South of Thailand an Introduction

Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km(2), bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The western part has steeper coasts, while on the east side river plains dominate. The largest river of the south is the Tapi in Surat Thani, which together with the Phum Duang in Surat Thani drains more than 8,000 km, more than 10% of the total area of Southern Thailand. Smaller rivers include the Pattani, Saiburi, Krabi and the Trang. The biggest lake of the south is the Songkhla lake (1,040 km altogether), the largest artificial lake is the Chiao Lan (Ratchaprapha dam) with 165 km(2) within the Khao Sok national park in Surat Thani.