Thailand has a total land area of 513,120 square kilometers and a population of over 69 million people. It is located in Southeast Asia and divided into four main geographic regions - the Central Plain, Northeastern Plateau, Northern Highlands, and Peninsular Thailand. The climate is tropical and influenced by monsoon seasons, with high temperatures and rainfall throughout the year. Major rivers include the Chao Phraya and Mekong Rivers. Thailand experiences frequent natural disasters like floods, droughts, fires and earthquakes due to its climate and geography.

1. Thailand

2. Region South-eastern Asia
Population 69183
Surface area (km2) 513120
Population Density (per km2, 2018 135.4
Sex ratio 95
Population in capital city (2018) 10156
Source: Thailand. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2019, from UN: http://data.un.org/en/iso/th.html
Introduction
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and formerly known as Siam, is a country
at the centre of the Southeast Asian Indochinese peninsula composed of 76 provinces.
Thailand is the world's 50th-largest country by total area and the 21st-most-populous
country. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, a special administrative area.

3. Geography of Thailand
Total Land area: 513 120 sq km
Thailand, which has about the same
land area as Spain or France, consists
of two broad geographic areas: a
larger main section in the north and a
smaller peninsular extension in the
south.
The main body of the country is
surrounded by Myanmar (Burma) to
the west, Laos to the north and east,
Cambodia to the southeast, and the
Gulf of Thailand to the south.
Peninsular Thailand stretches
southward from the southwestern
corner of the country along the eastern
edge of the Malay Peninsula;
Myanmar extends along the western
portion of the peninsula

4. Relief of Thailand
Thailand straddles the area between
two mountain systems: the Central
Cordillera and the Cordillera of
Annam – these are two of the four
systems that fan out southwards from
the Yunnan Knot.
The Central Cordillera gives Thailand
its mountains in the north and west,
and continues on into the Peninsular
South and Malaysia.
The Cordillera of Annam provides the
mountains east of Thailand, on the
boundary with Laos and beyond. The
wide depression between these two
mountain systems contains the alluvial
plains of the Chao Phraya and the
Khorat Plain or the Northeast Plateau.
Plate tectonic theory places Thailand
on an inner perimeter of the Southeast
Asia Plate, which is being compressed
from opposite directions by the Indian
Plate to its west and the Philippine
Plate to its east.

5. Relief of Thailand
Continuing plate movements exert
immense pressure and generate
intense heat, capable of transfiguring
the tranquil landscape and the
subterranean resources.
Based upon the precepts of structural
geology, Thailand is divided into four
domains:
- the folded belt of mountains in the
north, west, and south of the country;
- the folded belt of mountains east of
the Chao Phraya Plain, delimiting it
against the higher Khorat Plain and
continuing eastward to delineate lower
Kampuchea (Cambodia);
- the Korat Plain with two major
basins; and- the Chao Phraya alluvial
plain, with two major basins and a
southerly continuation into the Gulf of
Thailand. Moormann and
Rojanasoonthon (1968) divided
Thailand into six

6. Relief of Thailand
Thailand’s landscapes vary from low
mountains to fertile alluvial plains
dotted with rice paddies to sandy
beaches set amid the equatorial
latitudes of the Asian monsoons. The
country is divided into five distinct
physiographic regions:
1. The Central Plain.
2. Southeastern coast
3. Northeeastern Plateau
4. Central Highlands
5. North and west continental
Highlands
6. Peninsular Thailand

8. Central Plain
This region occupies the lower central
part of Thailand; it is bordered by hilly
areas to the east, north and west, and
by the Gulf of Thailand to the south.
The south-central part of the region is
occupied by the broad alluvial delta of
the Chao Phraya River system, and is
known as the Bangkok Plain.
The surface layers of the Bangkok
Plain are composed of recent and
semi-recent alluvial deposits
at least the lower reaches of these
terraces are found to be of marine
origin, but farther north they appear to
be mainly composed of overlapping
alluvial fans from the surrounding
highlands.
Isolated hills are scattered through the
marginal and northern parts of the
Central Plain.

9. Southeast Coast
This region is bordered to the north by
hills, to the south and west by the Gulf
of Thailand, and to the east by the
Banthat Range.
The east-central part of the region is
formed by dissected highlands, which
are a continuation of the Cardaman
Mountains of southwest Kampuchea.
Surrounding these highlands are
quaternary terraces, mainly of marine
origin, in the western and southern
part of the region.
Shallow terrace formations, probably
river deposited, are found in the
northern part of the region
Along the coast, however, small non-
connecting marine and brackish water
alluvial plains occur. A minor, but
nevertheless important, landscapein
this physiographic region is the
volcanic plateau, west of Chanthaburi
in the Thai. Mai district

10. Northeast Plateau
The Northeast Plateau is composed
mainly of the broad river terraces of
the Mekong and its tributaries.
This region is bordered to the west by
the hills and plateau of the Central
Highlands, and to the north and east
by the Mekong River.
The main landscape features are the
quaternary river terraces, of which
three important levels have been
recognized, i.e. the low, middle and
high terraces.
The low terrace is dominant in the
catchment area of the Mun River
system. The northern part of the
plateau is predominantly occupied by
middle terraces. Isolated remnants of
high terrace are found in many places
on the Northeast Plateau
Volcanic outcrops and cones are found
south of the Mun River.

11. Central Highlands
This region has a complex
physiography, including diverging
landscape elements such as hills,
plateaus, peneplains, and a number of
valleys, of which the Pa Sak River
Valley is the most important. The
Central Highlands are bordered to the
east by the Northeast Plateau and to
the west by the North and West
Continental Highlands, the Central
Plain, and the Southeast Coast.
The northern portion of the region is
mainly composed of hills and more or
less strongly incised plateau or
peneplains, found at varying levels
from approximately 1,200 to about
300 m. The middle portion of the
region is an area of low undulating
peneplains, interrupted by steep
limestone ridges and buttes.

12. Central Highlands
North of Chai Badan, an important
volcanic area is found, the central
hilly part of which is surrounded by
rolling to undulating terrains.
The southeastern portion of the
Central Highlands includes mainly
hilly lands with incised plateaus.

13. North and West Continental
Highlands
This region is usually subdivided into
two subregions, i.e. the western
mountains and the northern hills and
valleys. The western mountains
consist of part of the rugged Central
Cordillera along the Thai-Burma
border into the peninsula
Several sub-parallel ridges, divided by
narrow and deep valleys are
recognized.
The northern hills and valleys
constitute a region of parallel north-
south oriented hill ridges and high
plateaus, alternating with elongated
level-floored basins. In the western
part of the sub-region, most of the
land is hilly to mountainous, with
wide incised plateaus and with narrow
inter-montane valleys.

14. North and West Continental
Highlands
To the east, the valleys are relatively
more important; the main ones being
those of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,
Lampang, Phrae and Nan. Three larger
steep limestone areas and a number of
craggy limestone ridges are found in
the hilly parts

15. Peninsular Thailand
This region is characterized by a number
of distinct ranges of hills and mountains
en echelon. The two principal ones are
the Phuket range on the west of the
Peninsula, and the Nakhon Si Thammarat
range, and continuing into Malaysia,
west of Padang Besar.
The landscape between the main ranges
is mainly made up of lower hills and of
undulating terraces, principally of
fluviatile origin.
On the west coast, the coastal terraces
and plains are narrow, with the
mountains extending down to the sea in
many places. This coast is indented with
many drowned estuaries.
The east coast is smooth, with wider
coastal terraces and plains. The largest
coastal plain of Peninsular Thailand
stretches from Nakhon Si Thammarat to
Songkhla, including important elongated
beaches and a large lagoon, the Tha-le
Sap or Songkhla Lake.

16. Rivers of Thailand
Thailand is drained largely by two
river systems: the Chao Phraya in the
west and the Mekong in the east.
Three major rivers in the northern
mountains—from west to east, the
Ping (and its tributary the Wang), the
Yom, and the Nan—flow generally
south through narrow valleys to the
plains and then merge to form the
Chao Phraya, Thailand’s principal
river.
The rivers of the Khorat Plateau flow
generally southeastward and empty
into the Mekong. Floodwaters from
these rivers have been important
sources of water for rice production in
the area.
The southeast and the peninsula are
drained by short streams and rivers. In
the southeast the rivers in the north
flow into the Chao Phraya delta, while
those in the west and south run
directly into the sea, where they have
built up small alluvial basins and
deltas along the coast

17. 4-5 km

18. Soils of Thailand
The great alluvial deposits in the river
valleys contain the most fertile soils in
Thailand and are replenished annually
with sediment washed down by rivers
swollen with the annual monsoon rains.
Chief among these areas is the delta
floodplain of the Chao Phraya, but the
relatively flat basins in the northern
mountains, scattered lands along the
Mun and Chi rivers on the Khorat
Plateau, and much of the coast also
have rich alluvial soils. Soils elsewhere
tend to be relatively infertile, highly
leached laterites. Near the Mekong, a
high salt content in some soils limits
crop production, although salt deposits
there are mined commercially.

19. Climate of Thailand
The major influences on
Thailand’s climate are its
location in the tropical
monsoon zone of mainland
Southeast Asia and certain
topographic features that
affect the distribution of
precipitation.
Beginning in May, the warm,
humid air masses of the
southwest monsoon flow
north-eastward over the
region from the Indian Ocean,
depositing great quantities of
precipitation.
Nationwide, temperatures are
relatively steady throughout
the year, averaging between
77 and 84 °F (25 and 29 °C).

20. Rock formation of Southern Bay
Limestone in the bay is a
mono-mineralic (one mineral)
rock consisting of a single
mineral (calcite) which can
make up 95% of the rock.
Other rocks found in marine
limestone include dolomite,
siderite, quartz, feldspar,
mica, and various clay
materials.
Fragments from the hard parts
of marine animals and plants,
the parts which contain
calcium, form the sediment.
Water sets in pools on top of
the islands. It percolates
down through cracks in the
rocks. It dissolves limestone
as it goes, thus enlarging the
cracks.
The sides of this "sink hole"
erode and dissolve. If a sea
cave happens to connect with
this hole, the enlarging
process is sped up by the
action of the sea water.

21. Recent History of Natural Disaster
Floods – May 2017
High amounts of Rain caused floods and flash
floods in the northern provinces of Thailand
Floods- December 2016
The southern provinces of Surat
Thani,Nakhon Si Thammarat Songkhla,
Phattalung,Pattani, Chumphon, Krabi, Trang,
Yala andNarathiwat were struck by floods
Fires- May 2016
Fires spread in the forested areas of Chiang
Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak and Nan provinces.
Floods - October 2016
Floods that hit Nakhon Sawan province killed
three people and inundated large areas of
farmland as well as almost 30,000 homes.
Drought – February 2016
The Government of Thailand reported that 28
provinces in Thailand were at risk of water
shortages
Drought - July 2015
Thailand experienced one of the worst
droughts in decades, with water rationing
imposed in almost a third of the country
Landslides - July 2014
After three days of heavy rain, Chiang Rai
province was struck by flash floods and
landslides
Typhoon – July 2014
Typhoon Rammasun caused torrential
rainfall in Northeastern Thailand, with
Yasothon province being the most affected
Earthquake - May 2014
On May 5, a 6.3 on the Richter scale
earthquake, with its epicenter 27km
southwest of Chiang Rai, struck Thailand
Floods - October 2013
From July to October northern Thailand
experienced sporadic floods.
Floods of 2011
Flooding was triggered by heavy monsoon
rains in July 2011 and provinces were
affected over a three-month period (July-
September).

22. Bibliography
Physical envoirnment of Thailand. (2014). Retrieved August 20, 2019, from Land
Development Department: https://www.ldd.go.th/ldd_en/en-US/physiographic-regions/
Assistance, C. f. (2018). Thailand Disaster Management Reference Handbook . Hickam,
Hawaii: Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitairan Assistance.
Keyes, J. A. (2019, August 18). Thailand. Retrieved August 20, 2019, from Encyclopaedia
Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Thailand
Thailand. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2019, from UN: http://data.un.org/en/iso/th.html