Don Khon ( lo, ດອນຄອນ), is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annuall ...

in the

Si Phan Don The Si Phan Don ( lo, ສີ່ພັນດອນ; meaning '4,000 islands') is a riverine archipelago in the Mekong River, Champasak Province in southern Laos. Si Phan Don is part of Khong District, including the islands and part of the mainland ...

("Four Thousand Islands")

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

in Champasak Province of southern

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

History

The

Don Det–Don Khon railway The Don Det–Don Khon railway (sometimes spelled "Don Deth–Don Khone") was a -long narrow-gauge portage railway on the islands of Don Det and Don Khon, part of the Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) archipelago in Champasak Province of south ...

was a -long narrow-gauge

portage railway A portage railway is a short and possibly isolated section of railway used to bypass a section of unnavigable river or between two water bodies which are not directly connected. Cargo from waterborne vessels is unloaded, loaded onto conventional ...

on the islands of Don Khon and

Don Det Don Det ( lo, ດອນເດດ), is an island in the Mekong River in the Si Phan Don ("Four Thousand Islands") archipelago in Champasak Province of southern Laos. History The Don Det–Don Khon railway was a -long narrow-gauge portage railwa ...

, opened in 1893 to transport vessels, freight, and passengers along the Mekong River, and closed since the

1940s File:1940s decade montage.png, Above title bar: events during World War II (1939–1945): From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching Omaha Beach on D-Day; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holoca ...

.Mad About the Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia, Harper Collins, 2005.

Geography

The walking path around the island is . Don Khon is linked to its twin island

by a bridge (

). There are two

Buddhist temples A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represent ...

, a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

and a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

on the island.

Climate

Don Khon features a

tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

. While the city is generally very warm throughout the year, it is noticeably cooler during December and January. Don Khon also experiences wet and dry seasons, with the wet season from April until October, and the dry season during the remaining five months. Temperatures range from 15°C to 38°C.

Gallery

References

External links

* Populated places in Champasak Province Populated places on the Mekong River {{laos-geo-stub