The Phuket mountain range is a mountain range in the Kra Isthmus, Thailand.

Geography

This chain of hills is one of the southern sections of the central cordillera, the mountain chain which runs from Tibet through all of the Malay peninsula.

The Phuket chain is a continuation of the greater Tenasserim range, extending southwards for over 200 km until the Titiwangsa Mountains, the main chain of the Malay Highlands.

The highest elevation is Khao Lang Kha Tuk with an elevation of 1395 m. As the hills raise directly from the western coast there are no notable rivers west of the ridge. To the east the largest rivers are the Phum Duang River and the Lang Suan River. The largest lake within the mountains is the Chiao Lan (Ratchaprapha dam) with 165 km², an artificial lake within the Khao Sok national park. The mountains mostly consist of limestone, which leads to the notable karst geography of steep hills. The hills west of the ridge contain several tin mines, which are however mostly exhausted already.

Many geographic documents include the Phuket range as part of the Tenasserim Hills chain.

Protection

Most of the mountains are protected in various national parks and other protected areas. These are (from the south) Si Phang-nga NP, Tonpariwat Wildlife Sanctuary, Khlong Phanom NP, Khao Sok NP, Khlong Yan Wildlife Sanctuary, Kaeng Krung NP, Khlong Nakha Wildlife Sanctuary and Namtok Ngao NP (formerly named Khlong Prao NP).