Lobster Barbeque
Seafood Restaurant Phuket
Beach Road - 2014
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The relatively recent name "Phuket" (of which the digraph ph represents an aspirated p) is apparently derived from the word bukit (
Jawi: بوكيت) in
Malay which means "hill", as this is what the island appears like from a distance. An alternative suggestion is that the name originates from two
Thai words, phu (mountain) of ket (jewel), and this is said to be recorded in a Thai chronicle.
The region was formerly referred to as "
Thalang," (ถลาง) derived from the old Malay "Telong" (Jawi: تلوڠ) which means "Cape". The northern district of the province, which was the location of the old capital, still uses this name.
The island of Phuket was originally named
Jung Ceylon on
European navigation charts, a corruption of the Malay
Tanjung Salang meaning Cape Salang. One of the main shopping malls in the town of
Patong in Phuket is accordingly thus named.
Phuket is the biggest island in
Thailand, located in the
Andaman Sea of southern Thailand. The island is mostly mountainous with a mountain range in the west of the island from the north to the south. The mountains of Phuket form the southern end of the
Phuket mountain range, which ranges for
440 kilometres (270 mi) from the
Kra Isthmus. Although some recent geographical works refer to the sections of the
Tenasserim Hills in the isthmus as the "
Phuket Range", these names are not found, however, in classical geographic sources. In addition, the name Phuket is relatively recent having previously been named Jung Ceylon and Thalang. The highest elevation of the island is usually regarded as Khao Mai Thao Sip
Song (
Twelve Canes), at 529 metres (1,736 ft) above sea level. However it has been reported by barometric pressure readings that there is an even higher elevation (with no apparent name), of 542 meters above sea level, in the
Kamala hills behind
Kathu waterfall. Its population was 249,446 in
2000, rising to 525,018 in the
2010 decennial census, the highest growth rate of all provinces nationwide at 7.4% annual, some 600,
000 people reside in Phuket currently,[12] among them migrants, international expats,
Thais registered in other provinces and locals. The registered population, however, includes only Thais, and the end of
2012 was
360,
905 people.[13]
It is estimated that Phuket has a total area of approximately 576 square kilometres (
222 sq mi) (including the province's other islands). Phuket is approximately 536 miles (863 km) south of
Bangkok, and covers an area of 543 square kilometres (210 sq mi) excluding small islets. Other
Islands are : Ko
Lone 4.77 square kilometres (1.84 sq mi), Ko Maprao 3.7 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi), Ko Naka Yai 2.08 square kilometres (0.80 sq mi), Ko
Racha Noi3.06 square kilometres (1.18 sq mi), Ko Racha Yai
4.5 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi), and the second biggest, Ko
Sire 8.8 square kilometres (3.4 sq mi) (It is also the 2nd most popolated in
Mu Ko Phuket.
It is estimated that if all its 39 other small islands are included,
Phuket Province will cover an area of 576 square kilometres (222 sq mi). The island total length, from north to south, is estimated at 30 miles (48 km) and 13 miles (21 km) wide.[14]
Phuket's topography is exceptional with 70 percent of its area covered with mountains which stretch from north to south and the remaining 30 percent being plains located in the central and eastern parts of the island. It has a total of 9 brooks and creeks but does not have any major rivers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phuket_Province
- published: 20 Mar 2014
- views: 205436