The
Chao Phraya () is a major
river in
Thailand, with its low alluvial river plain marking the mainland of the country. It runs through
Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
Etymology
According to many European old maps, the river is named as
Menam or
Mae Nam, the Thai word for river (Me or Mae is "Mother", Nam is "Water"). The name
Chao Phraya is a Thai
feudal title, which can be translated as
General or
Lord. In the English-language media in Thailand the name is often translated as
River of Kings.
Current studies found that the word
Chao Phraya did not appear in any historical sources until very much later in the
Rattanakosin era. It is possible that the river had always been known by the locals as
Menam as referred to in most European sources.
Geography
The Chao Phraya begins at the
confluence of the
Ping and
Nan river at
Nakhon Sawan (also called Pak Nam Pho) in the
Nakhon Sawan province. It then flows from north to south for from the
central plains to
Bangkok and the
Gulf of Thailand. In
Chainat, the river splits into the main river course and the
Tha Chin river, which then flows parallel to the main river and exits to the Gulf of Thailand about west of Bangkok in
Samut Sakhon. In the low
alluvial plain which begins below the Chainat dam, many small canals (
khlong) split off from the main river. The khlongs are used for the irrigation of the region's rice paddies
River settlements
The cities along the Chao Phraya are
Nakhon Sawan,
Uthai Thani,
Chainat,
Singburi,
Ang Thong,
Ayutthaya,
Pathum Thani,
Nonthaburi,
Bangkok and
Samut Prakan, listed from north to south. These cities are among the most historically significant and densely populated settlements of Thailand precisely because of their access to the waterway.
A view of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok
Notable bridges
The major bridges that cross the Chao Phraya are in the province of Bangkok.
- Rama VI, rail-road bridge of the southern line
- Rama VIII, a single tower asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge
- Rama IX, semi-symmetric cable-stayed bridge
Transportation
In Bangkok, the Chao Phraya is a major transportation artery for a vast network of ferries and water taxis, also known as longtails. More than 15 boat lines operate on the riverways and canals of the city, including
commuter lines.
Tributaries
The principal tributaries of the Chao Phraya River are the
Pa Sak River, the
Sakae Krang River, the
Nan River (along with its principal confluent the
Yom River), the
Ping River (with its principal confluent the
Wang River), and the
Tha Chin River.
Each of these tributaries (and the Chao Phraya itself) is further tributed by additional minor tributaries often referred to as
khwae. All of the tributaries, including the lesser khwae, form an extensive tree-like pattern, with branches flowing through nearly every province in central and northern
Thailand.
None of the tributaries of the Chao Phraya extend beyond the nation's borders.
[Google Earth] The Nan and the Yom River flow nearly parallel from
Phitsanulok to Chumsaeng in the north of Nakhon Sawan province. The
Wang River enters the Ping River near Sam Ngao district in
Tak province.
Chao Phraya watershed
The expanse of the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, i.e. the
Chao Phraya river system, together with the land upon which falling rain drains into these bodies of water, form the
Chao Phraya watershed.The Chao Phraya watershed is the largest watershed in Thailand, covering approximately 35% of the nation's land, and draining an area of .
The watershed is divided into the following basins:
- Tha Chin Basin (the basin of the Chao Phraya's most significant distributary)
- Chao Phraya Basin (the land drained by the Chao Phraya River itself, and not by its major tributaries)
The mountainous natural boundary of the watershed forms a
divide, which has, to some degree, historically isolated Thailand from other Southeast Asian civilizations. In fact, in northern Thailand, the divide roughly corresponds to a long section of the political border of present-day Thailand. Southern portions of the divide's boundary correspond less to the nation's political border, because isolation in this area was prevented by the ease of transportation along the lowlands surrounding the Gulf of Thailand, allowing a unified Thai civilization to extend beoynd the watershed without issue.
Chao Phraya Basin
The Chao Phraya Basin is defined as the portion of the Chao Phraya Watershed drained by the Chao Phraya River itself, and not by its major tributaries or distributaries. As such, the Chao Phraya Basin drains of land.
Chao Phraya Delta
The
Tha Chin River is the major distributary of the Chao Phraya River. The expanse of the Chao Phraya and
Tha Chin Rivers and their distributaries, starting at the point at which the distributaries diverge, together with the land amid the triangle formed by the outermost and innermost distributary, form the
Chao Phraya Delta. The many distributaries of the Chao Phraya delta are interconnected by canals that serve both for irrigation and for transportation.
See also
