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47-479: The province stretches from the upper plains of the Chao Phraya River valley, to forested mountains in the west. The Sakae Krang River , a tributary of the Chao Phraya River , is the main watercourse of in the province. The total forest area is 3,419 km (1,320 sq mi) or 51.4 percent of provincial area. The Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary, at the western boundary bordering Tak province,

94-511: A wet monsoon climate, with over 1,400 millimetres (55 in) of rainfall per year. Temperatures range from 24 to 33 °C (75 to 91 °F) in Bangkok. The lower Chao Phraya underwent several human-made modifications during the Ayutthaya period. Several shortcut canals were constructed to bypass large loops in the river, shortening the trip from the capital city to the sea. The course of

141-482: Is critically endangered and Caliphaea angka is endangered . There are few areas of wetland protected as national parks, but these are mostly very small. The Chao Phraya basin is home to around 280 species of fish, including about 30 endemics . By far the most diverse family is Cyprinidae with 108 species. The mainstream of the Chao Phraya River has about 190 native fish species. In general,

188-715: Is a generic term, mae signifying "mother" and Nam "water," and the epithet Chao P'ia signifies that it is the chief river in the kingdom of Siam." Herbert Warington Smyth , who served as Director of the Department of Mines in Siam from 1891 to 1896, refers to it in his book first published in 1898 as "the Mae Nam Chao Phraya". In the English-language media in Thailand, the name Chao Phraya River

235-473: Is associated with green in the Thai calendar . The text below the seal says Uthai Thani province . The province is divided into eight districts ( amphoes ). These are further divided into 70 subdistricts ( tambons ) and 642 villages ( mubans ). As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Uthai Thani Provincial Administration Organisation ( ongkan borihan suan changwat ) and 14 municipal ( thesaban ) areas in

282-551: Is at a single location that covers less than 10 km (4 sq mi). The endangered dwarf loach , another species bred in large numbers for the aquarium trade, has been extirpated from most of its range in Chao Phraya. The critically endangered Siamese tigerfish has been entirely exirpated from Chao Phraya and Mae Klong, but small populations remain in the Mekong basin. Many other species that either are prominent in

329-606: Is drained by the Mae Klong and the east by the Bang Pakong River . They are not part of the Chao Praya system. The landscape of the river basins is a very wide, flat, well-watered plain continuously refreshed with soil and sediment brought down by the rivers. The lower central plain from the delta north to Ang Thong Province is a flat, low area with an average of two metres above sea level. Further north and into

376-519: Is often translated as river of kings . On the basins of Chao Phraya River rose the earliest civilizations in the south east Asia, most notably the ancient Mon kingdom and the civilization of Dvaravati from the 7th century to the 11th century, the river played a crucial role in the Lavo kingdom that existed on its left bank in the Upper Chao Phraya valley, Chao Phraya maintained its role in

423-458: Is the neem ( Azadirachta indica v. siamensis ). Giant gourami ( Osphronemus goramy ) is the provincial aquatic animal. The flag of Uthai Thani depicts the provincial seal of Uthai Thani in the middle. The yellow colour at the top of the flag is the colour of the Chakri dynasty , symbolizing gold . The green colour at the bottom is the colour of King Rama I as he was born on a Wednesday, which

470-520: 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. The lowland areas of

517-557: The Ayutthaya Kingdom that succeeded it when rice growing intensified with the introduction of floating rice , a much faster-growing strain of rice from Bengal . The southern swamps meanwhile changed radically from the 18th century when King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke moved the capital of Siam to Bangkok, and a process of canalisation and cultivation began, especially as Thailand began to export rice from 1855. The Tha Chin River

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564-556: The Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017. 15°22′24″N 100°02′19″E  /  15.37333°N 100.03861°E  / 15.37333; 100.03861 Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand , with its low alluvial plain forming

611-449: The limestone rat ( Niviventer hinpoon ), Neill's long-tailed giant rat ( Leopoldamys neilli ), and the near-endemic Thailand roundleaf bat ( Hipposideros halophyllus ). The Chao Phraya basin is home to about half a dozen endemic dragonflies and damselflies . The conservation status of most of these in unclear (they are rated as data deficient by the IUCN ), but Cryptophaea saukra

658-463: The water quality of major rivers flowing into the upper Gulf of Thailand has seriously deteriorated, and the lower Chao Phraya contains bacteria and nutrient pollution from phosphates , phosphorus , and nitrogen . Nutrient pollution causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, harming water quality, food resources for aquatic animals, and marine habitats. It also decreases the oxygen that fish need to survive. PCD rated water quality at

705-760: The Burmese invasions coming from the West. The Chao Phraya begins at the confluence of the Ping and Nan rivers at Nakhon Sawan (also called Pak Nam Pho) in Nakhon Sawan province . After this, it flows south for 372 kilometres (231 mi) from the central plains to Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand . In Chai Nat , the river then splits into the main course and the Tha Chin River , which then flows parallel to

752-499: The Chao Phraya watershed in central Thailand have been designated as the Chao Phraya freshwater swamp forests , a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion , an area about 400 km (249 mi) north to south and 180 km (112 mi) wide. The original swamp forests have almost entirely been removed as the plain has been converted to rice paddies, other agriculture, and urban areas like Bangkok. Much of

799-509: The United States National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS), defines an "alluvial plain" as "a large assemblage of fluvial landforms (braided streams, terraces, etc.) that form a low gradient, regional ramps along the flanks of mountains and extend great distances from their sources (e.g., High Plains of North America)". Use of "alluvial plain" as a general, informal term for a broad flood plain or

846-977: The aquarium trade or important food fish are native to the Chao Phraya basin, such as the climbing perch , blue panchax , Asian bumblebee catfish , giant snakehead , striped snakehead , walking catfish , banded loach , several Yasuhikotakia loaches, tinfoil barb , Siamese algae eater , silver barb , pearl danio , rainbow shark , Hampala barb , black sharkminnow , Leptobarbus rubripinna , long pectoral-fin minnow , bonylip barb , Jullien's golden carp , blackline rasbora , scissortail rasbora , Tor tambroides , finescale tigerfish , marble goby , Chinese algae eater , giant featherback , clown featherback , giant gourami , several Trichopodus gouramis, iridescent shark , several Pangasius , Belodontichthys truncatus , several Phalacronotus sheatfish, several Wallago catfish, largescale archerfish , smallscale archerfish , and wrestling halfbeak . The Thai Pollution Control Department (PCD) reports that

893-620: The aquatic fauna of Chao Phraya and Mae Klong show clear similarities, and they are sometimes combined in a single ecoregion with 328 fish species. Despite their similarities, there are also differences between the aquatic fauna of Chao Phraya and Mae Klong; the latter (but not the former) is home to a few taxa otherwise only known in major Burmese rivers: the Irrawaddy , Salween , and Tenasserim . The aquatic fauna in Chao Phraya–Mae Klong also show clear similarities with that of

940-513: The area of Uthai Thani to the Monthon Nakhon Sawan and in 1898 formed the province. The provincial seal depicts the pavilion at Wat Khao Sakae Krang. It houses the statue of Thongdee, the father of King Rama I and a Buddha footprint . The mountain in the background symbolizes the location of the pavilion on top of Khao Sakae Krang. The provincial flower is the yellow cotton tree ( Cochlospermum regium ). The provincial tree

987-712: The centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand . On many old European maps, the river is named the Mae Nam (แม่น้ำ), the Thai word for "river" (literally, "motherly water"). Irish surveyor and cartographer James McCarthy , F.R.G.S. , who served as Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys prior to establishment of the Royal Thai Survey Department , wrote in his account, " Mae Nam

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1034-432: The critically endangered giant barb (wild populations have been extirpated from Chao Phraya, but remain elsewhere), critically endangered giant pangasius , and endangered giant freshwater stingray . The critically endangered red-tailed black shark , a small colourful cyprinid that is endemic to Chao Phraya, is commonly seen in the aquarium trade where it is bred in large numbers, but the only remaining wild population

1081-449: The deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the smaller area over which the rivers flood at a particular time. In contrast, the alluvial plain is the larger area representing the region over which the floodplains have shifted over geological time. As the highlands erode due to weathering and water flow,

1128-480: The fish species known from the Chao Phraya–Mae Klong, only about 50 are absent from the Mekong. There has been extensive habitat destruction (pollution, dams , and drainage for irrigation ) in the Chao Phraya basin and overfishing also presents a problem. Within mainland Southeast Asia , the only freshwater region with similar high levels of threat is the lower Mekong. It has been estimated that only around 30 native fish species still are able to reproduce in

1175-560: The kingdoms that succeeded the Lavo kingdom, forming the bases of the Ayodhaya kingdom, that was later incorporated into the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century, which itself was precursor of modern Thailand (known formerly as Siam), the river became very significant after the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok) in 1782 on its east bank, the location of Bangkok on the east bank of Chao Phraya River ensured protection to Siamese kingdom from

1222-400: 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 percent of the nation's land, and draining an area of 157,924 square kilometres (60,975 sq mi). The watershed is divided into the following basins: To the west, the central plain of Thailand

1269-581: The main river and exits in the Gulf of Thailand about 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Bangkok in Samut Sakhon . In the low alluvial plain which begins below the Chao Phraya Dam , there are many small canals ( khlong ) which split off from the main river. The khlongs are used for the irrigation of the region's rice paddies. The rough coordinates of the river are 13 N, 100 E. This area has

1316-440: The mainstream of the Chao Phraya River. The catfish Platytropius siamensis is endemic to Chao Phraya and Bang Pakong , but has not been recorded since the 1970s and is considered extinct . Recent records of the near-endemic cyprinid Balantiocheilos ambusticauda are also lacking and it is possibly extinct. Three of the largest freshwater fish in the world are native to the river, but these are all seriously threatened:

1363-403: The margins of the flood channel, will be eroded by lateral stream erosion, local rainfall, and possibly wind transport if the climate is arid and does not support soil-holding grasses. These processes, over geologic time, will form the plain, a region with little relief (local changes in elevation) yet with a constant but slight slope. The Glossary of Landform and Geologic Terms , maintained by

1410-605: The middle Mekong (the lower Mekong fauna more closely resembles that of the eastern Malay Peninsula ). It is believed that the upper Mekong was connected to Chao Phraya (rather than present-day lower Mekong) until the Quaternary , which explains the similarities in their river faunas. This included the Nan River basin, a tributary of the Chao Phraya, which is home to a number of taxa (for example, Ambastaia nigrolineata and Sectoria ) otherwise only known from Mekong. Of

1457-665: The most commonly accepted source, which is the confluence of the Ping and Nan River in Nakhon Sawan, the river measures 372 km (231 mi). However, when measured from the longest source, which is the origin point of the Nan River in the Luang Prabang Range , the river measures 1,112 km (691 mi). The expanse of the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, i.e., the Chao Phraya river system, together with

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1504-513: The mouth of Chao Phraya at Bangkok's Bang Khun Thian District as "very poor", worse than in 2014, and their findings indicated large amounts of wastewater were discharged into the river from households, industry, and agriculture. In addition, 4,000 metric tons of plastic flows down the river into the Gulf of Thailand every year. To counter this, Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) signed an agreement with The Ocean Cleanup organization to deploy an Interceptor Original, one of

1551-486: 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 civilisation to extend beyond the watershed without issue. The slightly higher northern plains have been farmed for centuries and saw a major change from the 13th century during the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries and

1598-447: The organization's solar-powered, automated systems, in the river. Since 19 February 2024, an interceptor of the latest third generation has been deployed for testing purposes. 13°32′25″N 100°35′23″E  /  13.54028°N 100.58972°E  / 13.54028; 100.58972 Alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform ) created by

1645-583: The original habitat and wildlife by comparing it with neighbouring countries. It is believed that the area would have consisted of freshwater swamps inland and salty mangroves on the coast and the river estuaries. The swamp would have been covered in Phragmites marsh grasses. Today there is a small area of this remaining in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park , a relic of the original landscape. As so much has been cleared or altered

1692-483: The plains of the Ping and the Nan the elevation is over 20 m. Then the mountains that are the natural boundary of the Chao Praya watershed form a divide , which has, to some degree, historically isolated Thailand from other Southeast Asian civilisations. In northern Thailand the divide roughly corresponds to a long section of the political border of the country today. Southern portions of the divide's boundary correspond less to

1739-551: The potential for creating large protected areas to preserve original habitat no longer exists. However much wildlife does remain in the rice fields and steps may be taken to preserve these as urban and industrial development on the plains is ongoing and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand has very little control or planning over this. Particular threats come from the conversion of rice paddies to large-scale production of prawns by pumping in seawater, and

1786-407: The province. Uthai Thani has town ( thesaban mueang ) status. There are a further 13 subdistrict municipalities ( thesaban tambon ). The non-municipal areas are administered by 49 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations (SAO) ( ongkan borihan suan tambon ). In 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand began tracking progress on human development at the sub-national level using

1833-473: The river has since changed to follow many of these canals. Provinces along the Chao Phraya include, from north to south, Nakhon Sawan Province , Uthai Thani Province , Chai Nat Province , Sing Buri Province , Ang Thong Province , Ayutthaya Province , Pathum Thani Province , Nonthaburi Province , Bangkok , and Samut Prakan Province . These cities are among the most historically significant and densely populated settlements of Thailand due to their access to

1880-749: The rivers and canals of the city, including commuter lines . 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 augmented by minor tributaries referred to as khwae . All of

1927-479: The sediment from the hills is transported to the lower plain. Various creeks will carry the water further to a river, lake , bay , or ocean . As the sediments are deposited during flood conditions in the floodplain of a creek, the elevation of the floodplain will be raised. As this reduces the channel floodwater capacity, the creek will, over time, seek new, lower paths, forming a meander (a curved path). The leftover higher locations, typically natural levees at

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1974-646: 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. 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 . When measured from

2021-403: The use of pesticides to eliminate the introduced snail, Pomacea canaliculata , which damages rice plants. There are populations of threatened birds, including colonies of breeding water birds such as the world's largest populations of the near-threatened Asian openbill ( Anastomus oscitans ), and other birds such as the wintering black kite ( Milvus migrans ). Endemic mammals that remain are

2068-715: The waterway. Major bridges cross the Chao Phraya in Bangkok: the Rama VI railroad bridge; Phra Pin-klao near the Grand Palace ; Rama VIII , a single tower asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge; Rama IX , a semi-symmetric cable-stayed bridge; and Mega Bridge , on the Industrial Ring Road. In Bangkok, the Chao Phraya is a major transportation artery for a network of river buses, cross-river ferries, and water taxis ("longtails"). More than 15 boat lines operate on

2115-478: The wildlife that once inhabited these plains has disappeared, including a large number of fish in the river systems, birds such as vultures, the Oriental darter ( Anhinga melanogaster ), white-eyed river martin ( Pseudochelidon sirintarae ), the sarus crane ( Grus antigone ) and animals such as tigers , Asian elephants , Javan rhinoceroses , and the much-hunted Schomburgk's deer . Today we can only guess at

2162-430: Was declared a World Heritage Site in 1991. It is home to most of the forest animals of Southeast Asia, including tigers and elephants . Huai Kha Kaeng wildlife sanctuary, along with one other wildlife sanctuary, make up region 12 (Nakhon Sawan) of Thailand's protected areas. Originally Mon and Lawa settled in the area. The first Thai settlement in the area was Muang U Thai during the Sukhothai Kingdom , but it

2209-400: Was later abandoned when the river changed course. The Patabeut people, of Karen ethnicity, revived the settlement at its current site during the Ayutthaya Kingdom . It served as a fort protecting the boundary of the kingdom. Uthai Thani is the hometown of the father of King Rama I . He later changed the city's old name Uthai to Uthai Thani . In 1892, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) added

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