The Luang Prabang Range ( Thai : ทิวเขาหลวงพระบาง , pronounced [tʰīw kʰǎw lǔaŋ pʰráʔ.bāːŋ] ), named after Luang Prabang , is a mountain range straddling northwestern Laos and Northern Thailand . Most of the range is located in Sainyabuli Province (Laos), as well as Nan and Uttaradit Provinces (Thailand), with small parts in Phitsanulok and Loei Provinces . Several rivers such as the Nan , Pua and Wa rivers, have their sources in this range. Phu Fa waterfall , the biggest and the tallest waterfall in Nan Province, is also located in these mountains. This range is part of the Luang Prabang montane rain forests ecoregion .
23-685: Geologically its composition is similar to that of the parallel Khun Tan Range and the Phi Pan Nam Range , both located further west. The Luang Prabang mountains are the easternmost range of the Thai highlands . The range runs roughly in a North/South direction between the Mekong and the Nan River . Its northern end begins in the area of Hongsa District , a stretch in Laos near Luang Prabang where
46-580: A north/south direction turning midway to a roughly NE/SW direction between the Ping River and the Wang River until Doi Tao District . The tallest peak is 2,031 m high Doi Mae Tho (ดอยแม่โถ), also known as Doi Langka Luang (ดอยลังกาหลวง); Other peaks are 2,012 m high Doi Pha Cho (ดอยผาจ้อ), 1,348 m high Doi Khun Tan (ดอยขุนตาน), 1,668 m high Doi Mon Lan and 1,816 m high Doi Saket (ดอยสะเก็ด), also known as Doi Khun On (ดอยขุนออน). Along with
69-710: A very rare event in these latitudes despite the altitude. Historically the Khun Tan Range was a formidable natural barrier between the Lanna Kingdom and the Central Plain of Siam . The Khun Tan Tunnel was built in 1907 across the southern part of the range and contributed to alleviate the difficulties in communication between Bangkok and Chiang Mai . It is the longest railway tunnel in Thailand and it took eleven years to complete. Construction
92-649: Is a mountain range that occupies a central position in Northern Thailand . Most of the range is located in Chiang Mai , western Chiang Rai , Lampang and Lamphun Provinces . The geological composition of the Khun Tan mountains is different from the neighboring Thanon Thong Chai Range in the west and the Daen Lao Range in the north. Precambrian rocks are absent in this mountain chain which
115-662: Is allegedly a heartland for military involvement in timber trade. The Luang Prabang Range is practically devoid of vehicle roads on the Sainyabuli Province side, where there is only one north-south route extending from Sainyabuli , the provincial capital, to the Thai border opposite Thailand's Loei Province. In 1904 the Laotian area of the range was ceded from Siam to the French Indochina colony. Following
138-529: Is located in the southern foothills of the range. It is an institute taking care of elephants since 1993 under the patronage of the Royal Family of Thailand . Mae On District east of Chiang Mai is a popular destination for rock climbers who wish to climb the limestone cliffs of the place nicknamed "Crazy Horse Buttress" in the Range. National Biodiversity Conservation Area From Misplaced Pages,
161-496: Is one of the ultra prominent peaks of Southeast Asia . Many of the important peaks are located at the border. The vegetation is evergreen hill forest on the highest altitudes of the range height and mostly dry deciduous forest below 1,000 m, with an abundance of teak trees , which has led to heavy deforestation . Like in most ranges of the area, a great proportion of the original forest cover has disappeared owing to shifting agricultural practices and illegal logging . The area
184-754: Is thus not part of the Shan Hills system. The geology of the Khun Tan Range is homogeneous with the Phi Pan Nam Range further east and some scholarly works designate the Khun Tan as the "Western Phi Pan Nam Range", including it as part of the Phi Pan Nam Mountain System . The Khun Tan Range begins south of the Kok River valley, at the southern end of the Daen Lao Range in Fang District . It stretches southwards in
207-660: The Franco-Thai War in 1941 it was annexed by Thailand again under the name Lan Chang (Million Elephants) Province, but returned to its pre-war status in 1946 following the 1946 Washington Accord. Certain Hill tribe communities live in the range, like the Khmu and the Hmong , whose tribal villages are located on both sides of the mountain range. Since the Mekong isolated Sainyabuli from other Laotian provinces with Hmong villages,
230-675: The Mekong River flows from west to east; its southern end is about 260 km further south, at the western end of Loei Province in Thailand where the Phetchabun Mountains begin. The highest point of the range is 2,120 m high Phu Soi Dao . Other high peaks of the Luang Prabang Range are 2,079 m high Phu Khe , 1,980 m high Doi Phu Kha , 1,837 m high Doi Phu Wae and 1,745 m high Doi Phi Pan Nam ; Phu Khe
253-521: The Thai side of the Luang Prabang Range. On the Lao side there is only one. The Nam Phouy National Biodiversity Conservation Area , a large protected area in Laos home to many wild elephants, is located in a forested sector close to the Thai border. The projected reservoir of Lower Nam Phoun dam , however, is partly within the Nam Phouy NBCA and a large zone of the protected area will be flooded in
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#1732766132920276-419: The Thai side of the range. The southern part of the range saw some confrontation between December 1987 and February 1988 when Thai and Laotian forces engaged in cross-border fighting. Known as Thai–Laotian Border War , this short conflict was caused by a dispute involving the map made by French surveyors in 1907 to mark the borders between Siam and French Indochina . The Thai-Lao Joint Boundary Commission (JBC)
299-442: The areas that have become " degraded forest ". Although the large trees are not too badly affected, the periodic fires negatively affect the wildlife of vast areas of the mountain chain. These yearly wildfires are the main cause of the intense air pollution in Northern Thailand and contribute to the floods in the country by completely denuding the undergrowth of the woods. The dry forest soil leads to lower water intake for
322-403: The birds, the ashy drongo , scarlet minivet , grey-headed canary-flycatcher , white-crowned forktail , brown fish owl , crested serpent eagle , shikra , velvet-fronted nuthatch , blue-throated barbet , coppersmith barbet , blue-winged leafbird , brown-cheeked fulvetta and red junglefowl deserve mention. The Khun Tan mountains also act as a natural barrier for species west and east of
345-470: The future. Khun Nan National Park , Doi Phu Kha National Park , Sinan National Park, Mae Charim National Park , Na Haeo National Park, Klong Tron National Park, Phu Suan Sai National Park and Phu Soi Dao National Park are located on the Thai side of the Luang Prabang Range. Phu Miang-Phu Thong Wildlife Sanctuary is another protected area on the Thai side. Khun Tan Range The Khun Tan Range ( Thai : ทิวเขาขุนตาน or, erroneously, ทิวเขาขุนตาล )
368-658: The mountain sides of the northern areas of the range in Phrao District . Part of the hill people are refugees from troubled areas in Burma and some of these communities are regularly visited by organized tourist groups. Thailand Route 118 between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai cuts diagonally across the Khun Tan Range from SW to NE about 30 km northeast of Chiang Mai town. The lower altitudes are covered with dry mixed deciduous forest , while hill evergreen forest grows above 800 m, as well as in shady and narrow zones in
391-609: The range, such as the pied bushchat . Reptiles in the range include the green tree viper , the king cobra and the flying lizard . The Mae Ta Krai National Park protecting the source of the On River (น้ำแม่ออน), a tributary of the Ping River , is located in Mae On District. Other protected areas in the Khun Tan mountain chain are: Tourist attractions of the Khun Tan Range include caves , waterfalls and natural hot springs . The Thai Elephant Conservation Center
414-455: The trees to extract when the rains arrive. Many species of mammals are assumed to have disappeared in the range for lack of recent sightings, such as the Asiatic black bear , the slow loris , the white-handed gibbon , the leopard cat and the serow . Animals that have been sighted recently include civets , wild pigs , barking deer , hog badgers , flying squirrels and bats . Among
437-539: The valleys. Extensive wildfires are deliberately set off by local farmers in the mountain forests of the Khun Tan Range every year between February and April towards the end of the dry season. One of the purposes of this somewhat radical activity is to trigger the growth of the Astraeus odoratus mushroom ( Thai : เห็ดเผาะ ; het pho ) that fetches a high price on the Thai market. Often speculators hire people to set forests on fire in order to claim land title deeds for
460-638: The warfare during the Quiet War which so badly affected other Hmong communities in Laos largely did not affect the Hmong in the Luang Prabang Range. Most Hmong villages in Sainyabuli Province did not see any fighting. However, later they were persecuted all the same by the Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao soldiers, who regarded them as traitors, thus many fled across the border. There are refugee camps on
483-530: The westernmost range of the Phi Pan Nam Mountains further east this range separates the intermontane basins and plateaus of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai . Temperatures range from a maximum of 33°C in the hot season (February to July), to a minimum of 2°C during the cold season, between November and January. Snow fell in the Chai Prakan and Mae Suai District areas of the range in 1955,
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#1732766132920506-694: Was disrupted owing to the arrest of the German engineers in World War I when Siam, having been neutral until July 1917, declared war on the Central Powers . Khun Tan Station , located at the northern end of the tunnel, is the highest railway station in Thailand at 758 m above sea level . There are certain Hill tribe communities living in the Khun Tan Range, like the Yao and the Akha who have villages in
529-500: Was established in 1996 to clarify the 1,810-kilometre boundary and settle ownership of the disputed villages. Border demarcation is still going on. Yetis are said to have been spotted in the remote Mae Charim area of the range. Presently on the Thai side of the Luang Prabang Range some of the Hmong communities are regularly visited by organized tourist groups. River Wa is a popular river for white water rafting between July and December. There are large swathes of protected areas on
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