Kra Isthmus

The Kra Isthmus (Thai: คอคอดกระ, pronounced [kʰɔ̄ː kʰɔ̂ːt kràʔ]; Malay: Segenting Kra/Segenting Kera) is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula.[1] The western part of the isthmus belongs to Thailand's Ranong Province and the eastern part to Chumphon Province, both in Southern Thailand. The isthmus is bordered to the west by the Andaman Sea and to the east by the Gulf of Thailand.

In blue, Kra Isthmus. In green, Malay peninsula.

The Kra Isthmus marks the boundary between two sections of the central cordillera, the mountain chain which runs from Tibet through the Malay peninsula. The southern part is called the Phuket chain, which is a continuation of the greater Tenasserim range, extending further northwards for over 400 km (250 mi) beyond the Three Pagodas Pass.[2]

The Kra Isthmus is in the Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests ecoregion. Dipterocarps are the dominant trees in the ecoregion.[3]

Pacific War

On 8 December 1941 local time, the Imperial Japanese Army landed near Songkhla, Thailand and Kota Bharu, Malaya, thus beginning the Pacific War, and launching both the invasion of Thailand and the Malayan campaign, the latter of which culminated in the capture of Singapore.[4]

Kra Canal

The Thai Canal is a proposal to join the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea. It was originally envisioned as crossing the isthmus.[5][6]

References
  1. "Kra, Isthmus of". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  2. The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia, Avijit Gupta
  3. Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment. Washington, DC: Island Press.
  4. Parfitt, Allen. "Bicycle Blitzkreig The Japanese Conquest of Malaya and Singapore 1941-1942". MilitaryHistoryOnline.com. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  5. Griffith University (23 March 2010). "Thai Canal Project: Over 300 years of conceptualising and still counting". Asian Correspondent. Hybrid News. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  6. Loftus, Alfred John (1883). Notes of a journey across the Isthmus of Krà.
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