16 square kilometers, Ko Mak has 27 km of coastline, many long sandy beaches, and a few hills. The island is home to approximately 800 locals and renowned for its beautiful beaches, Ko Mak has a temple, a primary school,3 fishing villages, a market, and a health center. It is possible to walk to Ko Kham, an island less than 1 km northwest of Ko Mak during low tide. Ko Mak forms part of the Ko Kut District, the district is subdivided into 2 subdistricts, which are further subdivided into 8 villages. There are 2 Tambon administrative organizations, one for each subdistrict, Ko Mak is popular with tourists for its white sandy beaches and clear blue water. The island is small and flat with coconut plantations and mangrove vegetation along the coastline, there are approximately 25 resorts on Ko Mak. Both Ko Kham and Ko Phi can easily be reached with sea kayak or boat rental from the resorts on the northwest coast and are renowned snorkeling destinations, list of islands of Thailand Ko Mak travel guide from Wikivoyage Koh Mak Guide - Island information from expat resident
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Ko Kut District
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Ko Kut is a district of Trat Province, eastern Thailand, consisting of a group of islands. With a population of about 2000 it is the district with the lowest population of all Thailand, originally the area of the district was part of the subdistrict Ko Chang, Laem Ngop district. In 1952 the subdistrict Ko Mak was established covering the whole island, in 1980 three villages of Ko Mak were split off to create the subdistrict Ko Kut. On April 1,1990 the government upgraded tambon Ko Kut together with tambon Ko Mak to a minor district, following a decision of the Thai government on May 15,2007, all of the 81 minor districts were to be upgraded to full districts. With the publishing in the Royal Gazette on August 24 the upgrade became official, as local government entities the two Tambon administrative organizations were created in 2003 and 2004 respectively. The Tambon Council Ko Kut was upgraded to a TAO in 2003 and it is a major island ringed by sleepy seaside villages and coconut plantations. It is about 60 minutes from the mainland by speedboat, Kut Island has limited infrastructure and hence is not as popular as nearby Ko Chang. Several resorts on the islands cater to tourists who prefer a quiet, the island has great beaches and is a great spot to get away from the tourists. The district is subdivided into two subdistricts, which are subdivided into eight villages. There are two Tambon administrative organizations, one for each subdistrict, Ko Kut travel guide from Wikivoyage amphoe. com
listen), "Thai Gulf") and "Gulf of Thailand" has been adopted as the official name of the body by the International Hydrographic Organization.[5][when?] Its name in Malay and Khmer continues to be the "Gulf of Siam", Teluk Siam and Khmer: ឈូងសមុទ្រសៀម, Chhoung Samut Siem, respectively. In Thai, the gulf is historically known as Ao Sayam (Thai: อ่าวสยาม).[6] In Vietnamese it is known as Vịnh Thái Lan.
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