Thổ Chu Island ( vi, đảo Thổ Chu or ''đảo Thổ Châu'') is the largest
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 ...
of
Thổ Chu Islands
Thổ Chu Islands ( vi, quần đảo Thổ Chu, link=no) is an archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand. It constitutes Tho Chau Commune of Phú Quốc District, Kiên Giang Province, Vietnam.
Geography
Thổ Chu Islands consist of eight islands a ...
in the
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...
. Here lies the administrative center of Thổ Châu Commune,
Phú Quốc District,
Kiên Giang Province,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. In the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, the island is also known as ''Poulo Panjang or Pulo Panjang.''
Geography
Thổ Chu Island is located to the southwest of Phú Quốc Island and
Rạch Giá
Rạch Giá () is a provincial city and the capital city of Kiên Giang province, Vietnam. It is located on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand, southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. East of city, it borders Tân Hiệp and Châu Thành town ...
and to the northwest of
Cape Cà Mau
Cape Cà Mau (''Mũi Cà Mau'') on Cà Mau Peninsula in Vietnam, is the southernmost point of the Vietnamese mainland.
Gallery
File:Tuongdaimuicamau.jpg, The ship-shaped monument marks the geographical location of Cape Ca Mau
File:Mui Ca Mau 0 ...
, specifically , and away.
[ ] There are four beaches on the island (Bai Ngu, Bai Dong, Bai Mun and Bai Nhat) of which the largest are Bai Ngu (literally "Royal Beach") and Bai Dong.
Environment
Thổ Chu Island has beautiful natural environment with high-density
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
s, fine white sand beaches and pristine forests. A majority of 99 species of coral present here belong to two genera ''
Montipora
''Montipora'' is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus ''Montipora'' may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, ''Montipora'' is the second most species rich coral genus ...
'' and ''
Acropora
''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals r ...
'' of
Acroporidae
Acroporidae is a family of small polyped stony corals in the phylum Cnidaria. The name is derived from the Greek ''"akron"'' meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known ...
. The flora consists of about two hundreds of species, mostly
Clusiaceae
The Clusiaceae or Guttiferae Juss. (1789) (''nom. alt. et cons.'' = alternative and valid name) are a family of plants including 13 genera and ca 750 species. Several former members of Clusiacae are now placed in Calophyllaceae and Hypericaceae. ...
,
và
Sapotaceae
240px, '' Madhuca longifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' in Narsapur, Medak district, India
The Sapotaceae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants belonging to the order (biology), order Ericales. The family includes about 800 species of ev ...
. The island is also home to endemic
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
species ''
Cyrtodactylus thochuensis
The Thochu bent-toed gecko (''Cyrtodactylus thochuensis'') is a species of gecko that is endemic to Thổ Chu Island in southwestern Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group= ...
''. However, Thổ Chu is being threatened by
environmental pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
since domestic waste is dumped into the sea.
History
During the era of
Republic of Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, Thổ Chu Island was under the administration of
An Xuyên Province
An, AN, aN, or an may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Airlinair (IATA airline code AN)
* Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy
* AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey
* Anime North, a Canadian an ...
.
On May 10, 1975, the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
occupied the island and, as reported by the Hanoi government, "destroyed villages, killed many people, and abducted 515 inhabitants of the island". From May 24 to May 27, 1975, Vietnamese forces attacked the occupiers and recaptured the island. In 1977, the Khmer Rouge raided Thổ Chu Island once again but were defeated.
On April 27, 1992, under the arrangement of the People's Committee of Kien Giang Province, six families with about thirty people moved to Thổ Chu Island and settled there. On April 24, 1993, the Vietnamese government decided to establish Thổ Châu Commune which has been in charge of administrating the whole archipelago.
[ ]
Demography
The majority of inhabitants are
navy personnel
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...
and
border guard
A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Gua ...
s who chose to settle on the island. As of early 2012, there are 513 households with about 1,700 people who mainly reside at Bai Ngu and Bai Dong.
The residents' lives are not easy as they have to move around the island twice a year to avoid storms. In the southwest monsoon from April to August, people move from Bai Ngu to Bai Dong and in the northeast monsoon from September to March, they reverse their migration.
Infrastructure
Thổ Chu Island has only one
electric generator
In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...
for Bai Ngu. The island does not have a
water supply network
A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes the following:
# A drainage basin (see water purification – source ...
so
military personnel
Military personnel are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, air force, space force, and coast guard), rank (officer, non-commissioned officer, or e ...
and civilians have to dig wells to get water.
Mobile information services of
Viettel
The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (), less formally recognized as Viettel Group () or simply Viettel, is a Vietnamese multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam. Viettel is the largest telecommuni ...
,
MobiFone
Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services One Member Limited Liability Company (with the brand MobiFone vi, Tổng công ty Viễn Thông MobiFone) is a major Vietnamese mobile network operator headquartered in Trung Hoa Nhan Chinh, Hanoi. Founded on 16 ...
and
Vinaphone
Vinaphone is a Vietnamese major mobile network operator headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam. Founded June 26, 1996, as a GSM launcher, Vinaphone is the second network (after MobiFone) and currently the second largest provider in Vietnam.
Partnersh ...
have reached the island. Thổ Chu Island Lighthouse was set up on January 25, 2000. Its range is during daytime and in the nighttime.
[ ] In addition, the island has a school, a post office and a temple commemorating the victims of the Khmer Rouge.
[ ]
Economy
In general, the economy of Thổ Chu Island is still difficult.
[ ] Local residents live mainly by fishing, including seafood trading and fisheries logistics. The efficiency in the exploitation of marine resources is only at low level.
[ ] According to Decision No. 18/2009/QD-TTg by the
Prime Minister of Vietnam
The prime minister of Vietnam ( vi, Thủ tướng Việt Nam), officially styled as the Prime Minister of the Government of the Socialist Republic ( vi, Thủ tướng Chính phủ nước Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa), is the head of g ...
, Tho Chu Island is planned to become a large fisheries service center of the region.
[ ]
See also
*
Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, suspected to have crashed nearby
References
External links
Tho Chu Islands Travel GuideWhere isFlight MH370
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destination ...
?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tho Chu Island
Islands of Vietnam
Landforms of Kiên Giang province
Islands of the Gulf of Thailand