Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand is geographically characterised by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them. Though like most of Thailand, it has a tropical savanna climate, its relatively high elevation and latitude contribute to more pronounced seasonal temperature variation, with cooler winters than the other regions. Historically it is related to the Lanna Kingdom and its culture.

Northern Region ภาคเหนือ
Region
From upper-left to lower-right: Doi Inthanon, Doi Pha Hom Pok, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Fourth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge and Phu Chi Fa
Northern Region in Thailand
Largest city	Chiang Mai
Provinces	9 Provinces Chiang Mai Province Lamphun Province Lampang Province Uttaradit Province Phrae Province Nan Province Phayao Province Chiang Rai Province Mae Hong Son Province
Area [1]
• Total	93,691 km^2 (36,174 sq mi)
Population  (2018)[2]
• Total	6,341,973
• Density	77/km^2 (200/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Khon Muang
Language	Northern Thai • others

Geography

See also: Mae Chan Fault

North Thailand is bound by the Salween River in the west and the Mekong in the east. The basins of rivers Ping, Wang, Yom, and Nan, all tributaries of the Chao Phraya River, in the central part run from north to south and are mostly very wide. The basins cut across the mountains of two great ranges, the Thanon Range in the western part and the Phi Pan Nam in the eastern. Their elevations are generally moderate, a little above 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) for the highest summits. Although formerly forested, many of these mountains are now denuded.[3]

Parallel mountain ranges extend from the Daen Lao Range (ทิวเขาแดนลาว), in the southern region of the Shan Hills, in a north-south direction, the Dawna Range (ทิวเขาดอยมอนกุจู) forming the western border of Thailand between Mae Hong Son and the Salween River.[4] To the east the Thanon Thong Chai Range (เทือกเขาถนนธงชัย), the Khun Tan Range (ทิวเขาขุนตาน), the Phi Pan Nam Range (ทิวเขาผีปันน้ำ), as well as the western part of the Luang Prabang Range (ทิวเขาหลวงพระบาง), form the natural region of the Thai highlands together with the former.[5]

These high mountains are incised by steep river valleys and upland areas that border the central plain. A series of rivers, including the Nan, Ping, Wang, Yom, and Nan, flow southwards through mountain valleys and join to form the Chao Phraya in Nakhon Sawan Province in the central region. Sirikit Dam is on the Nan River in Uttaradit Province. The northeastern part is drained by rivers flowing into the Mekong basin, like the Kok and Ing.

The four-region system includes the northern parts of the central plain as well as some mountainous areas bordering the western and the northeastern limits.

Map of Thailand highlighting the provinces of the northern region in the six-region system

Northern Thailand according to the four-region grouping system

National parks

Main article: List of national parks of Thailand

Within the northern region there are some sixty national parks. Chiang Mai Province has nine national parks of which Doi Inthanon National Park with the country's highest mountain and Op Luang National Park have a scenic river canyon, waterfalls, and caves. Doi Khun Tan National Park, which is located midway between the two provincial capitals of province Lampang and Lamphun, is best known for Thailand's longest railroad tunnel, which is 1,352 metres (4,436 ft) long. Doi Phu Kha National Park in province Nan is northern Thailand's largest national park.

Regional classification of northern Thailand

The northern region, as defined by the National Geographical Committee in 1978, consists of nine provinces. Geographically the division, in conformance with the six-region system, includes most of the mountainous natural region of the Thai highlands.

In the four-region classification system, northern Thailand gains the eight upper-central-region provinces: Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan, Phetchabun, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Uthai Thani and Tak, bringing the total to 17 provinces.

In 2019 it is common to subdivide the northern region into: nine provinces of the upper northern region and eight provinces of the lower northern region. All websites of these eight provinces state: "located in the lower northern region".

Upper and Lower Northern provinces

Flag	Seal		Province	Capital	DOPA	Population	Area (km^2)	Density	ISO
		1	Chiang Mai	Chiang Mai	14	1,763,742	20,107.0	88	TH-50
		2	Lamphun	Lamphun	54	405,955	4,505.9	90	TH-51
		3	Lampang	Lampang	53	742,883	12,534.0	59	TH-52
		4	Uttaradit	Uttaradit	75	455,403	7,838.6	58	TH-53
		5	Phrae	Phrae	41	445,090	6,538.6	68	TH-54
		6	Nan	Nan	26	478,989	11,472.1	42	TH-55
		7	Phayao	Phayao	34	475,215	6,335.1	75	TH-56
		8	Chiang Rai	Chiang Rai	13	1,292,130	11,678.4	111	TH-57
		9	Mae Hong Son	Mae Hong Son	45	282,566	12,681.3	22	TH-58
		10	Nakhon Sawan	Nakhon Sawan	23	1,063,964	9,597.5	111	TH-60
		11	Uthai Thani	Uthai Thani	76	329,433	6,730.3	49	TH-61
		12	Kamphaeng Phet	Kamphaeng Phet	5	727,807	8,607.3	85	TH-62
		13	Tak	Tak	17	654,676	16,406.6	40	TH-63
		14	Sukhothai	Sukhothai	66	597,257	6,596.1	91	TH-64
		15	Phitsanulok	Phitsanulok	38	866,891	10,815.8	80	TH-65
		16	Phichit	Phichit	37	539,374	4,531.0	119	TH-66
		17	Phetchabun	Phetchabun	40	994,540	12,668.4	79	TH-67

Notes

• Populations as of 31 December 2018.[2]
• Reports (data) from Thai government are "not copyrightable" (Public Domain), Copyright Act 2537 (1994), section 7.

• Ethnic communities in northern Thailand
• 
  Karen woman
• 
  Hmong women
• 
  River woman
• 
  Akha woman

See also

• Regional classification of Northern Thailand

References

1. Advancing Human Development through the ASEAN Community, Thailand Human Development Report 2014, table 0:Basic Data (PDF) (Report). United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Thailand. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-974-680-368-7. Retrieved 17 January 2016, Data has been supplied by Land Development Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, at Wayback Machine.
2. "รายงานสถิติจำนวนประชากรและบ้านประจำปี พ.ศ.2561" [Statistics, population and house statistics for the year 2018]. Registration Office Department of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior (in Thai). 31 December 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
3. Forest data: Thailand Deforestation Rates
4. Northern Thailand Archived 2012-01-28 at the Wayback Machine
5. ดร.กระมล ทองธรรมชาติ และคณะ, สังคมศึกษา ศาสนาและวัฒนธรรม ม.1, สำนักพิมพ์ อักษรเจริญทัศน์ อจท. จำกัด, 2548, หน้า 24-25

External links

• North (Thailand) travel guide from Wikivoyage