Mu Ko Lanta National Park

 

Mu Ko Lanta National Park  is a national park in the southern part of Krabi Province, Thailand, consisting of several islands. The two largest islands are Ko Lanta Noi and Ko Lanta Yai. Although both are inhabited, Ko Lanta Yai is the primary tourist destination. The park was established on 15 August 1990 

A clan of Chao Ley, or "sea gypsies" lives on Ko Lanta Yai. The clan still practices many of their ancient customs and ceremonies, such as the setting of ceremonial boats adrift to bring good luck and prosperity on the full moon nights of the sixth and eleventh months.

Ko Lanta was once known by its Malay name, "Pulao Satak", which means "Long Beach Island". Later, many Thais, both Buddhist and Muslim, moved to the island making the island known as the island of "a million eyes" ("lan ta" in Thai). The name may also be derived from the Javanese "lan-tas", or fish grill (built of wood with a square grill on top where the fish are placed in a circle).

The area of Mu Ko Lanta National Park is 83,750 rai ~ 134 square kilometres (52 sq mi). It includes Mu Ko Rok, Ko Mai Ngam, Ko Talabeng, Ko Lanta Yai, Ko Ngai, Mu Ko Rokk, Ko Rok Nai, Mu Ko Maa, Ko Hin Dang and the nearby islands of Ko Klang, Ko Lanta Noi, and Ko Lanta Yai sub-district, Amphoe Ko Lanta, Krabi Province.

The terrain is mountainous, especially near the southern tip. Plains are found only in beach areas in the southern portion of the park. Most areas have more than a 35 degree slope, except only the middle part of island where the slope is more than 50 degrees. Elevations range from sea level to 488 meters at the tallest peak.

Climate

Highest rainfall is in September, 391.4 mm, and lowest in January at 6.5 mm. September has the most rainy days with 21.6 days and February the fewest, about 1.6 days. During the rainy season, 16 May-31 October, some smaller islands are closed to visitors.

Fauna

The animals that live on the islands are divided into six categories.

1. Mammals: bats (deer, tigers and barking deer used to live on the islands).

2. Birds: brahminy kite, bridled tern, and emerald dove.

3. Reptiles: asian water monitor, reticulated python, and cobras.

4. Amphibians: giant mountain frogs, ornate froglets, and common tree frog.

5. Freshwater fish and marine fish: blue danio fish, coral reef fish, and lizard fish.

6. Coral reef animals: staghorn coral, Fungia fungites, and anemone coral.

Flora

The plants in Mu Ko Lanta National Park can be categorized into three groups.

1. Rainforest: The total area of rainforest at Mu Ko Lanta Yai is about 19.42 km2. The average height of trees is 15–25 meters. The important plants are Hopea ferrea, Dipterocarpus turbinatus and Lagerstroemia floribunda.

2. Mangrove forest: On Ko Ngu, Ko Mai Ngam, and Ko Mai Ngam Tai. The average height of trees is five meters. There are many plants in the mangrove forest, such as Avicennia alba, Rhizophora apiculata, and Rhizophora mucronata.

3. Beach forest: Found on Ko Ngai between the beach and rainforest. Significant plants are bengal almond, Millettia pinnata, and beach morning glory.

Krabi

 Krabi is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand, on the shore of the Andaman Sea. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Trang. Phuket province lies to the west across Phang Nga Bay. Krabi town is the seat of the provincial government.

The area is dotted with solitary limestone peaks, known as mogotes, both on land and in the sea. Rock climbers from all over travel to Ton Sai Beach and Railay Beach. The beaches form part of Krabi's Phra Nang Peninsula. Of the 154 islands in the province, Ko Phi Phi Le is the most famous, as it was the site of the movie The Beach. Other notable islands include Ko Phi Phi Don, part of the Phi Phi Islands, and Ko Lanta, a larger island to the south. The coast was damaged by the tsunami of 26 December 2004.

Krabi's mogotes contain many caves, most having speleothems such as stalactites and stalagmites. Tham Chao Le and Tham Phi Hua To, both in Ao Luek District, contain prehistoric rock-paintings depicting humans, animals, and geometrical shapes. In Lang Rong Rien cave in 1986 archaeologists found 40,000-year-old human artifacts: stone tools, pottery, and bones. It is one of the oldest traces of human occupation in Southeast Asia. Krabi's caves are one of the main sources of nests of the edible-nest swiftlet, used in the making of bird's nest soup.

Krabi's farmland is dominated by a duopoly of rubber and palm oil plantations. Palm plantations alone occupy 1,568 km2 (605 sq mi) or 52 percent of the province's farmland. Together, palm oil and rubber cover 95 percent of Krabi's cultivated area with many smallholder farms amidst industrial plantations.  The total forest area is 915 km2 (353 sq mi) or 17.2 percent of provincial area.

Krabi province ranks fifth in tourism income in Thailand with six million arrivals. Only Bangkok, Phuket, Chonburi, and Chiang Mai earn more from tourism. Arrivals are concentrated from November to April. The crush of high-season visitors has come at considerable cost to the environment. Local authorities have devised a program, "Krabi 365 Days" to move some high-season visitors to the off-season, from May to October, called the "green season" by tourism officials, partly due to the seasonal rains. Tourism revenue has grown at an average of eight percent annually. In 2018, tourism income is expected to hit 100 billion baht, up from 96 billion in 2017. The top visitors are Chinese and Malaysians. Scandinavians number in the top five visiting nationalities. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as of 2018 there are 460 hotels in the province, with some 200 additional hotels in the process of being licensed and another 200 in the preliminary stages of consideration.

Phuket Province

 Phuket is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands off its coast. It lies off the west coast of mainland Thailand in the Andaman Sea. Phuket Island is connected by the Sarasin Bridge to Phang Nga province to the north. The next nearest province is Krabi, to the east across Phang Nga Bay.

Phuket province has an area of 576 km2 (222 sq mi), somewhat less than that of Singapore, and is the second-smallest province of Thailand. The island was on one of the major trading routes between India and China, and was frequently mentioned in foreign ships' logs of Portuguese, French, Dutch, and English traders, but was never colonised by a European power. It formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber and now from tourism.

Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. It is located in the Andaman Sea in southern Thailand. The island is mostly mountainous with a mountain range in the west of the island from the north to the south. The mountains of Phuket form the southern end of the Phuket mountain range, which ranges for 440 kilometres (270 mi) from the Kra Isthmus.

Although some recent geographical works refer to the sections of the Tenasserim Hills in the isthmus as the "Phuket Range", these names are not found in classical geographic sources. Besides, the name Phuket is relatively recent having previously been named Jung Ceylon and Thalang. The highest elevation of the island is usually regarded as Khao Mai Thao Sip Song (Twelve Canes), at 529 metres (1,736 ft) above sea level. However, it has been reported by barometric pressure readings that there is an even higher elevation, of 542 meters above sea level, in the Kamala hills behind Kathu waterfall.

The population was 249,446 in 2000, rising to 525,709 in the 2010 decennial census, the highest growth rate of all provinces nationwide at 7.4 percent annually. Some 600,000 people reside on Phuket currently, among them migrants, international ex-pats, Thais registered in other provinces, and locals. The registered population, however, includes only Thais who are registered in a thabian ban or house registration book, which most are not, and at the end of 2012 was 360,905 persons.

Phuket is approximately 863 kilometres (536 mi) south of Bangkok and covers an area of 543 square kilometres (210 sq mi) excluding small islets. Other islands are: Ko Lone 4.77 square kilometres (1.84 sq mi), Ko Maprao 3.7 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi), Ko Naka Yai 2.08 square kilometres (0.80 sq mi), Ko Racha Noi 3.06 square kilometres (1.18 sq mi), Ko Racha Yai 4.5 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi), and the second biggest, Ko Sire 8.8 square kilometres (3.4 sq mi).

Forest, rubber, and palm oil plantations cover 60 percent of the island. The west coast has several sandy beaches. The east coast beaches are more often muddy. Near the southernmost point is Laem Phromthep , a popular viewpoint. In the mountainous north of the island is the Khao Phra Thaeo No-Hunting Area, protecting more than 20 km2 of the rainforest. The three highest peaks of this reserve are the Khao Prathiu (384 metres (1,260 ft)), Khao Bang Pae 388 metres (1,273 ft), and Khao Phara 422 metres (1,385 ft). The Sirinat National Park on the northwest coast was established in 1981 to protect an area of 90 square kilometres (35 sq mi) (68 kilometres (42 mi) marine area), including the Nai Yang Beach where sea turtles lay their eggs.[22] The total forest area is 113 km2 (44 sq mi) or 20.6 percent of provincial area.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Phuket features a tropical monsoon climate (Am). Due to its proximity to the equator, in the year, there is little variation in temperatures. The city has an average annual high of 32 °C (90 °F) and an annual low of 25 °C (77 °F). Phuket has a dry season that runs from December to March and a wet season that covers the remaining eight months. However, like many cities that feature a tropical monsoon climate, Phuket sees some precipitation even during its dry season.[citation needed] Phuket averages roughly 2,200 millimetres (87 in) of rain.

The Turkish Trout

Salmo platycephalus, known as the flathead trout, Ala balik or the Turkish trout, is a type of trout, a fish in the family Salmonidae. It is endemic to southeastern Turkey. It is known only from one population, which occupies three streams, tributaries of the Zamantı River in the Seyhan River basin. The population itself is abundant, but subject to threat by habitat loss, since the range is small. Also, predation of juveniles by introduced rainbow trout may cause population decline. The species is classified as critically endangered.

Many of the species can be found in Zamanti River. Zamantı River is a river in Central Anatolia, Turkey, crossing Kayseri Province in practically its whole course to join Seyhan River further south, of which it is the western, the longest and the most important tributary. Zamantı and Göksu join 80 km north of Adana to form Seyhan River.

Tracing a curvy course through the narrow valleys and cascades of the Taurus Mountains (called Aladağlar in this section), the river is one of the most favorite rafting spots in Turkey, particularly in its section around the town of Yahyalı, rated 3 in the international scale from 1 to 6 

A 500 km² area along the river basin corresponds to Aladağlar National Park, mostly covered in forests and extending within Yahyalı (Kayseri Province), Çamardı (Niğde Province) and Aladağ (Adana Province) districts. A dozen peaks exceeding 3,000 meters also surround the river, making a prized destination among alpinists.

Through the Classical Antiquity until Byzantine times, the river was called "Karmalas".

Genetic evidence suggests that the flathead trout may indeed be derived from introduced brown trout (Salmo trutta) and thus not be a distinct species of its own. Nevertheless, it is a unique form which requires protection.