The Phuket Range ( th, ทิวเขาภูเก็ต, ''Thio Khao Phuket'', ) is a subrange 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 ...

in the

Kra Isthmus The Kra Isthmus ( th, คอคอดกระ, ) in Thailand is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula. The western part of the isthmus belongs to Ranong Province and the eastern part to Chumphon Province, both in Southern Thailand. The ...

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 ...

Geography

The Phuket chain is a continuation of the greater Tenasserim range, forming one of the southern sections of the central Indo-Malay cordillera, the mountain chain which runs from

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

through all of the

Malay peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

extending southwards for over 200 km. The

Nakhon Si Thammarat Range The Nakhon Si Thammarat Range ( th, ทิวเขานครศรีธรรมราช, , ) is a mountain range on the Malay peninsula in southern Thailand, running in a north–south direction. This mountain chain is also sometimes named Ba ...

begins 60 km to the east of the southern part of the Phuket Range. Between the ranges there are isolated peaks rising from the lowlands, the highest of which is 1,350 m high Khao Phanom Bencha near

Krabi Krabi ( th, กระบี่, ) is the main town in the province of Krabi (''thesaban mueang'') on the west coast of southern Thailand at the mouth of the Krabi River where it empties in Phang Nga Bay. As of 2020, the town had a population of 3 ...

.Peninsular Thailand
/ref> The highest elevation is Khao Langkha Tuek with an elevation of 1395 m. As the hills raise directly from the western coast there are no notable rivers west of the ridge. To the east the largest rivers are the

Phum Duang River The Phum Duang River (, , ) (rarely also called the ''Khiri Rat River'') is a river in Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand, the main tributary of the Tapi River.ราชบัณฑิตยสถาน. ''อักขรานุกรม� ...

and the

Lang Suan River Lang may refer to: *Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin Places * Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica * Lang Nunatak, Antarctica * Lang Sound, Antarctica * Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia * Lang, ...

. The largest lake within the mountains is the Chiao Lan (Ratchaprapha dam) at 165 km², an artificial lake within the

Khao Sok National Park Khao Sok National Park ( th, เขาสก, ) is in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. Its area is 461,712 rai ~ , and it includes the Cheow Lan Lake contained by the Ratchaprapha Dam. The park is the largest area of virgin forest in southern T ...

. The mountains mostly consist of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, which leads to the

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

geography of steep hills. The hills west of the ridge contain several

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

mines, mostly exhausted.

Protection

The range is in the Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain 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 ...

. Most of the mountains are protected in various

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

s and other protected areas. These are (from the south) Si Phang-nga NP,

Ton Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary The Ton Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าโตนปริวรรต) is located in the north of Mueang Phang Nga district, Phang Nga Province, southern Thailand. It covers an ar ...

, Khlong Phanom NP, Khao Sok NP,

Khlong Yan Wildlife Sanctuary Khlong Yan ( th, คลองยัน) is a wildlife sanctuary in southern Thailand, located in the west of Surat Thani Province. It is located between the Khao Sok and Kaeng Krung National Park within the hills of the Phuket mountain range. It ...

, Kaeng Krung NP,

Khlong Nakha Wildlife Sanctuary Khlong Nakha ( th, คลองนาคา) is a wildlife sanctuary in southern Thailand, located in the southeast of Ranong Province. It is located within the hills of the Phuket mountain range. It covers an area of 530 km², covering area of ...

and Namtok Ngao NP (formerly named Khlong Phrao NP).

References

External links

Geography of the Kra river area
(Thai) Tenasserim Hills Mountain ranges of Thailand Malay Peninsula Kra Isthmus Southern Thailand {{Thailand-geo-stub