
The Annamite Range (; ) is a major
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
of
Mainland Southeast Asia
Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
, extending approximately through
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, and a small area in northeast
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
.
Geography
The highest points of the Annamite Range are the -high
Phou Bia
Phou Bia (, ) is the highest mountain in Laos. It is in the Annamite Range, at the southern limit of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Xaisomboun Province. Owing to its elevation—2,830 m (9,280 ft), the highest terrestrial point in Laos, the ...
, the -high
Phu Xai Lai Leng and the -high
Ngọc Linh (Ngoc Pan). The latter is located at the northwestern edge of the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
Kontum Massif in central Vietnam. Important
mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...
es are the Nape Pass and the
Mụ Giạ Pass.
The Annamite Range runs parallel to the Vietnamese coast, in a gentle curve which
divides the
basin of the
Mekong River
The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...
from Vietnam's narrow
coastal plain along the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. Most of the crests are on the Laotian side. The eastern slope of the range rises steeply from the plain, drained by numerous short rivers. The western slope is more gentle, forming significant
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
s before descending to the banks of the Mekong. The range itself has three main plateaus, from north to south: Phouane Plateau, Nakai Plateau and
Bolaven Plateau.
Laos lies mostly within the Mekong basin, west of the divide, although most of
Houaphan Province and a portion of
Xiangkhoang Province (where the famous
Plain of Jars is located) lie east of the divide. Most of Vietnam lies east of the divide, although Vietnam's
Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) region lies west of the divide, in the Mekong basin.
Etymology
The mountain range is also variously referred to as the Annamese Range, the Annamese Mountains, the Annamese Cordillera, the Annamite Mountains, as well as the Annamite Cordillera. The name "Annam" is the Vietnamese pronunciation and terminology of zh, c=安南 ( zh, p=Ān Nán), meaning "the tranquil south" referring to Vietnam. The French adopted the word and used "Annamese" or "Annamite" to refer to the Vietnamese.
Ecology
The Annamite mountains form an important
tropical seasonal forest global ecoregion, the Annamite Range Moist Forests Ecoregion, which consists of two
terrestrial ecoregions
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecology, ecological and Geography, geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of la ...
, the
Southern Annamites montane rain forests
The Southern Annamites montane rain forests ecoregion (WWF ID: IM0152) covers a region of high biodiversity in the central and southern mountains of the Annamite Range in Vietnam. Terrain ranges from wet lowland forest to evergreen hardwood an ...
and the
Northern Annamites rain forests
The Northern Annamites rain forests ecoregion (WWF ID: IM0136) covers the rugged and relatively unexplored northern Annamite Mountains of central Laos and Vietnam. There are high numbers of endemic plant species, and the relative remoteness and ...
.
The range is home to rare creatures such as the recently discovered
Annamite rabbit
The Annamite striped rabbit (''Nesolagus timminsi'') is a species of rabbit native to the Annamite mountain range on the Laos- Vietnam border. The rabbit is striped, with a red rump, and resembles the Sumatran striped rabbit. It only recently ...
and the antelope-like
saola
The saola (''Pseudoryx nghetinhensis''), also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is a forest-dwelling bovid native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of ...
, the
Douc langur, the large
gaur, the
Chinese pangolin, and formerly the
Indochinese tiger.
History
Most of the highlands like the Annamite Range and the
Central Highlands were populated by ethnic minorities who were not Vietnamese during the beginning of the 20th century. The demographics were drastically transformed with the arrival of 6 million settlers from 1976 to the 1990s, which led to ethnic Vietnamese Kinh outnumbering the native ethnic groups in the highlands.
See also
*
List of Ultras of Southeast Asia
References
External links
*
BBC In Pictures: Uncovering Viet Nam's secret wildlifeCat Tien National ParkPaleoanthropology in mainland Southeast Asia; Tam Hang, LaosMalaria in Montagnard country in Vietnam(French)
{{Authority control
Mountain ranges of Vietnam
Mountain ranges of Laos
Ecoregions of Vietnam
Geography of Xiangkhouang province
Mountain ranges of Cambodia
Ecoregions of Laos
Ecoregions of Cambodia
Cordilleras