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 bo ...

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

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 ...

. 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 ''khwaeng'' ...

'') 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 (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

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 to ...

History

Chumphon volunteers fought invading Japanese during World War II. Chumphon became a rail hub for Imperial Japan. 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 The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

. To the west are the northern hills of the Phuket Range, a subrange of the Tenasserim Hills. 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, 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 (เขานิเ� ...

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 Mueang Phang Nga district. As of 2005 it had a population of 9,559 and ...

, Krabi,

Trang Trang may refer to: Places * Trang province, Thailand ** Trang, Thailand, capital city of Trang province ** Trang Airport ** Trang railway station **Trang River *Trang, a sub-district of Mayo district, Pattani province, Thailand *Trang (commune), ...

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 The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) ( th, การรถไฟแห่งประเทศไทย, abbrev. รฟท., ) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport in Thailand. History The SRT was ...

. 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 Chumphon Airport , ( th, ท่าอากาศยานชุมพร), is an airport in Tambon Chum Kho, Pathio District, Chumphon Chumphon ( th, ชุมพร, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the ...

(IATA: CJM, ICAO: VTSE) is 30 km north in

Pathio Pathio ( th, ปะทิว, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the northern part of Chumphon province, southern Thailand. The province's main airport, Chumphon Airport is in Pathio. Pathio has alternate English spellings, Pathiu and Pathiew. Ge ...

District. The airport has daily flights to

. : Nok Air and Thai AirAsia operate multiple daily flights between Bangkok ( Don Mueang, DMK) and

. The airport is a hub and regional gateway providing connecting services to Chumphon city and high speed ferry services to the islands of the

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.

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