Phra Samut Chedi ( th, พระสมุทรเจดีย์, ) is the westernmost district (''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

'') of Samut Prakan province in central

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Geography

Neighboring districts are (from the west, clockwise)

Bang Khun Thian Bang Khun Thian ( th, บางขุนเทียน, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbors, clockwise from the north, are Bang Bon, Chom Thong, and Thung Khru Districts of Bangkok, Phra Samut Chedi dist ...

and Thung Khru of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Phra Pradaeng Phra Pradaeng ( th, พระประแดง, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Samut Prakan province in Thailand. History Phra Pradeang was the original center of the area south of Bangkok near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Originally na ...

and (across the Chao Phraya River)

Mueang Samut Prakan Mueang Samut Prakan district ( th, อำเภอเมืองสมุทรปราการ, ) or colloquially as ''Paknam Samut Prakan'' ( th, ปากน้ำสมุทรปราการ) is the capital district ('' amphoe mueang' ...

of Samut Prakan Province.

History

The district was created as a minor district ('' king amphoe'') on 15 December 1984 by splitting off five ''tambons'' from Mueang district. It was upgraded to a full district on 15 July 1991.

Administration

The district is divided into five sub-districts (''

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...

s''), which are further subdivided into 42 villages (''

muban Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...

s''). There are two townships (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

s''): Phra Samut Chedi covers ''tambon'' Pak Klong Bang Pla Kot, and Lae Fa Pha covers parts of ''tambons'' Laem Fa Pha and Nai Khlong Bang Pla Kot. There are a further four tambon administrative organizations (TAO), for each ''tambon'' except Pak Klong Bang Pla Kot, which has no non-municipal area.

Environment

The district's coastline has seen severe erosion since the 1990s. Coastal mangrove forests were destroyed then and replaced with shrimp farms. Three to five metres of shoreline has been submerged every year since then, resulting in the loss of 4,000 rai of land to the sea. Thailand lost almost one third of its coastal mangrove forests between 1961 and 2000. According to Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, a quarter of the country's shores—about 700 kilometres (500 miles)—are eroding, some "severely".

Places

The district is named after the temple

Phra Samut Chedi 250px, Wat Phra Samut Chedi Wat Phra Samut Chedi ( th, วัดพระสมุทรเจดีย์, ) is an ancient Buddhist temple in Phra Samut Chedi District, Samut Prakan Province, central Thailand. Lined on the Chao Phraya River's ba ...

, which was built 1827–1828 by King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (Rama II) on an island in the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Et ...

—hence its popular name Phra Chedi Klang Nam (' chedi in the middle of the water'). The island is now connected with the left river bank. At the mouth of the Chao Phraya is

Chulachomklao Fort Phra Chulachomklao Fort (; also known as "Phra Chun Fort") is a water fortress in a sub-district in Khlong Bang Pla Kot, Phra Samut Chedi District, Samut Prakan Province. With no evidence of the date, approximately in March 1884, King Chulalo ...

, built in 1819 and came into use only once during the

Paknam crisis The Paknam Incident was a military engagement fought during the Franco-Siamese War in July 1893. While sailing off Samut Prakan Province#Geography, Paknam on Siam's Chao Phraya River, three French ships violated Siamese territory and a Siamese fo ...

in the same year. The fort is now accessible to visitors. The HTMS ''Maeklong'', a former training ship of the Royal Thai Navy, is another attraction in the park.

References

External links

amphoe.com

1984 establishments in Thailand {{SamutPrakan-geo-stub