The Golok River ( th, แม่น้ำโก-ลก, , ; ms, Sungai Golok) is a river that lies on the
border between 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 ...
and
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 ...
. It is spanned only by the
Malaysian–Thai Friendship Bridge. The name of the river in Malay is ''Sungai
Golok
A golok is a cutting tool, similar to a machete, that comes in many variations and is found throughout the Malay archipelago. It is used as an agricultural tool as well as a weapon. The word ''golok'' (sometimes misspelled in English as "gollock" ...
'', meaning 'river of machete'.
The river borders the
Malaysian state
The states and federal territories of Malaysia are the principal administrative divisions of Malaysia. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states (''Negeri'') and 3 federal territories (''Wilayah Persekutuan'').
States and federal territories
Ele ...
of
Kelantan
Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode").
Kelantan is located in th ...
and the
Thai province of
Narathiwat
Narathiwat ( th, นราธิวาส, ) is a town (thesaban mueang) in southern Thailand and capital of Narathiwat Province. The town is in the Mueang Narathiwat District and was established in 1936. As of 2008, the population was 40,521. ...
. The friendship bridge connects the Malaysian town of
Rantau Panjang
Rantau Panjang ( Jawi: رنتاو ڤنجڠ)
( Thai: รันเตาปันจัง) is a daerah (subdistrict/commune) and also a parliamentary constituency in Pasir Mas District, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Geography
Rantau Panjang is located nea ...
and the Thai town of
Su-ngai Kolok. Rantau Panjang is a duty-free zone.
The river flows into the
Gulf of Thailand at
Tak Bai District, Narathiwat Province. It floods seasonally with the
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
.
An unusually large flood occurred on 21 December 2009, causing an evacuation of parts of Kelantan.
The river originates in
Titiwangsa Mountains
The Titiwangsa Mountains ( Malay: ''Banjaran Titiwangsa,'' بنجرن تيتيوڠسا, ), also known as ''"Banjaran Besar"'' (Big Range) by locals, is the chain of mountains that forms the backbone of the Malay Peninsula.
The northern section ...
of
Sukhirin District
Sukhirin ( th, สุคิริน, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the southern part of Narathiwat province, southern Thailand.
History
''Tambons'' Mamong and Sukhirin were separated from Waeng district
Waeng ( th, แว้ง, ) is the s ...
, then flows through
Waeng and
Su-ngai Kolok with Tak Bai Districts. It is long. The area where the river flow through, especially Sukirin, it used to be a prosperous
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characteri ...
since pre-
Second World War
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 opposi ...
period. Although today it is not as busy as before, but the
gold panning
Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especi ...
career still continues for Sukhirin residents. The villagers use their wisdom of gold dredging as an addition source of income such as promoting local tourism.
See also
*
Malaysia–Thailand relations
Malaysia–Thailand relations ( ms, Hubungan Malaysia–Thailand; Jawi: هوبوڠن مليسيا–تايلاند; th, ความสัมพันธ์ไทย - มาเลเซีย ) refers to bilateral foreign relations between th ...
References
Malaysia–Thailand border
Rivers of Kelantan
Rivers of Thailand
Rivers of Malaysia
Border rivers
{{Malaysia-river-stub