Kampong Seila District ( km, ស្រុកកំពង់សីលា) is a district (''
srok
Administrative divisions of Cambodia have several levels. Cambodia is divided into 24 provinces (''Khaet''; km, ខេត្ត, ) and the special administrative unit Phnom Penh. Though a different administrative unit, Phnom Penh is at provin ...
'') in southwestern
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
Sihanoukville province
Preah Sihanouk ( km, ព្រះសីហនុ, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ), also Sihanoukville, is a province (''khaet'') in southwest Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand. The provincial capital, also called Sihanoukville, is a deep water port city ...
per royal decree, which states: "The administrative boundaries of Sihanoukville municipality and Koh Kong province shall be adjusted by sub-dividing land from Kampong Seila district in whole and partial land of Sre Ambel district in Koh Kong province to Sihanoukville municipality." Officials were assigned to create a "national workshop" process all necessary administrative tasks. The
National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia The National Institute of Statistics is the branch of the Cambodian Ministry of Planning responsible for the collection, processing, and dissemination of official national statistics. It oversees the Social Statistics Department, the Census and Sur ...
refers in its most recent and preliminary studies to a successful integration of the district, including maps, although concluding statistics and numbers are expected to be available with the next full report. Sihanoukville province's new official domain already runs administration of Kampong Seila district.
Geography
The district's northern part encompasses
Kirirom National Park
The Kirirom National Park ( km, ឧទ្យានជាតិគិរីរម្យ), officially the Preah Suramarit-Kossamak Kirirom National Park ( km, ឧទ្យានជាតិព្រះសុរាម្រិត-កុសមៈ គ ...
and to the east it constitutes the southwest promontory of
Preah Monivong National Park
Preah Monivong Bokor National Park ( km, ឧទ្យានជាតិព្រះមុនីវង្ស បូកគោ, ) is a national park in southern Cambodia's Kampot Province that was established in 1993 and covers . It is designated as ...
of the Elephant Mountains. The Elephant Mountain range of uplifted Mesozoic substrates is an important watershed for the large Tonle Sap system in central Cambodia. The intact habitat is subject to concerted maintenance of five major protected areas.
Throughout the diamond-shaped province rolling hills are predominant and the area flattens towards the south where it almost touches the sea. For nearly its entire length the
National Highway 4 (Cambodia)
National Highway 4 or National Road No.4 (10004) (in Khmer ផ្លូវជាតិលេខ ៤) is one of the national highways of Cambodia. With a length of ,Discovering Sihanoukville Municipality, p. 665, in "Cambodia in the Early 21st C ...
loops through the district from north to south.
Settlements
Kampong Seila consists of four communes (
Sangkat
Administrative divisions of Cambodia have several levels. Cambodia is divided into 24 provinces (''Khaet''; km, ខេត្ត, ) and the special administrative unit Phnom Penh. Though a different administrative unit, Phnom Penh is at provin ...
), which are divided into 14 villages (
phum
Administrative divisions of Cambodia have several levels. Cambodia is divided into 24 provinces (''Khaet''; km, ខេត្ត, ) and the special administrative unit Phnom Penh. Though a different administrative unit, Phnom Penh is at provin ...
). The district's capital is called Kompong Seila, which is in turn the center of Kampong Seila's capital commune. Its distance from Phnom Penh is roughly 135 km and from
Sihanoukville (city)
Sihanoukville (; km, ក្រុងព្រះសីហនុ, ), also known as Kampong Som ( km, កំពង់សោម, ), is a coastal city in Cambodia and the capital of Preah Sihanouk Province, at the tip of an elevated peninsula ...
around 85 km.
Markets, pagodas, and administrative units are centered on the vital National Road 4. Kompong Seila's overwhelmingly rural population engages in rice farming, forestry, and subsidiary crop cultivation, such as
gourds
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earl ...
Dâmrei Mountains
The Dâmrei Mountains (literally the "Elephant Mountains", km, ភ្នំដំរី, Chuŏr Phnum Dâmrei), refer to a mountain range situated in south-western Cambodia, traversing around north-south as a succession of the Cardamom Mounta ...