They divide into two parallel channels, the Mekong River proper and the Bassac River, and flow independently through the delta areas of Cambodia and Vietnam to the South China Sea. [53][54][55], Ethnically diverse They are nesting - and migratory sites for hundreds of bird species. The Lake functions as a natural flood water reservoir for the Mekong system as a whole and therefore is an important source of water for the Mekong Delta during the dry season. This eastwest-trending range extends from the Mekong River westward for approximately 320km (200mi), merging with the highland area near San Kamphaeng, Thailand. In summer, moisture-laden airthe southwest monsoonis drawn landward from the Indian Ocean. The flow is reversed during the winter, and the northeast monsoon sends back dry air. [92] The ecosystem has developed as a result of the Mekongs seasonal flow fluctuations.[93]. Inflow starts in May/June with maximum rates of flow of around 10,000 m3/s by late August and ends in October/November, amplified by precipitation of the annual monsoon. [20], The central plains consist mainly of Quaternary sands, loam and clay, as most of the northern mountain regions and the coastal region are largely composed of Cretaceous granite, Triassic stones and Jurassic sandstone formations.[21][22]. 200nmi (230.2mi; 370.4km), Elevation extremes:
"[108], Cambodia is home to a wide array of wildlife. Rainfall around the basin increases with elevation. Wild tigers, Eld's deer, wild water buffaloes and hog deer are at critically low numbers. Mesozoic sandstone dominates most of the basement geology in Cambodia and hence has a dominating influence on the properties of upland soils. [118], Cambodia's boundaries were for the most part based upon those recognized by France and by neighboring countries during the colonial period. Cambodia is divided into 25 provinces including the capital. The complex geological, topographic and climatic ( rainfall and temperature ) facets that characterize the region make forest structure and composition unique and very variable. kerrii dominate.
The Cardamom Mountains form - including the north-western part of Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, the 'Soi Dao Mountains' - the Cardamom Mountains Moist Forests Ecoregion, that is considered to be one of the most species-rich and intact natural habitats in the region. Web: "Climatological Information for Phnom Penh, Cambodia", Maximum temperatures of higher than 32C (90F), however, are common and, just before the start of the rainy season, they may rise to more than 38C (100F). 176,515km2 (68,152.8sqmi) The flow of water into the Tonle Sap is seasonal. The meadows are highly productive, but few animals feed directly on the grasses. [108] The most pristine mangrove forests are found in Koh Kong Province. The 541km (336mi) border with Laos and the 1,228km (763mi) border with Vietnam result from French administrative decisions and do not follow major natural features. Local people, however, tended to use the forest's sustainability, for food, fuel, medicine, building materials, and other basic needs. In spring, the flow of the Mekong River, fed by monsoon rains, increases to a point where its outlets through the delta can't handle the enormous volume of water. The districts and municipalities in turn are further divided into communes (khum) and quarters (sangkat). 200nmi (230.2mi; 370.4km) [102], Wetlands cover more than 30% of Cambodia. Located in southeast Asia, Cambodia is bordered by Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and, along its coast, the Gulf of Thailand. The country is dominated by a central lowland, where much of the population is situated. This includes the Tonl Sap basin, which is the largest saltwater lake in southeast Asia, and its surrounding swamp forests; the lower Mekong River floodplains and the Bassac River plain. These are the principle wetlands that cover around 30% of the country (while forest and woodland cover an estimated 62% of the land). All of which is surrounded by mountains ranges. In the south-west the country stretches to a long coast where you find sizable mangrove marshes, peninsulas, sandy beaches and headlands and bays and offshore around 50 islands are included in the countrys territorial waters.
The Cardamom and Elephant Mountains remain to be fully researched and documented. To the east the rivers flow into the Tonle Sap, as in the south-west rivers flow into the Gulf of Thailand. [16] The Indo-Sinian orogeny was followed by extension of the Indo-Chinese block, the formation of rift basins and thermal subsidence during the early Triassic. Subsequent oil and gas discoveries in the Gulf of Thailand and in the South China Sea, however, could spark renewed interest in Cambodia's offshore area, especially because the country is on the same continental shelf as its Southeast Asian oil-producing neighbors.[128]. There are 212 mammal species, 536 bird species, 176 reptile species (including 89 subspecies), 850 freshwater fish species (Tonl Sap Lake area), and 435 marine fish species. The provinces are subdivided into 159 districts and 26 municipalities. continental shelf: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): "Environmental and natural resources in Cambodia are threatened by short-sighted over-exploitation on an increasing and threatening scale. The annual monsoon coincides to cease around this time of the year. [43][44][45][46], Chur Phnum Dmrei - A north-south-trending range of high hills, an extension of the Cardamom/Krvanh Mountains, in south-eastern Cambodia, rising to elevations of between 500 and 1,000 meters. highest point: The region is covered in dry evergreen forest, mixed dipterocarp forest, and deciduous dipterocarp forests.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Montego Bay, 10 December 1982", Ministry of Land Management Urban Planning and Construction, Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, An Assessment of Cambodias Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Law, National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change (NAPA), Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geography_of_Cambodia&oldid=1098574096, Articles with dead external links from August 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Natural parks (sometimes described as national parks), Protected scenic view areas (sometimes described as protected landscapes), Tarrietia javanica Sawnwood (decorative, furniture), gem mining in the western region along the border with, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries, illegal fishing and over-fishing, large scale sand mining in river beds and estuaries of Koh Kong's mangrove marshes affects tidal balance, This page was last edited on 16 July 2022, at 13:42. Highlands to the north-east and to the east merge into the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta lowlands of Vietnam. As the level of the Tonle Sap retreats, it deposits a new layer of sediment. As the Mekong enters Cambodia (over 95% of its waters have already joined the river) it widens and inundates large areas. "[133], A nascent environmental movement has been noticed by NGO's - and it is gaining strength, as the example of local resistance against the building of a Chinese hydro-electric dam in the Areng Valley shows.[139]. [sic]"[96], On higher quality soils or at higher elevation, areas of mixed deciduous forest and semi-evergreen forests[97] occur. [7][8], Two third of the country's population live in the lowlands, where the rich sediment deposited during the Mekong's annual flooding makes the agricultural lands highly fertile. Cambodia's low mountain ranges - representing the walls of the bowl - remain as the result of only rather recent substantial infrastructural development and economic exploitation - in particular in remote areas - formidably forested. The mean annual reverse flow volume in the Tonle Sap is 30km3 (7.2cumi), or about half of the maximum lake volume. Temperatures are fairly uniform throughout the Tonl Sap Basin area, with only small variations from the average annual mean of around 25C (77.0F). [17][18][19], The Indochina continental block, which is separated from the South China Block by the Jinshajiang-Ailaoshan Suture zone, is an amalgamation of the Viet-Lao, Khorat-Kontum, Uttaradit (UTD), and Chiang Mai-West Kachin terranes, all of which are separated by suture zones or ductile shear zones. 4,520km2 (1,745.2sqmi), Maritime claims: May is the warmest month - although strongly influenced by the beginning of the wet season, as the area constitutes the easternmost fringe of the south-west monsoon.
Intensive poaching may have already driven Cambodia's national animal, the Kouprey, to extinction. This region represents the eastern parts of the original extent of the wet evergreen forests that cover the Cardamom - and Elephant Mountains in South-West Cambodia and along the mountains east of Bangkok in Thailand. Direct rainfall on the lake and the other rivers in the sub-basin contribute the remaining 38%. ], is remarkably rich in biodiversity. Cambodia is party to the following treaties: Southern Annamites Montane Rain Forests ecoregion. In addition to mangroves, sea-grass beds extend throughout the coastal areas, especially in Kampot Province, the Sihanoukville Bay Delta and the Kep municipal waters. Cambodia's territorial waters account for over 50 islands. As humans preferably settle in these fertile and easily accessible central lowlands, major transformations and widespread cultivation through wet-rice agriculture have over the centuries shaped the landscape into distinctive regional cultivated lands.[25][26]. [103] The areas extensive wetland habitats are the product of the annual Mekong maximum, the simultaneous wet season and the drainage paths of a number of minor rivers. This eco-region contains some of the last relatively intact moist forests in Indochina.
Low fertility and toxic amounts of aluminium pose limitations to its agricultural use, crops that can be successfully cultivated include rubber tree, oil palm, coffee and sugar cane. water: Tree species like Pterocarpus macrocarpus, Shorea siamensis and Xylia xylocarpa var. Its highest point is 761m (2,497ft). [89][90][91] Teri maa ka bhosda. This variety of vegetation types accounts for the quantity and diversity of species of the Great Lake ecosystem. [51] Forest fires are common during the dry season. [41], The densely wooded hills receive rainfall of 3,000 to 5,000mm (120 to 200in) annually on their western slopes (which are subject to the South-West monsoons) but only 1,020 to 1,520mm (40 to 60in) on their eastern - rain shadow - slopes. [35], The plains of the Mekong and Tonle Sap basin are confined in the North by the Dangrek and Central Annamite Mountains, and to the South by the Cardamom Mountains and Elephant Mountains.
[32] The Acrisols are the most prevalent soil group occupying the lowlands - nearly half of the land area of Cambodia.
[65] in January, the coldest month. The Southern Annamites Montane Rain Forests ecoregion of the montane forests of Kontuey Nea, "the dragon's tail" in the remote north-west of Cambodia, where the boundaries of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam meet [this is in the northeast, not the northwest? Mean annual temperatures are about 20C (68F). Extending 110km (68mi) north from the Gulf of Thailand, they reach a high point in the Bok Ko ridge at Mount Bokor 1,081m (3,547ft) near the sea.[47][48][49][50].
Hong Kong Observatory, 2003. Smaller rivers in the southeast, the Cardamom Mountains and Elephant Range form separate drainage divides. land: Arenosols (sandy soils featuring very weak or no soil development) are mapped on only 1.6% of the land area. In November the lake reaches its maximum size. However, concerns that the lake is rapidly filling with sediment seem - according to studies[101] - to be unfounded at the present time. 181,035km2 (69,898.0sqmi) A forested range of hills averaging 450 to 600m (1,480 to 1,970ft), dividing Thailand from Cambodia, mainly formed of massive sandstone with slate and silt. [9][10][11][12][13], The majority of the country lies within the Tropical savanna climate zone, as the coastal areas in the South and West receive noticeably more and steady rain before and during the wet season. [2][3], Cambodia's main geographical features are the low lying Central Plain that includes the Tonl Sap basin, the lower Mekong River flood-plains and the Bassac River plain surrounded by mountain ranges to the north, east, in the south-west and south. Web: "Climatological Information for Senmonorom, Mondulkiri, Cambodia",
Rainfall from April to September in the Tonl Sap Basin-Mekong Lowlands area averages 1,300 to 1,500mm (51.2 to 59.1in) annually, but the amount varies considerably from year to year. Countrywide there are two seasons of relatively equal length, defined by varying precipitation as temperatures and humidity are generally high and steady throughout the entire year. This figure rose to 45,000km2 (17,000sqmi) during 2000 when some of the worst flood conditions recorded caused over 800 deaths in Cambodia and Vietnam. The Tonle Sap, also known as the Great Lake in central Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and one of the richest inland fishing grounds in the world. During the dry season daytime humidity rates average around 50 percent or slightly lower, climbing to about 90% during the rainy season.
Interlocking forest, - grassland and marshland patches provide the many facets and refugia for the abundant local wildlife. "[33], The vast alluvial and lacustrine interconnected Cambodian flood-plain is a geologically relatively recent depression where the sediments of the Mekong and its tributaries accumulate as waters are subject to frequent course changes. They include 23 in Koh Kong province, 2 in Kampot province, 22 in Sihanoukville and 13 in Kep city. [83][84], According to the Forestry Administration statistics, a total of 380,000 hectares of forest were cleared between 2002 and 2005/2006 - a deforestation rate of 0.5% per year. Henri Mouhot: "Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China" 1864, "During more than five months of the year, the great lake of Cambodia, Touli-Sap, covers an immense space of ground: after that period there is a diminution in depth owing to the great evaporation, but its width remains nearly unaltered. At this point, the water pushes northward up the Tonle Sap river and empties into the Tonle Sap lake, thereby increasing the size of the lake from about 2,590km2 (1,000sqmi) to about 24,605km2 (9,500sqmi) at the height of the flooding. [42], Occupying Koh Kong Province and Kampong Speu Province, running in a north-western to south-eastern direction and rising to more than 1,500m (4,900ft). Moisture-laden monsoon winds, that blow in from the Gulf of Tonkin ensure permanent high air humidity. See also:Geography of Cambodia#Hydrology The numerous and varied wetlands are Cambodia's central and traditional settlement area, the productive environments for rice cultivation, freshwater fisheries, other forms of agriculture and aquaculture and the constantly growing tourism sector. The trees offer refuge and nursery grounds for fish, crabs, shrimp, and mollusks. The Mekong's waters disperse into the surrounding wetlands of central Cambodia and strongly affect the seasonal nature of the Tonl Sap lake. The capital (reach thani) and provinces (khaet) of Cambodia are first-level administrative divisions.
