The Thanon Thong Chai Range ( th, ทิวเขาถนนธงชัย, , formerly Thanon Range; Burmese ''Tanen Taunggyi'') is a mountain range in

northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is geographically characterised by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them. Though like most of Thailan ...

. Its tallest peak is

Doi Inthanon Doi Inthanon ( th, ดอยอินทนนท์, ) is the highest mountain in Thailand. It is in Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai Province. This mountain is an ultra prominent peak, known in the past as ''Doi Luang'' ('big mountain') or '' ...

, the highest point in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Most of the range is in

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...

, with parts in Mae Hong Son and

Lamphun Province Lamphun ( th, ลำพูน, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Tak. Geography Lamphun is ...

s. Geologically in the Thanon Thong Chai Range, as in the other southern subranges of the Shan Hills, layers of

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

are superimposed on hard rock. Precambrian rocks are present in this range, but absent in the ranges further east, such as the Khun Tan Range.

Geography

The Thanon Thong Chai Range is the southernmost prolongation of the

Shan Hills The Shan Hills ( my, ရှမ်းရိုးမ; ''Shan Yoma''), also known as Shan Highland, is a vast mountainous zone that extends through Yunnan to Myanmar and Thailand. The whole region is made up of numerous mountain ranges separated ...

and it consists of two parallel ranges running southwards from the southwestern limits of the Daen Lao Range between rivers Yuam and

Ping Ping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Ping, a domesticated Chinese duck in the illustrated book '' The Story about Ping'', first published in 1933 * Ping, a minor character in ''Seinfeld'', an NBC sitcom * Ping, a c ...

. The eastern range is also known as Inthanon Range (ทิวเขาอินทนนท์). Often the

Dawna Range The Dawna Range (; th, ทิวเขาถนนธงชัยตะวันตก, ทิวเขาดอยมอนกุจู), also known as Dawna Hills, is a mountain range in eastern Burma and northwestern Thailand. Its northern e ...

further west and south is included as the western part of the Thanon Thong Chai Range. There are also some geographers who include the Thanon Thong Chai as a subrange of the Daen Lao Range. Doi Inthanon, at in the Inthanon Range, is one of the

ultra prominent peak An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or fr ...

s of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. Other high peaks of the Thanon Thong Chai Range are high Doi Hua Mot Luang, the second highest peak in Thailand, Doi Pui (), and high

Doi Suthep Doi Suthep (ดอยสุเทพ), is a mountain ("doi") west of Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is in elevation and is one of the twin peaks of a granite mountain. The other peak is known as Doi Pui and is slightly higher (). Doi Suthep is from ...

History

Certain

hill tribe Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

communities live in the range, like the

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...

and the Karen whose tribal villages dot the mountainsides. Some of these communities are regularly visited by organized tourist groups. Doi Inthanon was formerly known as ''Doi Ang Ka'' and was renamed in honor of King Inthawichayanon at the end of the 19th century.

Ecology

The vegetation is mostly

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forest below and evergreen hill forest above this height but there has been heavy

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

. Since a great proportion of the original forest cover has disappeared, denuded patches of grassland and mixed bushy vegetation are common. Some projects for the restoration of forest cover have been undertaken in ecologically degraded areas. Animal species in the Thanon Thong Chai Range are threatened by deliberate

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

s that are set seasonally by farmers in different areas across the range. Wild fauna in the range includes Sambar deer,

barking deer Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

serow The serows ( or ) are four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were until recently also classified under ''Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Extant ...

, leopard, goral and the Tenasserim white-bellied rat, as well as many bird species. A number of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are found in the range.

Protected areas

* Doi Inthanon National Park * Doi Suthep-Pui National Park * Khun Khan National Park *

Mae Ngao National Park Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University. Histor ...

Mae Ping National Park Mae Ping National Park (อุทยานแห่งชาติแม่ปิง) is at the southern end of the Thanon Thong Chai Range, in Lamphun, Tak, and Chiang Mai Provinces in northern Thailand. Established on 13-07-1981, it is an IUC ...

Mae Tho National Park Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University. History ...

* Mae Wang National Park * Namtok Mae Surin National Park * Op Luang National Park * Op Khan National Park * Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary * Lum Nam Pai Wildlife Sanctuary * Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Sanctuary *

Mae Tuen Wildlife Sanctuary Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University. History ...

* Om Koi Wildlife SanctuaryOm Koi Wildlife Sanctuary
/ref>

References

External links