mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
Chiang Mai Province
Chiang Mai is the largest Provinces of Thailand, province (''changwat'') of Thailand by area. It lies in Northern Thailand#Regional classification of northern Thailand, upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It ...
. This mountain is an
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 fro ...
, known in the past as Doi Luang Ang Ga (''Grand Mount Ang Ga'') or meaning the 'crow's pond top'. Near the mountain's base was a pond where many crows gathered. The name ''Doi Inthanon'' was given in honour of Inthawichayanon, King of
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...
, who was concerned about the forests in the north and tried to preserve them. After his death, his remains was interred at Doi Luang, which was then renamed in his honour.
Today, the summit of Doi Inthanon is a popular tourist destination for both foreign and Thai tourists, with a peak of 12,000 visitors visiting the summit on New Year's Day. In addition to a range of tourist facilities on the summit, there is a
weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasting, weather forecasts and to study the weather and clima ...
operated by the
Royal Thai Air Force
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) (; ) is the air force of the Kingdom of Thailand. Since its establishment in 1913 as one of the earliest air forces of Asia, the Royal Thai Air Force has engaged in numerous major and minor conflicts. During the ...
Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...
watershed. Other high peaks of the Daen Lao Range are Doi Luang Chiang Dao (), Doi Pui (), and
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 ...
().
In 1954, the forests around Doi Inthanon were conserved, creating Doi Inthanon National Park, as one of the original 14
national parks
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
of Thailand. This park now covers 482.4 km2 and spreads from the lowlands at elevation up to the peak at . Given the varied climatic and ecological areas regions, the park supports a range of animal species, including around 500 bird species.
On the lower slopes of Doi Inthanon, near the Karenhill tribe village, Ban Sop Had, are the Wachirathan waterfalls (), where the Wachirathan (lit. "Diamond Creek") tumbles over a granite
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...
. ()
Climate
The climate is typically tropical and fairly cool on the summit of Doi Inthanon. In the winter, the average temperature is in January and temperatures can sometimes drop below . On 21 December 2017, an all-time low temperature of was recorded at 06:30 at km 44.4. From March to June, temperatures are pleasant, especially at higher altitudes. The rainy season runs from April to November when it sometimes rains for more than two hours daily.
Geology
Geologically the mountain is a
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
batholith
A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in the Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate ...
in a north–south oriented mountain range. The second-highest peak of this range is Doi Hua Mot Luang at .
Environmental issues
In 2014, visitors to the mountain left behind of rubbish.
Places
* On the summit of Doi Inthanon stand a stupa cotains Inthawichayanon’s ashes.
* On the main road to the summit of Doi Inthanon stand two adjacent chedis, one called ''Naphamethinidon'' (นภเมทินีดล), meaning 'by the strength of the land and air', and the other, ''Naphaphonphumisiri'' (นภพลภูมิสิริ), meaning 'being the strength of the air and the grace of the land'. These temples were built to honor the 60th birth anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1987, and the 60th birth anniversary of Queen Sirikit in 1992, respectively.
* Kio Mae Pan Nature Trail
* The Inthanon Royal Project Research Station: The agricultural station was a King
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...
project to help eliminate
opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
cultivation. It contains a rhododendron garden, and greenhouses for growing ferns, flowering plants, and vegetables.
Gallery
File:5th Unit Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand.jpg, 5th Unit Doi Inthanon National Park
File:Stupa of Inthawichayanon (I).jpg, Stupa of Inthawichayanon
File:Doi Inthanon, View of the mountains, Thailand.jpg, View west from Doi Inthanon
File:Doi Inthanon, View from Royal Pagoda, Thailand.jpg, View from the Royal Pagoda
File:Doi Inthanon, Vegetation on the slopes, Thailand.jpg, Vegetation on the slopes of Doi Inthanon
File:A waterfall in Doi Inthanon National Park.jpg, Wachirathan Waterfall
File:Doi Inthanon, King’s Pagoda, Mural, Carving, Art relief 2, Thailand.jpg, Mural carvings on King's Pagoda
File:Doi Inthanon, Royal Chedi, Thailand.jpg, Royal Chedi
File:Doi Inthanon, Royal Stupa 2, Thailand.jpg, View from the top
File:Doi inthanon control and reporting center.JPG, Doi Inthanon control and reporting center on the summit
List of elevation extremes by country
The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory.
Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential ...