![COD 5686](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/COD_5686.jpg)
The Dawna Range (; th, ทิวเขาถนนธงชัยตะวันตก, ทิวเขาดอยมอนกุจู), also known as Dawna Hills, is a mountain range in eastern
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
and northwestern
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 ...
. Its northern end is located in
Kayah State
Kayah State ( my, ကယားပြည်နယ်, formerly Karenni State) is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on the east by Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, and on the south and wes ...
where it meets the
Daen Lao Range
The Daen Lao Range ( th, ทิวเขาแดนลาว,
; my, Loi La) is a mountain range of t ...
, a subrange of the
Shan Hills
The Shan Hills ( my, ရှမ်းရိုးမ; ''Shan Yoma''), also known as Shan Highland, is a vast mountainous zone that extends through Yunnan to Myanmar and Thailand. The whole region is made up of numerous mountain ranges separated ...
. The range runs southwards along
Kayin State
Kayin State ( my, ကရင်ပြည်နယ်, ; kjp, ဖၠုံခါန်ႋကၞင့်, italics=no; ksw, ကညီကီၢ်စဲၣ်, ), also known by the endonyms Kawthoolei and Karen State, is a state of Myanmar. The ...
as a natural border with
Mon State
Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to the ...
in the west forming parallel ranges to the northern end 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 ...
further south and southeast. The Dawna Range extends east of the
Salween
, ''Mae Nam Salawin'' (
, name_etymology =
, image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar
, map ...
southwards from the Shan Hills for about 350 km, at the western limit of the
Thai highlands
The Thai highlands or Hills of northern Thailand is a mountainous natural region in the north of Thailand. Its mountain ranges are part of the system of hills extending through Laos, Burma, and China and linking to the Himalayas, of which they may ...
. Its southern end reaches the
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
-Myanmar border in the
Umphang area, entering Thailand west of
Kamphaeng Phet
Kamphaeng Phet is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, former capital of the Kamphaeng Phet Province. It covers the complete ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of the Mueang Kamphaeng Phet district. As of 2020, it has a population of 28,817.
Hi ...
. The
Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary
The Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าทุ่งใหญ่นเรศวร, ) is a protected area in Thailand in the northern part of Kanchanaburi Province and the ...
is in the Thai side of the range.
Some geographers include the Dawna Range as the western and the southern part of the
Thanon Thong Chai Range
The Thanon Thong Chai Range ( th, ทิวเขาถนนธงชัย, , formerly Thanon Range; Burmese ''Tanen Taunggyi'') is a mountain range in northern Thailand. Its tallest peak is Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. Most ...
(เทือกเขาถนนธงชัย). The highest point of the range is 2,080 m high
Mela Taung
Mela Taung ( my, မယ်လတောင်) is the highest mountain of the Dawna Range. It is located in Kayin State, Burma, close to the border with Thailand.
With a height of and a prominence of , Mela Taung is one of the ultra prominent pea ...
; 2,005 m high
Mulayit Taung
Mount Mulayit, (မူႋလာအာ်) also known as Muleh Yit, is a mountain of the Dawna Range. It is located towards the southern end of the range in Kayin State, Burma, 12 km to the NNW of the border with Thailand.
The Tenasserim whi ...
is located at the southern end of the range.
Ecology
The Dawna Range provides a habitat for the
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
, the wild
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...
and
Fea's muntjak
The Fea's muntjac or Tenasserim muntjac (''Muntiacus feae'') is a rare species of muntjac native to southern Myanmar and Thailand. It is a similar size to the common muntjac (adult weight is 18 – 21 kg (40 - 46 lb)).
It is diurnal and ...
. Endangered species in the area are the
plain-pouched hornbill
The plain-pouched hornbill (''Rhyticeros subruficollis'') is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found in forests of the Dawna Range and the Tenasserim Hills of southern Myanmar, adjacent parts of western Thailand and northern ...
and
Gurney's pitta
Gurney's pitta (''Hydrornis gurneyi'') ( th, นกแต้วแร้วท้องดำ) is a medium-sized passerine bird. It breeds in the Malay Peninsula, with populations mainly in Myanmar. The common name and Latin binomial commemorate ...
. There are other rare species some of which have only recently been discovered.
This narrow steep-sided range is geologically and ecologically homogeneous with the neighboring head of the Tenasserim Hills and the
Karen Hills
The Karen Hills, () also known as Kayah-Karen Mountains, are one of the main hill ranges in eastern Burma. They are located at the SW corner of Shan State and in Kayah State, a mountainous region where the only relatively flat area is Loikaw, t ...
further north, so that frequently it is considered as a whole under the name "Dawna
Tenasserim" or as "Kayah-Karen/Tenasserim". The Dawna Range is covered with
tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Description
TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...
. The
Kayah-Karen montane rain forests that cover the mountains are part of the
Kayah-Karen/Tenasserim moist forests ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
which is included in the
Global 200
The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the 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 w ...
list of ecoregions identified by the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as priorities for conservation.
Protected areas
Protected areas of the Dawna range are part of the
Western Forest Complex
The Western Forest Complex, straddling two countries, Thailand and Myanmar, including 19 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, is the main biodiversity conservation corridor of the region. Covering 18,730 km2, it is one of the largest pro ...
.
Burma
*
Mulayit Wildlife Sanctuary
Mulayit Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in Myanmar's Kayin State, covering . It ranges in elevation from and encompasses grassland, evergreen forest and mixed deciduous forest in Kyain Seikgyi Township. It was gazetted in 1936.
It is locate ...
Thailand
*
Salawin National Park
The Salawin National Park or Salween National Park( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติสาละวิน) is located in Mae Sariang and Sop Moei Districts in Mae Hong Son Province, northern Thailand, adjacent to its border with Bu ...
*
Mae Moei National Park
Mae is an American rock band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience", based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University.
History ...
*
Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary
The Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าทุ่งใหญ่นเรศวร, ) is a protected area in Thailand in the northern part of Kanchanaburi Province and the ...
*
Khao Laem National Park
Khao Laem National Park is a park of about 1,500 square kilometers in western Thailand, located in the northern area of the Tenasserim Hills, Kanchanaburi Province. It is a part of the Western Forest Complex, a system of protected wilderness in ...
*
Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary
The Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าห้วยขาแข้ง, ) is in Uthai Thani and Tak Provinces, Thailand. The park was established in 1974, and is part of the l ...
*
Khun Phawo National Park
*
Namtok Pha Charoen National Park
Namtok Pha Charoen National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติน้ำตกพาเจริญ) is a national park in the Phop Phra District, Tak Province, Thailand. Most of its area is high complex mountains of 1,765 m ele ...
*
Taksin Maharat National Park
Taksin Maharat National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติตากสินมหาราช) is a national park in Tak Province, Thailand. Home to Thailand's largest tree, the park also features waterfalls, caves, and rock f ...
*
Lan Sang National Park
Lan Sang National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติลานสาง) is in the Dawna Range, Tak Province, northern Thailand. Established in 1979, it is an IUCN Category II protected area measuring 65,000 rai ~ . On the Tak-Mae ...
*
Khlong Wang Chao National Park
Khlong Wang Chao National Park ( Thai คลองวังเจ้า) is a national park in Thailand.
Description
Khlong Wang Chao National Park is situated in the Thanon Thong Chai Mountain Range.
Most of the area consists of complicated m ...
*
Khlong Lan National Park
Khlong Lan National Park (Thai อุทยานแห่งชาติคลองลาน) is a national park in Thailand.
Description
Khlong Lan National Park is situated in the Dawna Mountain Range.
This park lies in Khlong Lan and Mu ...
*
Mae Wong National Park
Mae Wong National Park ( Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติแม่วงก์) is a national park in Thailand. This park lies in Mae Wong and Mae Poen Districts of Nakhon Sawan Province and Pang Sila Thong District of Kampha ...
*
Phu Toei National Park
Phu Toei National Park (อุทยานแห่งชาติพุเตย) is a national park, with an area of 198,422 rai ~ in Dan Chang District of Suphan Buri Province, Thailand. It has been the 86th national park since 30 September ...
History
In 1944 and 1945, at the time of the
Japanese conquest of Burma
The Japanese invasion of Burma was the opening phase of the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign (December 1941 to mid-1942) ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the eastern Dawna mountains provided a base from which the
Karen
Karen may refer to:
* Karen (name), a given name and surname
* Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors
People
* Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand
** Karen languages or Karenic l ...
troops led by
Bo Mya
Bo Mya ( my, ဘိုမြ ; born Htee Moo Kee; 20 January 1927 – 24 December 2006) was a Karen leader born in Papun District, which is in present-day Karen State, Myanmar. He was a long-standing chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), ...
fought against the
Japanese Imperial Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
on the side of the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
.
Owing to the unrest in Burma and the human rights abuses by the
Tatmadaw
Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
, some
refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...
s have been established for the cross-border refugees in the Thai side of the range. The largest is the
Mae La refugee camp
Mae La, Beh klaw (alternatively spelled Maela),( ksw, မဲၣ်လးဒဲကဝီၤ, ဘဲကျီး) is a refugee camp in Thailand. It was established in 1984 in Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province in the Dawna Range area and hous ...
, established in 1984 in
Tha Song Yang District,
Tak Province
Tak ( th, ตาก, , Burmese: တာ့ခ် pronounced ak is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (''changwat'') and lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, ...
and currently houses over 40,000 refugees
Landmine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s have been laid in the border area and this affects wildlife as well.
Thai elephant steps on landmine in Burma
/ref>
See also
*Western Forest Complex
The Western Forest Complex, straddling two countries, Thailand and Myanmar, including 19 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, is the main biodiversity conservation corridor of the region. Covering 18,730 km2, it is one of the largest pro ...
* List of ecoregions in Burma
References
External links
Google Books, ''The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia''
The Geology of Burma (Myanmar)
Picture of peak on the Thai side of the range
KNU - Forest policy
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012065915/http://karennationalunion.net/index.php/burma/departments/forestry , date=2017-10-12
Mountain ranges of Myanmar
Mountain ranges of Thailand