Thailand’s Land Mass & Topography

Thailand covers an area of approximately 514,000 square kilometres, making this country the 50th largest country in the world in physical size, and about equal in size to Spain (505,990 square kilometres) and slightly smaller than France (643,801 square kilometres).

Thailand’s land mass maybe geographically subdivided in to four topographically distinct regions:

• Northern Thailand borders Myanmar on the western side and border Laos on its eastern side. The topography is mostly forested mountains running north-south, which include Thailand’s highest peak with elevation of 2,565 metres at Doi Inthanon, Chiangmai Province. 
  
• North-Eastern Thailand’s main geographical mass is the Khorat Plateau, which extends southwards toward the Thai border with Cambodia. The Northeast is also affectionately known as “Isan” by all Thais across the country.
  
• Thailand’s Central Plain is mostly flat lowlands, through which the Chao Phraya River and her tributaries (Ping, Wang, Yom, Nan, Pa Sak, etc.) feed expansive rice fields as far as the eyes can see. The Chao Phraya then enters the bustling capital of Bangkok, before draining into the Gulf of Thailand.
  
• Stretching down southwards toward Peninsular Malaysia, the Kra Isthmus in Southern Thailand separates the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) from the Gulf of Thailand (Pacific Ocean), providing Thailand with beautiful beaches and tropical islands along both shorelines, as well as a great abundance of seafoods.  The many sheltered coves along both sides of the Kra Isthmus once served as havens and ports for trading ships, and was an important part of the ancient, strategic trading routes between the East and the West. Southern Thailand borders with Malaysia at the most southerly border.