Kra Isthmus landscape. The mountain in the background is part of the Tenasserim chain.
The
Kra Isthmus is the narrow land bridge which connects the
Malay Peninsula with the mainland of
Asia.
Geography
The east part of the landbridge belongs to
Thailand, while the west part belongs to the
Tanintharyi division of
Myanmar. To the west of the Isthmus is the
Andaman Sea, and to the east is the
Gulf of Thailand.
The narrowest part between the
estuary of the
Kra River and the bay of Sawi near the city
Chumphon has a width of 44 km, and has a maximum altitude of 75 m above sea level. The Isthmus is named after the town
Kra Buri, in the
Ranong province of
Thailand, which is located at the west side of the narrowest part.
The Isthmus of Kra marks the boundary between two sections of the central cordillera, the mountain chain which runs from Tibet through all of the Malay peninsula. The southern part is called the
Phuket chain, which is a continuation of the greater
Tenasserim range, which extends northwards for over 400 km beyond the
Three Pagodas Pass.
Kra Canal
The Thai Canal (formerly known as Kra Canal) is a proposed canal from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea via southern Thailand.
In popular culture
See also
