Vegetation of Southeast Asia Studies of Forest Types 1963-1965

south. The highest peak is near Betong, bordering Malaya. In
addition, there are other small, subsidiary ranges, chief of which
are the limestone ridges of Phatalung and Phangna.
The east and west coastlines of the Peninsula differ from each
other. The eastern shoreline is smooth, regular, with long beaches
like those at Prachuap-Khirikhan, Nakhon Srithar.arat, Songkhla and
Patani. The only exception is the delta at Surat-thani. A plain,
ranging from 6 to 21 miles (10 to 35 km.) in width, extends inland
from the coastline. Conversely, the western shoreline is irregular,
much indented with estuaries and fringed with islands, such as those
in Phuket bay. The mountains extend down to the sea in many places.
Beaches are small and few, but mangrove swamps are numerous. The
lower course of the Pak Chan river has the appearance of a drowned
valley, giving evidence of a submerged shoreline, and its banks are
lined with Mangrove forest. Remains of buried mangrove trees, exposed
in hydraulic mining at depths well below the present level,
are found along the shoreline In the provinces of Takuapa and
Phuket.
On the east coast there are few bays> and islands are limited in
number. The west coast is much indented. There are a number of large,
forest-clad t rocky islands such as Yao, Lanta, Phra Thong, Linbong,
and Tarutao. The largest and most important of these islands is
Phuket, center of the tin industry, and has an area of about 220
square miles (590 sq. km.).
The island of Ko Si Chang, near the northeast section of the Gulf
of Thailand, forms a natural sheltered anchorage for large steamers
which cannot cross the bar at the estuary of the Chao Phraya. The
largest island along the coast is Kohctxang, in the east, with an area
of about 70 square miles (18.1 sq. km.) and a peak which rises to almost
2,100 ft. (6UO km.) above sea level. In the vicinity of the
muddy estuaries of Mae Nam Prasae and Mae Nam Wen mangrove swamps
abound, but elsewhere along the coast there are many white sandy beaches,
and occasional stretches of beach forests and narrow belts of Casuarina
trees.
Climate; The climate of southern Thailand is the tropical rain
forest type, although somewhat modified by the monsoons. It is
characterized by uniformly high temperatures, two periods of greater
rainfall, and rain at other times is distributed throughout the year,
so that there is no well-marked and prolonged dry season. However,
many local modifications occur, depending on whether the windr blow
from the ocean or from the land. The highest annual rainfall., 257.0"}
inches (6, 60b mm.), was recorded at Takuapa, in the southwest, and
the lowest of record is 50.70 inches (1,300 mm.). The temperature
on both coasts is uniform. The annual temperature ranges between
80° if. (26.7°C.) and 83.4° F. (26 C.). The highest temperature recorded
is 103° F. (39«3°C.) and the lowest, 63° F. (17°C.). The wet
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