Final Geography Blog

            As we have been learning thus far, Thailand is home to some amazing landscapes including world famous beaches, beautiful jungles, and other various forms of geography. Something that we have not covered yet, but must, are some of the rock landforms that are in Thailand. Many of the coastal areas, especially in the south around Phuket have karst and limestone formations along them. They have even been featured in American films like ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ and ‘The Beach’. The karsts here were formed hundreds of years ago when eventually limestone from calcium carbonate and coral deposits were forced up from subcontinental collision. Thailand happens to be home to some of the world’s most amazing karst formations because of its heavy rainfall. Limestone is actually 1/5^th of the earth’s surface, but it becomes more and more bizarre looking as rainwater shapes it over time.

            Thailand is also pretty well known for some of its caves as well. The karst makes for spectacular cavernous developments and in turn wonderful homes for bats and other life. Many of the caves in Thailand are known as dissolution caves that are made from dissolving limestone and can be very delicate. Rainwater helps with the dissolution and with other forms. It travels down cracks in the limestone, and as the rainwater keeps trickling down into the caves interior, it helps make some of the caves stalactites. This process of rainfall shaping the karst around Thailand is called percolation. It happens when particles dissolve from the water and travel through the rock.

            The karst formations are also very special due to another reason. They are home to a number of species and a large number of biodiversity. Currently, researchers are saying that 31 karst living species in Southeast Asia are in danger, but that is a conservative and the actual number could be much higher. The reason for the danger is karst mining. People are mining for karst for manufacturing purposes, like producing cement and marble, and the mining is also predicted to keep increasing, and is currently growing by a rate of 5.7 percent a year. According to a National Geographic article, this mining is going to lead to a bleak outlook in the future of karst and its biodiversity in Southeast Asia and Thailand. Right now, only 13 percent of Southeast Asia has protected karst areas.

            Another issue that may be facing Thailand in the future is one affected by climate change. Projections for Thailand predict that they will face an increasing amount of extreme weather events. The flood plains of Chao Phraya River are what worries researchers most, being that it is already prone to flooding and is also an urban area. This might not only affect the infrastructure of Thailand, but also their economy. Thailand supplies about 30 percent of the world’s rice, and excess flooding can easily put that at risk.

            For the future of Thailand, its geography, and amazing landscapes we can only hope for the same thing that we hope for anywhere in the world. We need to be smart as humans and respect the land, and we need to be smart about our resources and where we get them. Hopefully people in Southeast Asia and Thailand are thinking about this far in advance, and we can continue to enjoy Thailand.

A karst cave in Thailand with speleothems. ^

A tower karst off the coast of Thailand^

Another tower karst off of the coast of Thailand ^

Matt Miller

References

http://www.seacanoe.net/naturegame.htm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060912-stone-karst_2.html

http://climateandsecurity.org/2011/11/14/thailand-forecast-floods-droughts-and-political-instability/

Thailand Blog 3- 11/13/2012

Blog 3; Thailand’s Climate

            Thailand is primarily a tropical, humid climate for most of the year, but it is known for its three said seasons in Thailand; the first starts with a cool season from November to February, a hot season from April to May, and a rainy season from June to October. The cooler season has the northwest monsoons (their winds) blowing cool, dry air through the country cooling it down quite a bit and dropping below freezing in some higher altitudes. During the hot season the temperatures soar and humidity levels can reach 75 %. Lastly, during the rainy season, Thailand accumulates most of its annual rainfall and the average humidity level stays right around 90%. The peak rainfall month in September can bring close to 14 inches in rain in Bangkok. Other regions in Thailand can expect to receive much higher amounts of rain.

            The monsoons are basically regional wind systems that change directions with the seasons. Precipitation usually comes with the summer monsoons and winds blowing further inland from the ocean are very humid. A slight cooling of them can cause condensation and rain. This can become even more intensified with some orographic lifting, or when the air is forced to rise from a land mass.

            Thailand has also been known to receive some tropical storms. The tsunami of 2004 is most notable to Thailand’s history having killed hundreds of thousand, although the occurrences of these are not too common. This one in particular was caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake on the floor of the Indian Ocean, causing enormous momentum to carry through ocean waves and devastate coastal areas all around Southeast Asia, and especially Thailand.

Sources:

http://www.travelfish.org/weather/thailand

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7o.html

^^Thailand's Northeast Monsoon pattern on the left, and Southwest patter on right. 

A wave from the 2004 tsunami crashing through trees. 

Blog 2-Oct 11

Thailand blog 2:

The hydrology of Thailand is vast and complex. Thailand’s main two river systems are the Mekong River and the Chao Phraya. They both are responsible for feeding irrigation in and around Thailand, but the Mekong is the only one that sheds into the South China Sea, ultimately in Vietnamese territory with a trellis type pattern cutting through the terrain. The Mekong is actually the 11^th longest river in the world and the 12^th largest by volume, and also drains an area of 810,000 sq km. The Chao Phraya however drains into the Gulf of Thailand with a single stream, wide mouth area similar to an alluvial fan type drainage basin. It is unique in that it flows right through the middle of Thailand and through Bangkok. The ground water in Thailand is mainly recharged with rainfall and seepage streams and is used to meet the large water demands of Thailand.

            As far as the land and growing capability of Thailand goes, the Central region is the most fertile, as stated earlier. The Chao Phraya River is rich in clay-type soil that provides better fertility. Some of the lands are also used for maize and sugarcane cultivation. Throughout most of the country, the soil is fairly poor due to heavy rainfall and leaching. The soil around the Mekong River in the more southern region is largely infertile due to the heavy salt content or salinization. In this area the soil is mostly grey with brown or yellowish mottles present. In the dryer season the salt and calcium are more visible towards the soil surface.

 ^The Mekong River

^The Chao Phraya River and drainage basin. 

 Sources-

http://www.scribd.com/doc/35337529/Thailand-Soil-Types

http://www.wepa-db.net/policies/state/thailand/thailand.htm

http://www.photius.com/countries/thailand/economy/thailand_economy_land_use_and_soils.html

Thailand sits in Southeast Asia, and covers the area of about 514,000 square kilometers with a population of 60 million. The country shares borders with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Andamen and South China Sea. Geopolitically, Thailand is divided into seven regions; the North, Northeast, Central Plains, East, West, and the Bangkok metropolitan region. The central region encompasses the Bangkok area and is known as “Thailand’s rice bowl”, due to its fertile soil that helps grow fruit and rice. The North is Thailand’s largest region and contains Thailand’s mountainous areas filled with alluvial valleys. The cooler climate helps cultivate fruits like strawberries and peaches. Recently though, the forested mountain area has been overcut.

The Southern region is notoriously known for its amazing beaches and breathtaking tropical scenes. Economically they region is known for its tin and rubber production, as well as fishing. The high rainfall in this area that benefits rubber growth also assists in floods in the area as well. Being that the Southern region is being overcut as well, and the soil quality in that region is poor, it is conducive to flash flooding in the area. 

Thailand- 1st blog by Matt Miller

Hi, my name is Matt Miller, and this is my first blog entry for Physical Geography. I am a psychology major in my junior year of college. Originally I am from Phoenix, Arizona and have lived several places in Colorado, the US, and around the world before settling down in Denver.

The place I have chosen to blog about is the country of Thailand. I have been long fascinated by the countries gorgeous beaches, jungles, culture, and people. It is a country with rich history and amazing landscapes that rival many others. It is my hope that after graduating from UCD that I can teach in Thailand, or at least visit to finally see it. -Matt