Phang Nga Bay (, ) is a bay in the

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...

between the island of

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

and the mainland of the

Kra Isthmus The Kra Isthmus (, ; ), also called the Isthmus of Kra in Thailand, is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula. The western part of the isthmus belongs to Ranong Province and the eastern part to Chumphon Province, both in Southern Thailan ...

southern Thailand Southern Thailand (formerly Southern Siam and Tambralinga) is the southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand by the Kra Isthmus. Geography Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bo ...

. Since 1981, an extensive section of the bay has been protected as the

Ao Phang Nga National Park Ao Phang Nga National Park (), located in the Phang Nga Province of the Southern Thailand, encompasses parts of Mueang Phang Nga District and Takua Thung District. The park is predominantly maritime, featuring a section of the Strait of Malacca do ...

. The park is in Phang Nga Province, at .

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cliffs with

caves Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's 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 underground (such as rock ...

, collapsed cave systems, and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

sites are found about Phang Nga Bay. Around 10,000 years ago, when sea levels were lower, it was possible to walk from

and Krabi.

Etymology and history

''Phang Nga'' is the modern Thai transliteration of the Malay word ''pangan'', literally 'heathen, pagan, primitive people,' or as proper noun, ''Pangan'' in reference to a generalised tribe or people typically inhabiting jungle areas of the Malay Peninsula and its offshore islands. Historically, in 1824 when Siamese troops defeated the Burmese and the challengers were expelled, King Rama III renamed a major area adjacent to the bay ''phang-nga''. This bastardisation of Malay ''pangan'' offers vivid indication that the entire region was likely populated by Orang Asli or other aboriginal people.

Ramsar site

Phang Nga Bay Marine National Park was declared a protected

Ramsar Site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

bay with 42 islands, comprising shallow marine waters and intertidal

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

, with at least 28

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

;

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and ...

beds and

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. ...

are also present. At least 88 bird species, including the globally threatened

Malaysian plover The Malaysian plover (''Anarhynchus peronii'') is a small (c. 35–42 g) wader that nests on beaches and Salt pan (geology), salt flats in Southeast Asia. Description The Malaysian plover is 15 cm (5.9 in) in length. The male can be re ...

(''Charadrius peronii'') and Asiatic dowitcher (''Limnodromus semipalmatus''), can be found within the site, as well as 82

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

species, 18

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s, three

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

, and 17

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

species. These include the

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

), white-hand gibbon (''Hylobates lar''), the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

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 ...

(''Capricornis sumatraensis''), and the black finless porpoise (''Neophocaena phocaenoides''). A number of diverse

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

s co-exist in local communities, which practice

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, harvesting Nypa palm fronds for

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

, and catering to an international

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

presence drawn both by the natural beauties and by the archaeological sites, which have

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s more than a thousand years old. "The Annotated Ramsar List: Thailand", The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
/ref>

In pop culture

The most famous of the many islands in the bay may be the pair of Khao Phing Kan and Ko Ta Pu, the so-called James Bond Island; in the 1974 film '' The Man with the Golden Gun'', Khao Phing Kan is the home base of the villain, with the needle formed

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

rock of Ko Ta Pu, off the main beach, featured prominently. Ko Ta Pu also featured in the 1997 Bond film ''

Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...

'', in which Phang Nga Bay served as a stand-in for

Ha Long Bay Ha may refer to: Agencies and organizations * Health authority, a former type of administrative organisation of the NHS in England and Wales * Hells Angels Motorcycle Club * Highways Agency (renamed ''Highways England'', now ''National Highways'' ...

in Vietnam. Nearby villages include Ao Luk. In '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'', the bay was used as main photography for the planet Kashyyyk, the home of the Wookiees, including Chewbacca.

Gallery

File:Dramatic karst formations in Phang Nga Bay, Thailand.jpg, Karst landscape, Phang Nga Bay. File:Limestone karst landscape of Phang Nga Bay, Thailand.jpg, Karst formations, Phang Nga Bay. File:Emerald tropical lagoon in Phang Nga Bay, Thailand.jpg, Tropical lagoon. File:Dreamy sunrise over Phang Nga bay, Koh Yao tropical island, Thailand.jpg, Sunrise over limestone islands, Phang Nga Bay.

References

External links