Chumphon ( th, ชุมพร, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern

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 b ...

, capital of the Chumphon Province and Mueang Chumphon District. The city is about 463 kilometers (288 miles) from

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populati ...

. As of 2005 it had a population of 33,522. The town covers the commune (''

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 '' khwaen ...

'') Tha Taphao completely and parts of ''tambons'' Bang Mak, Wang Phai, Na Thung, Tak Daet, and Khun Krathing. Its main

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

activity is

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

History

Chumphon volunteers fought invading Japanese during World War II. Chumphon became a rail hub for

Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

. It was a station on the Southern Line and connected to the short-lived Kra Isthmus Railway.Journal of Kyoto Seika University
No. 27, Part IX

Geography

Chumphon lies just inland from the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand. To the west are the northern hills of the

Phuket Range The Phuket Range ( th, ทิวเขาภูเก็ต, ''Thio Khao Phuket'', ) is a subrange of the Tenasserim Hills in the Kra Isthmus, Thailand. Geography The Phuket chain is a continuation of the greater Tenasserim range, forming one of ...

, a subrange of the

Tenasserim Hills The Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range ( my, တနင်္သာရီ တောင်တန်း, ; th, ทิวเขาตะนาวศรี, , ; ms, Banjaran Tanah Seri/Banjaran Tenang Sari) is the geographical name of a r ...

. These hills reach in the area near Chumphon. There are also many smaller peaks in the area in the range of to high.

Climate

Chumphon has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Am'') just falling short of a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Köppen ''Af''). Temperatures are hot throughout the year. The period from December to April has relatively less rainfall than from May to November, when rainfall can be very heavy, particularly in October and November.

Transport

*Bus: There is a small bus system within the city itself. Trains and buses run to and from

every day. *Road: The main road through Chumphon is Thailand Highway 4, also known as

Phetkasem Road Phet Kasem Road (, , )ราชบัณฑิตยสถาน. ''อ่านอย่างไร และ เขียนอย่างไร ฉบับราชบัณฑิตยสถาน.'' พิมพ์ครั้งที่ ...

, leading north to

, and south to

Ranong Ranong ( th, ระนองPronunciation) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Ranong Province and the Mueang Ranong District. The town covers completely the area of the '' tambon'' Khao Niwet (เขานิ� ...

Phang Nga Phang Nga ( th, พังงา, , ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phang Nga Province. The town covers the whole ''tambon'' Thai Chang of Amphoe Mueang Phang Nga, Mueang Phang Nga district. As of 2005 it had a ...

Krabi Krabi ( th, กระบี่, ) is the main town in the province of Krabi (''thesaban mueang'') on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phang Nga Bay. As of 2020, the town had a population of ...

, Trang,

Phatthalung Phatthalung (, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phatthalung Province. The town covers ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'') and prov ...

, and the border with

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

near Sadao. *Rail: The

Chumphon railway station Chumphon railway station is a railway station in Tha Taphao Subdistrict, Chumphon City, and is the main railway station for Chumphon Province. It is a class 1 railway station, from Thon Buri railway station. It is the first fueling station fro ...

is on the Southern Line of the State Railway of Thailand. Trains also stop at

Pathio railway station Pathio railway station is a railway station in Thale Sap Sub-district, Pathio District, Chumphon, Thailand. It is a class 2 railway station, south of Thon Buri railway station Thon Buri railway station ( th, สถานีรถไฟธน ...

in Chumphon Province. *Air: The city's airport, Chumphon Airport (IATA: CJM, ICAO: VTSE) is 30 km north in Pathio District. The airport has daily flights to

. :

Nok Air Nok Air (, th, นกแอร์, derived from ''nok'' (นก), the Thai word for ''bird'') is a low-cost airline in Thailand operating mostly domestic services out of Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport. Thai Airways International o ...

and

Thai AirAsia Thai AirAsia (, th, ไทยแอร์เอเชีย) is a joint venture of Malaysian low-fare airline AirAsia ( th, แอร์เอเชีย) and Thailand's Asia Aviation. It serves AirAsia's regularly scheduled domestic and int ...

operate multiple daily flights between Bangkok ( Don Mueang, DMK) and Chumphon Airport. The airport is a hub and regional gateway providing connecting services to Chumphon city and high speed ferry services to the islands of the Gulf of Thailand including

Ko Tao Ko Tao ( th, เกาะเต่า, , ) is an island in Thailand and is part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of about 21 km2 (8 sq mi). Administratively it is a subdistrict ('' ...

and

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui, also often locally shortened to Samui; th, เกาะสมุย, ) is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko ...

Popular culture

* In the science fiction novel, '' The Chronoliths'', Chumphon is the landing site of the first chronolith.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Chumphon province Cities and towns in Thailand