Tongchang County is a ''kun'', or county, in the northeast of the far western North Pyŏngan province,

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It borders Pyŏktong and

Chagang Chagang Province (Chagangdo; ) is a province in North Korea; it is bordered by China's Jilin and Liaoning provinces to the north, Ryanggang and South Hamgyong to the east, South Pyongan to the south, and North Pyongan to the west. Chagang was f ...

Usi USI or Usi may stand for: * Usi (food), a starch dish of the Urhobo people of Nigeria * Uši, an album by Czech band Uz jsme doma * Usi County, a county in westernmost Chagang province, North Korea * USI Tech, a suspected ponzi scheme * USI Wirel ...

county to the north,

Unsan Unsan County is a ''kun'', or county, in eastern North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. Within the province, it borders Hyangsan in the east, Kujang and Nyŏngbyŏn in the south, and Tongch'ang and T'aech'ŏn in the west. In addition, it ...

and Songwŏn (in Chagang province) to the east, Thaechŏn to the south, and Changsŏng and

Taegwan Taegwan County is a ''kun'', or county, in northeastern North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It lies in the province's interior, and is bounded by Tongch'ang on the east, Kusŏng and T'aech'ŏn to the south, Ch'ŏnma to the west, and Ch'a ...

to the west.

Geography

The Pinandŏk Mountains pass through northern and eastern Tongchang, contributing the county's highest point, Tanphungdŏksan (단풍덕산, 1159 m). The Changsŏng River flows from the northwest to the southeast, on its way to join the

Taedong Taedong County is a ''kun'' (county) in South P'yŏngan province, North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula ...

. Some 80% of the county's land is forested (of which 40% is coniferous, with mixed pine-oak woods predominating).

Administrative divisions

Tongchang county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town), 1 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' district) and 16 '' ri'' (villages):

Climate

The year-round local temperature is 7 °C, with an average of -10 °C in January and 22.8 °C in August. The average annual rainfall is quite high, at 1440 mm.

Industry

The dominant local industry is mining. The first gold mine there was opened in Taeyu-dong in 1896 by a French concern. In addition, silver and

apatite Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH−, F− and Cl− ions, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common e ...

are now mined. Tongchang has the least cultivable land of any county in the province, at 6.5% of its total area; most of that (80%) consists of dry fields unsuitable for rice. The chief local crop, therefore, is maize. There are numerous small-scale hydroelectric power stations.

References

External links