Vegetation of Southeast Asia Studies of Forest Types 1963-1965

PHYSIOGRAPHIC, CLIMATIC AND OTHER FEATURES
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Although they are politically independent, and divided, economically,
the five countries of the Mekong basin are similar in many
aspects, especially from the standpoint of inhabitants, physiography,
climate, soils and vegetation. The mountain ranges, which
intercept moisture-laden winds, influence the climate, resulting
in a wide pattern of annual rainfall, with the dominance almost
throughout of alternating rainy, southwest monsoon, and dry northern
or northeastern monsoon. The varying distribution of rainfall during
the year is highly significant, and is particularly noticeable in
North Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. The temperatures are fairly high
throughout, except in mountainous areas, with no frost at lower
elevations.
THAILAND
Thailand lies between the parallels of 5° and 21 N. latitude
and between the meridians of 97° and 106° E. longitude. It has a
total area of about 200,000 square miles (511,936 square kilometers), almost
equal to Texas, France, or approximately 60 times the size of
Puerto Rico. The country is bounded on the north by upper Burma,
the Shan States, and northern Laos; on the east and northeast by
central and lower Laos and by Cambodia; on the west by central and
lower Burma; and in the extreme south by Malaysia. Its long coast
lines are flanked on the southeast and eastern Peninsula by the Gulf
of Thailand, and on the western side of the Peninsula by the Andaman
Sea. It has a long frontier, of about 1,^00 miles (2, 2'fO kms.),
with its neighbors, which naturally is difficult to patrol effectively
along the entire length.
Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since- 1932, but
the divisions of administration have not. been greatly changed from
the old regime. The internal administration is centralized under the
Minister of Interior in Bangkok. For administrative purpose the
country is divided into 71 'changwats' or provinces, each under the
control of a commissioner, who is directly responsible to the Minister
of Interior. Each changwat is subdivided into 'amphurs' or districts.
The amphiir, in turn, is subdivided into 'tambons 1 or villages, and
the tarnbon is made up of 'mu bans' or hamlets. A hamlet is a
collection of 10 or more houses or about ICO people who elect their
own elder or 'Phuyai Ban'. The duties of the elder are to report cases
of crime to the headman of the village, and to maintain a register of
the x:ople in his hamlet.
According to the 19^4 census, Thailand has a population of about
2't-,000,000. Approximately 80 percent of these are Thais; 15 percent
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