The Nakhon Si Thammarat Range (, , ) is a

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 ...

on the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

in southern Thailand, running in a north–south direction. This mountain chain is also sometimes named Banthat Range (ทิวเขาบรรทัด), a name which is however also used to refer to the Chanthaburi mountain range.

Location

The main range of the peninsula begins along the east coast at about 10° 05′ north latitude on Ko Tao. It continues through Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Samui to the east coast mainland, east of Bandon Bay, and parallels the coast all the way into Malayan territory.

Description

The mountains are named after the town Nakhon Si Thammarat, located east of the range. The highest elevation is the 1835 m high Khao Luang. This mountain range is a part of the Tenasserim Hills system.Avijit Gupta, ''The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia'', Oxford University Press, 2005. It begins to the east of the Phuket Range, which runs in the same direction about 60 km further west. Between the ranges there are isolated peaks, the highest of which is 1,350 m high Khao Phanom Bencha. To the south it is continued by the Sankalakhiri Range. Several smaller rivers originate in the mountain range, the Tapi River is the largest by far. Another relatively large river is the Trang River. The range is in the Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

Protected areas

Several national parks are located in the mountain range. * Tai Rom Yen National Park * Khao Luang National Park * Khao Nan National Park * Namtok Yong National Park * Khao Pu - Khao Ya National Park

References

External links

National Park Division
Tenasserim Hills Mountain ranges of Thailand Malay Peninsula Nakhon Si Thammarat province Southern Thailand {{Thailand-geo-stub