Si Racha (, ) is a subdistrict and town 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 ...
on the east coast of the
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...
, about southeast of
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 ...
in
Si Racha district,
Chonburi province.
The town is the center of the
Si Racha district, the
ninth-largest urban city area in Thailand. Si Racha is in the industrial
Eastern Seaboard zone, along with
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...
,
Laem Chabang
Laem Chabang (, ) is a port city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') in Si Racha and Bang Lamung districts of Chonburi Province, Thailand. It includes Thung Sukhla subdistrict (''tambon'') and parts of subdistricts Bueng, Nong Kham and Surasak o ...
, and
Chonburi
Chonburi (, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and, as part of the district Mueang Chonburi District, Mueang Chonburi, the List of municipalities in Thailand, seventh-largest city in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Ba ...
. It is also part of the Pattaya-Chonburi Metropolitan Area, a
conurbation
A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...
with a population of 999,092 people.
Si Racha is known as the birthplace of the popular
hot sauce
Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa (sauce), salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of Mass production, mass-produced hot sauce exist.
History
Humans have used chili peppers and other ho ...
,
Sriracha, which is named after the town.
History
Si Racha used to be part of Bang Lamung district which it borders today to its south. In 1900 (
B.E 2443) Field Marshal
Chao Phraya Surasak Montri came to the area of the modern town and built a sawmill under his company Sriracha Capital Company Limited. In 1903, Surasak Montri requested that the district capital of Bang Phra district be moved to Si Racha, which it did but retained its original name before becoming Si Racha district in 1917.
The municipality was created as a subdistrict municipality (''
thesaban tambon
Thesaban (, , , Pali, Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesa ...
'') in 1945. In 1995, the subdistrict municipality was upgraded to a town municipality (''
thesaban mueang'').
On 3 September 2023, an oil pipeline that was in use filling an oil tanker off a jetty owned by
Thai Oil ruptured, causing an oil spill. The spill polluted the Gulf of Thailand with 50-70 m³, producing a 5 km slick. The spill is currently under the authority of the Pollution Control Department and the Marine Department. Thai Oil was later given permission to use 6,000 litres of dispersant on the slick. As of 7 September 2023, the coral off the coast of islands in the gulf have been unaffected by the spill.
Unrelated to the oil spill, on 8 September the waters off Si Racha experienced a plankton bloom caused by recent monsoons that had occurred across the country, causing the beaches up to
Bang Saen Beach to be covered by dead marine life, including
ponyfishes,
crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...
s,
pufferfishes, and
tilapias.
Education
The
Thai-Japanese Association School Sriracha, a
Japanese international school, is in Si Racha. It is an affiliate of the
Thai-Japanese Association School in
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 ...
.
学校案内 シラチャ校アクセス
" Thai Japanese Association School. Retrieved on 9 January 2018. "312/10 Moo 5, Surasak, Sriracha, Chonburi 20110, THAILAND" Si Racha formerly housed the Sriracha-Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...
Japanese Supplement School, a Japanese weekend school.[アジアの補習授業校一覧]
(). MEXT
The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan.
History
The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...
. January 2, 2003. Retrieved on January 12, 2018. "シラチヤ・パタヤ SRIRAOHA・PATTAYA JAPANESE SUPPLEMENT SCHOOL 53 SRIRACHA NAKHON SOI I, SUKHUMNT ROAD CHONBURI"
See also
* Khao Kheow Open Zoo
References
External links
*
{{Chonburi
Populated places in Chonburi province