The Khun Tan Range ( or, erroneously, ทิวเขาขุนตาล) is a mountain range that occupies a central position in

Northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is a region of Thailand. It is geographically characterized by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys that cut through them. ...

. Most of the range is located in

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 ...

, western

Chiang Rai Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai was established as a capital city in the reign of King Ma ...

Lampang Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang (; , ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for Lampang include Wiang Lak ...

and Lamphun Provinces. The geological composition of the Khun Tan mountains is different from the neighboring

Thanon Thong Chai Range The Thanon Thong Chai Range (, , formerly Thanon Range; Burmese ''Tanen Taunggyi'') is a mountain range in northern Thailand. Its tallest peak is Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. Most of the range is in Chiang Mai Province, with ...

in the west and the Daen Lao Range in the north.

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

rocks are absent in this mountain chain which is thus not part of the

Shan Hills The Shan Hills (; ''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 peaks separated mostly by narrow valleys, as well as a few ...

system. The

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

of the Khun Tan Range is homogeneous with the

Phi Pan Nam Range The Phi Pan Nam Range, also Pee Pan Nam, (, ) is a long system of mountain ranges in the eastern half of the Thai highlands. The range lies mostly in Thailand, although a small section in the northeast is within Sainyabuli Province, Sainyabul ...

further east and some scholarly works designate the Khun Tan as the "Western Phi Pan Nam Range", including it as part of the Phi Pan Nam Mountain System.

Geography

The Khun Tan Range begins south of the

Kok River The Kok River (, , ; , ) is a tributary river of the Mekong that flows in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces in northern Thailand. Source The river originates in the Daen Lao Range, Shan State, Myanmar. It flows eastwards across the Myanmar ...

valley, at the southern end of the

Daen Lao Range The Daen Lao Range (,
; ) is a mountain range of the Fang District. It stretches southwards in a north/south direction turning midway to a roughly NE/SW direction between the

Ping River The Ping River (, , ; , ) along with the Nan River, is one of the two main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. It originates at Doi Thuai in the Daen Lao Range, in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province. After passing Chiang Mai, it flows th ...

and the

Wang River The Wang River (, , ; , ) is a river in northern Thailand. Geography The Wang River is long. Its waters flow from north to south. The Wang River has its source in the Phi Pan Nam Range in Wiang Pa Pao District, Chiang Rai Province. One of the ...

until

Doi Tao District Doi Tao (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the southern part of Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise) Om Koi, Hot of Chiang Mai Province, Li of Lamphun province and Sam Ngao o ...

. The tallest peak is 2,031 m high Doi Mae Tho (ดอยแม่โถ), also known as Doi Langka Luang (ดอยลังกาหลวง); Other peaks are 2,012 m high Doi Pha Cho (ดอยผาจ้อ), 1,348 m high Doi Khun Tan (ดอยขุนตาน), 1,668 m high Doi Mon Lan and 1,816 m high Doi Saket (ดอยสะเก็ด), also known as Doi Khun On (ดอยขุนออน). Along with the westernmost range of the

Phi Pan Nam Mountains The Phi Pan Nam Range, also Pee Pan Nam, (, ) is a long system of mountain ranges in the eastern half of the Thai highlands. The range lies mostly in Thailand, although a small section in the northeast is within Sainyabuli and Bokeo provinc ...

further east this range separates the

intermontane Intermontane is a physiographic adjective formed from the prefix " inter-" (''signifying among, between, amid, during, within, mutual, reciprocal'') and the adjective "montane" (inhabiting, or growing in mountainous regions, especially cool, mo ...

basins and plateaus of Chiang Mai and

. Temperatures range from a maximum of 33°C in the hot season (February to July), to a minimum of 2°C during the cold season, between November and January.

Snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

fell in the Chai Prakan and Mae Suai District areas of the range in 1955, a very rare event in these latitudes despite the altitude.

History

Historically the Khun Tan Range was a formidable

natural barrier A natural barrier is a physical feature that protects or hinders travel through or over. Mountains, swamps, deserts and ice fields are among the clearest examples of natural barriers. Rivers are a more ambiguous example, as they may obstruct l ...

between the

Lanna Kingdom The Lan Na kingdom or the Kingdom of Lanna (, , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; , , ), also known as Lannathai, was an Greater India#Indianization, Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to the 18th centuri ...

and the Central Plain of Siam. The Khun Tan Tunnel was built in 1907 across the southern part of the range and contributed to alleviate the difficulties in communication between

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

and

. It is the longest railway tunnel 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 ...

and it took eleven years to complete. Construction was disrupted owing to the arrest of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

engineers in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when Siam, having been neutral until July 1917, declared war on the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

. Khun Tan Station, located at the northern end of the tunnel, is the highest railway station in Thailand at 758 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. There are 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 living in the Khun Tan Range, like the Yao and the Akha who have villages in the mountain sides of the northern areas of the range in

Phrao District Phrao (, ; , ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the north-eastern part of Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand. Its major town, ''Phrao'', lies 107 km north-northeast of Chiang Mai. The meaning of ''Phrao'' in English is 'coconut'. History ...

. Part of the

hill people 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 ...

are refugees from troubled areas in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and some of these communities are regularly visited by organized tourist groups. Thailand Route 118 between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai cuts diagonally across the Khun Tan Range from SW to NE about 30 km northeast of Chiang Mai town.

Ecology

The lower altitudes are covered with dry mixed deciduous forest, while hill

evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...

grows above 800 m, as well as in shady and narrow zones in the valleys. Extensive

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

s are deliberately set off by local farmers in the mountain forests of the Khun Tan Range every year between February and April towards the end of the dry season. One of the purposes of this somewhat radical activity is to trigger the growth of the '' Astraeus odoratus'' mushroom (; ''het pho'') that fetches a high price on the Thai market. Often speculators hire people to set forests on fire in order to claim land title deeds for the areas that have become "

degraded forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

". Although the large trees are not too badly affected, the periodic fires negatively affect the wildlife of vast areas of the mountain chain. These yearly wildfires are the main cause of the intense

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

and contribute to the floods in the country by completely denuding the

undergrowth In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but above ...

of the woods. The dry forest soil leads to lower water intake for the trees to extract when the rains arrive.

Wildlife

Many species of mammals are assumed to have disappeared in the range for lack of recent sightings, such as the

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It is distributed from southeast ...

, the

slow loris Slow lorises are a group of several species of Nocturnality, nocturnal Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus ''Nycticebus''. Found in Southeast Asia and nearby areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the ...

, the white-handed gibbon, the

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

and the

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

. Animals that have been sighted recently include

civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term ''civet'' applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's div ...

s, wild pigs,

barking deer Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

hog badger Hog badgers are three species of mustelid in the genus ''Arctonyx''. They represent one of the two genera in the subfamily Melinae, alongside the true badgers (genus ''Meles''). Taxonomy ''Arctonyx'' was formerly considered a monotypic gen ...

flying squirrel Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe (biology), tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family (biology), family Squirrel, Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight i ...

s and

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s. Among the birds, the ashy drongo, scarlet minivet, grey-headed canary-flycatcher, white-crowned forktail, brown fish owl, crested serpent eagle, shikra, velvet-fronted nuthatch, blue-throated barbet, coppersmith barbet, blue-winged leafbird, brown-cheeked fulvetta and

red junglefowl The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), also known as the Indian red junglefowl (and formerly the bankiva or bankiva-fowl), is a species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the a ...

deserve mention. The Khun Tan mountains also act as a natural barrier for species west and east of the range, such as the pied bushchat. Reptiles in the range include the green tree viper, the

king cobra The king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah'') is a species complex of snakes Endemism, endemic to Asia. With an average of and a record length of , it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus ''Ophiophagus'', i ...

and the

flying lizard ''Draco'' is a genus of agamid lizards that are also known as flying lizards, flying dragons or gliding lizards. These lizards are capable of gliding flight via membranes that may be extended to create wings (patagia), formed by a support struc ...

Protected areas

The Mae Ta Krai National Park protecting the source of the

On River On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...

(น้ำแม่ออน), a tributary of the

, is located in Mae On District. Other

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s in the Khun Tan mountain chain are: * Doi Khun Tan National Park *

Chae Son National Park Chae Son National Park () is a List of national parks of Thailand, national park in Lampang Province, Thailand. Home to the namesake Chae Son waterfall, the park is also host to caves and hot springs. Geography Chae Son National Park is located ...

Khun Chae National Park Khun Chae National Park () is a national park in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. This rugged park is home to high mountains and waterfalls. Geography Khun Chae National Park is located about northeast of Chiang Mai in the Wiang Pa Pao district ...

* Si Lanna National Park * Doi Wiang Pha National Park

Tourism

Tourist attractions of the Khun Tan Range include

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s and natural

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s. The Thai Elephant Conservation Center is located in the southern

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geography, geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an highland, upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low terrain, relief hill ...

of the range. It is an institute taking care of

elephants Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...

since 1993 under the patronage of the

Royal Family of Thailand The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and the city of Bangkok in 1782; f ...

Mae On District Mae On (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Chiang Mai province in the north of Thailand. Geography The district is about 40 km east of the city of Chiang Mai. Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise) San Kamphaeng and Doi Saket o ...

east of Chiang Mai is a popular destination for

rock climber Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

s who wish to climb the limestone

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

s of the place nicknamed "Crazy Horse Buttress" in the Range.Joshua Morris & Khaetthaleeya Uppakham, ''A Guide to Rock Climbing in Northern Thailand.'' Nopburee Press Co., Ltd. Chiang Mai, 2004.

References

External links

{{commons category
Google Books, ''The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia''Chiang Mai’s Best Kept Secret - Khun Tan National ParkRailway TripShrine of the Guardian of the Mountains (ศาลเจ้าพ่อขุนตาน)Rapid 102 by ALS - 4119 On Khun Tan Mountain Range 2
Mountain ranges of Thailand Phi Pan Nam Range Geography of Chiang Mai province Geography of Chiang Rai province Geography of Lamphun province Geography of Lampang province Wildfire ecology

Geography

History

Ecology

Wildlife

Protected areas

Tourism

See also

References

External links