The Northeast of Thailand

The Northeast Region of Thailand
The Northeast region of Thailand has a total area of 168,854.35 sq. km. and is comprised of 19 provinces which are as follows:

Provinces of Northeast Thailand	No.	Province	Area (sq. km.)	Pop. as of 1997
	1	Amnat Charoen	3,161.25	360,340
	2	Buri Ram	10,321.89	1,494,836
	3	Chaiyaphum	12,778.29	1,115,519
	4	Kalasin	6,946.75	974,460
	5	Khonkaen	10,885.99	1,726,594
	6	Loei	11,424.61	630,876
	7	Mahasarakam	5,491.68	927,753
	8	Mukdahan	4,339.83	326,188
	9	Nakhorn Phanom	5,512.67	703,935
	10	Nakhorn Ratchasima	20,496.96	2,510,839
	11	Nong Bua Lamphu	3,859.09	486,153
	12	Nong Khai	7,332.28	888,702
	13	Roi Et	8,299.45	1,310,095
	14	Sakon Nakhon	9,605.76	1,077,208
	15	Sisaket	8,839.98	1,422,527
	16	Surin	8,124.06	1,367,685
	17	Ubon Ratchathani	15,744.00	1,731,105
	18	Udon Thani	11,530.00	1,491,560
	19	Yasothon	4,161.66	549,466

Geography and Climate
Mountains, rivers and lakes: The Northeast has 4 significant mountain ranges, 6 significant rivers and 1 lake:

Mountains, Rivers and Lakes of Northeast Thailand	Mountain Ranges		Rivers and Lakes
	No. (Red)	Mountain Range	No. (Purple)	River or Lake
	1	Dong Phaya Yen	1	Chi River
	2	Phanom Dongrak	2	Heuang River
	3	Phu Paan	3	Khong River
	4	San Kampaeng	4	Loei River
			5	Mun River
			6	Songkhram River
			7	Nong Han Lake

Plains: The Northeast mostly consists of plains. The 2 major plains are the Korat plain (in the south of the region), whose major rivers are the Mun and Chi rivers, and the Sakon Nakhorn plain (in the north of the region), whose major rivers are the Songkhram and Loei rivers.
Influences on Climate: The Northeast's climate is influenced by the northeast monsoon winds and depression storms. The mountains of the Northeast prevent the southwest monsoon winds from having much influence. Influence from the ocean is minimal due to the distance from the oceans (300 - 600 km.).
Temperature: The average highest temperature is 30.2 C, and the average lowest temperature is 19.6 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in the Northeast was 43.8 C (Udon Thani Province, 1958) and the lowest until recent times was 0.1 C (Loei Province, 1955, the lowest in the country).
Rainfall: The rain in the Northeast is usually provided by depression storms. The annual rainfall in the Northeast is between 1270 mm to 2000 mm.. The provinces with the least annual rainfall are Nakhorn Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Mahasarakam, Khonkaen and Chaiyaphum (1270 mm.)
Seasons: The Northeast has 3 seasons, the rainy season, from mid-May to mid-October, when the southwest monsoon winds and depression storms exert their influence, winter, from mid-October to February, when the northeast monsoon winds exert their influence, especially on the north part of the region, and summer, from March to May, when there is no influence from the southwest monsoon winds and the region receives vertical rays from the sun.

Places of Interest
The Northeast has many places of interest, for example:
1. The mountains of Loei Province
    Phu Kradeung (1,325 m.), Phu Reua and Phu Luang (1,571 m., the highest mountain in the Northeast) are mountains which have beautiful scenery from which you can see very far.
2. The stone ruins at Pimai, Nakhorn Ratchasima Province
    Pimai was once an important town in the northwest of the Khmer kingdom. The ruins were once a Mahayana Bhuddism temple which was built in the mid 11th century.
3. Khao Yai National Park, partially in Nakhorn Ratchasima Province (also partially in Nakhorn Nayok, Saraburi and Prachin Buri Provinces)
    The only national park in the world where a large number of hornbills gather annually (every August and September), the park has many wildlife species, beautiful waterfalls, grasslamds, groves and complex mountain ranges.
4. The Phanom Rung stone ruins, Buri Ram Province
    These ruins were originally a Hindu place of worship which was continuously built over some period of time. The ruins have very beautiful decorations including a stone decoration of Rama sleeping.
5. Elephant fair, Surin Province
    Held every November, this fair showcases elephants in various events ranging from tug of war to soccer.
6. Baan Chiang archeological museum, Udon Thani Province
    Baan Chiang was once the site of one of Thailand's most ancient civilizations. The museum showcases various archeological finds, ranging from various tools to earthenware.
7. Phu Kum Khao, Kalasin Province and Phu Wiang, Khonkaen Province.
    Phu Kum Khao is the best place to find dinosaur fossils in Thailand, whereas Phu Wiang was where dinosaur fossils were first found in Thailand.
8. Pha Taem national park, Ubon Ratchathani Province
    The park contains many places of interest, for example, Pha Taem itself, which has prehistoric drawings and Sao Chaliang, a stone pillar whose stone is composed of shells, pebbles and sand..