Surat Thani Province
Surat Thani ( Thai สุราษฎร์ธานี ) is a province ( Changwat ) in the southern region of Thailand. The provincial capital is also called Surat Thani.
- 2.1 Data
- 2.2 Land Use
- 3.1 Airports
Geography
Surat Thani is the largest area of the provinces in southern Thailand. The province is approximately 680 kilometers south of Bangkok. The land is flat and very fertile, rises to the west to a plateau.
Most important rivers are the Maenam Maenam Phum Duang Tapi and that flow into the Gulf of Thailand. For the province also includes several of the most beautiful islands of the country, including Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao and the 40 islands of the Ang Thong Marine National Park.
Major cities
- Chaiya
Climate
The climate in the province is tropical and as usual in southern Thailand very rainy. Daytime temperatures range between 29 to 35 ° C, night temperatures between 20 to 24 ° C. There are an average of 116 rainy days. The water temperature on the coast is all year around 28 ° C.
The maximum temperature in 2008 was 36.3 ° C, the lowest temperature was measured at 20.0 ° C. At 145 days of rain fell in the same year 1420.2 mm of precipitation.
Economic importance and
The fertile land allows for a rich agriculture. In particular, on the offshore islands of Ko Samui and Ko Phangan and, increasingly, Ko Tao, tourism developed in addition to the management of coconut plantations and fishing for significant economic factor.
Data
Industry 2006 2007 2008 Agriculture 34.6 33.4 36.9 Industry 16.5 16.5 14.6 All figures in % Other 48.9 50.1 48.5 The minimum wage in the province is 172 baht per day ( about 4 € ).
Land use
For the province, the following land use is documented:
- Forest area: 2,412,369 Rai ( 1507.7 km ²), 29.9 % of the total
- The utilized agricultural area: 2,560,622 Rai ( 1600.4 km ²), 31.8 % of the total
- Not classified area: 3,084,177 Rai ( 1927.6 km ²), 38.3 % of the total
Traffic
Airports
- Surat Thani Airport ( IATA: URT )
- Ko Samui Airport ( IATA: USM)
History
In the province can be detected Stone Age settlement traces. Chaiya was an important city in the kingdom of Srivijaya (7th - 10th century), according to some historians even temporarily the capital of the empire.
See also: History of Thailand and corresponding entry in Surat Thani
Attractions
- Phra Chaiya Boromthat - 1200 years old with a beautiful Chedi with an authentic Srivijaya architecture.
Symbols
The seal shows the chedi of Phra Chaiya Boromathat, said to have been built in the 9th century. The local flower is the Rafflesia Rafflesie kerrii ( Thai: Bua Phut ), the local tree is sound Kiam ( malay Resak ) ( Cotylelobium melanoxylon ).
The motto of the province of Surat Thani is:
Policy
The Surat Thani province is a stronghold of the Democratic Party. She won here in every election since 1992, all constituencies. Two prominent politicians of the party come from Surat Thani: the former chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Suthep banyat Bantadtan and Thaugsuban, general secretary of the party and also served as Deputy Prime Minister. In the constitutional referendum in 2007 Surat Thani was one of the provinces with the highest approval rates ( 90.7 % versus 8.0% against).
Administrative units
The province is divided into 19 districts ( Amphoe ). The circles are further subdivided into 131 communes ( tambon) and 1028 villages ( Muban ).
In the province there are two large cities ( เทศบาล นคร - thesaban Nakhon ) Surat Thani ( เทศบาล นคร สุราษฎร์ธานี ) and Ko Samui ( เทศบาล นคร เกาะสมุย ). There are also three cities ( เทศบาล เมือง - thesaban Mueang ):
- Don Sak ( เทศบาล เมือง ดอนสัก )
- Tha Kham ( เทศบาล เมืองท่า ข้าม ) and
- Na San ( เทศบาล เมือง นา สาร ).
In addition, there are 23 small towns ( เทศบาล ตำบล - thesaban tambon).