Bến Tre Province

Name	Bến Tre
Native name lang	vi
Type	Province
Nickname	Bamboo Landing
Map caption	Location of Bến Tre within Vietnam
Coordinates type	region:VN_type:adm1st
Coordinates display	inline,title
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Region
Subdivision name1	Mekong Delta
Seat type	Capital
Seat	Bến Tre
Leader title	People's Council Chair
Leader name	Nguyễn Hữu Phước
Leader title1	People's Committee Chair
Leader name1	NGUYỄN THỊ THANH HÀ
Area total km2	2321.6
Population total	1,345,600
Population as of	2004
Population density km2	auto
Demographics type1	Demographics
Demographics1 title1	Ethnicities
Demographics1 info1	Vietnamese, Khmer, Hoa, Tày
Timezone1	ICT
Utc offset1	+7
Iso code
Area code type	Calling code
Area code	75
Website	www.bentre.gov.vn

Bến Tre (in Vietnamese, Bến Tre) is a province of Vietnam. It is one of the country's southern provinces, being situated in the delta of the Mekong River.

Administration

Politically, Bến Tre is divided into seven districts:

The provincial capital, also known as Bến Tre, is a separate municipality.

Geography

Geographically, Bến Tre is wedged between the two main branches of the Tiền Giang River, which is itself one of the two main branches of the Mekong. The province's northern boundary is formed by the Tiền Giang's main course, while the province's southern boundary is formed by the Tiền Giang's largest branch (which breaks away from the Tiền Giang just upriver from Bến Tre province). Between the Tiền Giang and its main branch are two smaller branches, passing through the middle of Bến Tre.

The entire province is criss-crossed with a network of smaller rivers and canals. The extensive irrigation that this provides makes Bến Tre a major producer of rice, but also means that the area is prone to flooding. The Climate Change Research Institute at Can Tho University, in studying the possible consequences of climate change, has predicted that 51% of Bến Tre province can be expected to be flooded if sea levels rise by 1 meter. Bến Tre province is, on average, only 1.25 metres above sea level.

Transportation

Construction on the Rach Mieu Bridge, which links Bến Tre to its northern neighbour, Tiền Giang province, was started in 2002. The bridge was finished and opened for traffic on January 19, 2009. Before that time, Bến Tre was only accessible to automobiles via ferry.

Start of the Vietnam War

The first large-scale military action by Viet Cong forces occurred in Bến Tre on September 26, 1959. A force led by Nguyen Thi Dinh, a Bến Tre native who would become one of the most prominent female Vietnamese revolutionary leaders, ambushed the 23d Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, killing 12 and wounding 14. This battle is commonly considered the start of the Vietnam War.

References

External links

Bến Tre website (English)

Bến Tre website (in Vietnamese)

Bến Tre Province

Category:Provinces of Vietnam Category:Mekong River Delta

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