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Trường Sơn Mountains
The Annamite Range (; ) is a major mountain range of Mainland Southeast Asia, extending approximately through Laos, Vietnam, and a small area in northeast Cambodia. Geography The highest points of the Annamite Range are the -high Phou Bia, the -high Phu Xai Lai Leng and the -high Ngoc Linh, Ngọc Linh (Ngoc Pan). The latter is located at the northwestern edge of the Triassic Kontum Massif in central Vietnam. Important mountain passes are the Nape Pass and the Mụ Giạ Pass. The Annamite Range runs parallel to the Vietnamese coast, in a gentle curve which drainage divide, divides the drainage basin, basin of the Mekong River from Vietnam's narrow coastal plain along the South China Sea. Most of the crests are on the Laotian side. The eastern slope of the range rises steeply from the plain, drained by numerous short rivers. The western slope is more gentle, forming significant plateaus before descending to the banks of the Mekong. The range itself has three main plateaus, fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phou Bia
Phou Bia (, ) is the highest mountain in Laos. It is in the Annamite Range, at the southern limit of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Xaisomboun Province. Owing to its elevation—2,830 m (9,280 ft), the highest terrestrial point in Laos, the climate is cold and the area around the mountain is mostly cloudy. History Although no snow has been reported for decades, it is claimed that as late as the first years of the 20th century, snow fell occasionally on its summit. On 10 April 1970, an Air America (airline), Air America C-130A aircraft crashed into the mountain. The area is remote, covered with jungle, and has been used by Hmong people, Hmong guerrilla soldiers. In the 1970s, c. 60,000 Hmong supporting Raven Forward Air Controllers, FAC operations took refuge at the Phou Bia massif. There have been reports of smaller Hmong hideouts in the area as recently as 2006. Phou Bia rises in a restricted military area near the abandoned Long Chen air base, and for this reason sees f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan Island, Palawan), and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands, encompassing an area of around . It communicates with the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea via the straits around Palawan, the Java Sea via the Karimata Strait, Karimata and Bangka Straits and directly with Gulf of Thailand. The Gulf of Tonkin is part of the South China Sea. $3.4 trillion of the world's $16 trillion Maritime transport, maritime shipping passed through South China Sea in 2016. Oil and natural gas reserves have been found in the area. The Western Central Pacific accounted for 14% of world's commercial fishing in 2010. The South China Sea Islands, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saola
The saola (''Pseudoryx nghetinhensis''), also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is a forest-dwelling bovid native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of remains in Vũ Quang National Park by a joint survey of the Vietnamese Ministry of Forestry and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Saolas have since been kept in captivity multiple times, although only for short periods as they died within a matter of weeks to months. The first photograph of a living saola was taken in captivity in 1993. The most recent one was taken in 2013 by a movement-triggered camera in the forest of central Vietnam, which represents the most recent record of the saola. There is concern that the species may already be extinct. It is the only species in the genus ''Pseudoryx'' and the earliest diverging member of the tribe Bovini, placing buffalo and cattle as its closest relatives. History of research and taxonomy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annamite Rabbit
The Annamite striped rabbit (''Nesolagus timminsi'') is a species of rabbit native to the Annamite mountain range on the Laos- Vietnam border. The rabbit is striped, with a red rump, and resembles the Sumatran striped rabbit. It only recently became known to Western scientists: striped rabbits were first observed in 1996 by biologist Rob Timmins in a market in Bak Lak in Laos, and the species was described in 2000 and named after Timmins' find. It is known as the in Vietnamese and in Lao. Genetics The Annammite striped rabbit resembles the Sumatran striped rabbit morphologically in all aspects except some characteristics of the cranium, but it differs considerably in genetics. Significant differences in mtDNA were found through genetic analysis. Characteristics ''Nesolagus timminsi'' is a short-eared, short-tailed rabbit with a rust-colored rump and black or dark brown stripes running along the back. No specific measurements have been made. Range and distributi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Annamites Rain Forests
The Northern Annamites rain forests ecoregion (WWF ID: IM0136) covers the rugged and relatively unexplored northern Annamite Mountains of central Laos and Vietnam. There are high numbers of endemic plant species, and the relative remoteness and isolation of the area supports many rare and endangered animals. Rainfall is somewhat less than the lowland rainforest of the lower elevations in Vietnam, and the temperatures slightly cooler due to the higher elevation. Location and description Most of the ecoregion is in central Laos, with a small portion on the eastern edge of the higher ridge of Annamite Range in Vietnam. The region is about 350 km long, and is at most about 150 km wide. Mean elevation is , with a highest point of . Human density is relatively low due to the steep slopes and high elevations. Climate The climate of the ecoregion is '' Dry-winter humid subtropical climate'' ( Köppen climate classification (Cwa)). This climate is characterized as having no mon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Annamites Montane Rain Forests
The Southern Annamites montane rain forests ecoregion (WWF ID: IM0152) covers a region of high biodiversity in the central and southern mountains of the Annamite Range in Vietnam. Terrain ranges from wet lowland forest to evergreen hardwood and conifer montane rain forest. There is a short dry season centered on January–February, but fog and dew are common throughout the year and support a lush forest character. Location and description The ecoregion consists of two main sections. The northern section begins south of the Lao Bao Pass, and extends south along the central Annamites to the Ba River valley. This northern sector around the Kontum Massif is a complex of granite mountains, and includes Ngọc Linh, the highest peak in Vietnam at . It also includes the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos, which just west of the main chain of the Annamites. The southern section is in the south of Vietnam around the Đà Lạt Plateau, which has a highest point of . The souther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terrestrial Ecoregions
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecology, ecological and Geography, geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural community (ecology), communities and species. The biodiversity of flora (plants), flora, fauna (animals), fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation (largely undefined at this point). Ecoregions are also known as "ecozones" ("ecological zones"), although that term may also refer to biogeographic realms. Three caveats are appropriate for all bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Ecoregion
The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". For example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none. The WWF assigns a conservation status to each ecoregion in the Global 200: critical or endangered; vulnerable; and relatively stable or intact. Over half of the ecoregions in the Global 200 are rated endangered. Background The WWF has identified 867 terrestrial ecoregions across the Earth's land surface, as well as freshwater ecoregion, freshwater and marine ecoregions. The goal of this classification system is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical Seasonal Forest
Seasonal tropical forest, also known as moist deciduous, semi-evergreen seasonal, tropical mixed or monsoon forest, typically contains a range of tree species: only some of which drop some or all of their leaves during the dry season. This tropical forest is classified under the biome#Walter system, Walter system as (i) tropical climate with high overall rainfall (typically in the 1000–2500 mm range; 39–98 inches) and (ii) having a very distinct wet season with (an often cooler “winter”) dry season. These forests represent a range of habitats influenced by tropical monsoon climate, monsoon (Am) or tropical wet Tropical savanna climate, savanna (Aw/As) climates (as in the Köppen climate classification). Drier forests in the Aw/As climate zone are typically deciduous and placed in the Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, Tropical dry forest biome: with further transitional zones (ecotones) of savannah woodland then tropical and subtropical grasslands, savan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Highlands (Vietnam)
The Central Highlands (), South Central Highlands (), Western Highlands () or Midland Highlands () is a region located in the south central part of Vietnam. It contains the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Lâm Đồng. Geography The Central Highlands are a series of plateaus bordering the lower part of Laos and northeastern Cambodia, namely Kon Tum Plateau at 500m, Kon Plông Plateau, Kon Hà Nừng Plateau, Pleiku Plateau at 800m, Mdrak Plateau at approximately 500m, Đắk Lắk Plateau at around 800m, Mơ Nông Plateau with the height of about 800–1000m, Lâm Viên Plateau of approximately 1500m and Di Linh Plateau of about 900–1000m. All of these plateaus are situated south of the Annamite Range. The Central Highlands are mostly drained by tributaries of the Mekong. The Sesan or Tonlé San river drains the northern portion of the highlands, and the Srepok River the southern. A series of shorter rivers run from the eastern edge of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plain Of Jars
The Plain of Jars ( Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫີນ ''Thong Hai Hin'', ) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of the Xiangkhoang Plateau. The jars are arranged in clusters ranging in number from one to several hundred. The Xiangkhoang Plateau is at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indochina. French researcher Madeleine Colani concluded in 1930 that the jars were associated with burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the jars. Researchers (using optically stimulated luminescence) determined that the jars were put in place as early as 1240 to 660 BC. The jars at Site 1 (using detrital zircon geochronology) were determined to have been transported to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiangkhoang Province
Xiangkhouang ( Lao: ຊຽງຂວາງ, meaning 'Horizontal City') is a province of Laos on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavily-bombed place on Earth. Historically, the province was formerly the independent principality of Muang Phuan. Its later capital is Phonsavan. The population of the province as of the 2015 census was 244,684. Xiangkhouang province covers an area of and is mountainous. Apart from floodplains, the largest area of level land in the country is on the province's Xiangkhoang Plateau. The plateau is characterized by rolling hills and grassland whose elevation averages . The country's highest peak, Phou Bia (), rises at the south side of the plateau. Nam Et-Phou Louey is a National Biodiversity Conservation Area (NBCA) in the province, covering an area of 5,959 km2, and overlaps into Houaphanh and Luang Prabang provinces. The province's Plain of Jars was designated as a UNE ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
