Bandon Bay ( th, อ่าวบ้านดอน, , ) is a bay 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 ...

in Surat Thani Province, extending from the Sui cape in

Chaiya District Chaiya ( th, ไชยา, ) is a former capital district (''Amphoe mueang'') of Surat Thani province, Southern Thailand. The main town is Talat Chaiya. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise): Tha Chang and Kapoe of R ...

in the northwest to

Kanchanadit District Kanchanadit ( th, กาญจนดิษฐ์, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in Surat Thani province, south Thailand. History Originally, the town was named ''Tha Thong'' (ท่าทอง) after the river of the same name (''Tha Thong Mai'', ...

to the east. The total coastline is about 100 km. The bay is dominated by the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the rivers Tapi and Phum Duang. The islands of

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui, also often locally shortened to Samui; th, เกาะสมุย, ) is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko ...

Ko Pha Ngan Ko Pha-ngan ( th, เกาะพะงัน, , ) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand. Ko Pha-ngan is best known for its Full Moon Party at Hat Rin Beach. Ko Pha-ngan has two sister islands: th ...

and

Ko Tao Ko Tao ( th, เกาะเต่า, , ) is an island in Thailand and is part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of about 21 km2 (8 sq mi). Administratively it is a subdistrict ('' ...

enclose the bay on its eastern side. The bay is relatively shallow, with water depths ranging from one to five meters. Along the coast are

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s owing to the high rate of

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...

, which were naturally overgrown with

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

( ''Sonneratia'' spp., ''Rhizophora'' spp.), but now mostly replaced by

shrimp farm Shrimp farming is an aquaculture business that exists in either a marine or freshwater environment, producing shrimp or prawns (crustaceans of the groups Caridea or Dendrobranchiata) for human consumption. Marine Commercial marine shrimp farm ...

References

External links

Reversing Environmental Damage through Community Focused Sustainable Livelihoods in Ban Don, Surat Thani Province Support by Mangrove for The Future
{{coord, 9, 17, N, 99, 17, E, region:TH_type:waterbody, display=title Geography of Surat Thani province Bays of Thailand Gulf of Thailand