Chumphon Province

Chumphon (Thai: ชุมพร, pronounced [t͡ɕʰūm.pʰɔ̄ːn]) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand on the Gulf of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani, and Ranong. To the west it also borders the Burmese province of Tanintharyi.

Geography

Chumphon is on the Isthmus of Kra, the narrow landbridge connecting the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Thailand. To the west are the hills of the Phuket mountain range and its northern continuation, the Tenasserim Hills, while the east is the more flat land on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The main river is the Lang Suan River, which originates in Phato District. With a 222 kilometre-long coastline and 44 islands, the Chumphon Archipelago, Chumphon has waterfalls, peaceful beaches, green forests, mangroves, and rivers.

History

The southern part of the province was originally a separate province named Lang Suan. It was incorporated into Chumphon in 1932.

In November 1989 typhoon Gay hit the province hard. 529 people were killed, 160,000 became homeless, 7,130 km² (2,753 sq mi) of farm land was destroyed. Gay is the only tropical storm on record which reached Thailand with typhoon wind strength.

Chumphon

Chumphon is a town (thesaban mueang) in southern Thailand, capital of the Chumphon Province and the Mueang Chumphon District. The city is about 463 kilometers (288 miles) from Bangkok. As of 2005 it had a population of 33,522. The town covers the commune (tambon) Tha Taphao completely and parts of tambons Bang Mak, Wang Phai, Na Thung, Tak Daet, and Khun Krathing. The main economic sector of Chumphon is agriculture.

History

Chumphon volunteers fought invading Japanese during World War II. Chumphon became a rail hub for Imperial Japan. It was a station on the Southern Line and connected to the short-live Kra Isthmus Railway.

Geography

Chumphon lies just inland from the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand. To the west are the northern hills of the Phuket Range, a subrange of the Tenasserim Hills. These hills reach 400 metres (1,300 ft) in the area near Chumphon. There are also many smaller peaks in the area in the range of 100 metres (330 ft) to 200 metres (660 ft) high.

Climate

Chumphon has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am) just falling short of a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af). Temperatures are hot throughout the year. The period from December to April has relatively less rainfall than from May to November, when rainfall can be very heavy, particularly in October and November.