The Kra Isthmus is the narrow landbridge which connects the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Asia. The east part of the landbridge belongs to Thailand, the west part belongs to the Tanintharyi division of Myanmar. To the west of the Isthmus is the Andaman Sea, to the east is the Gulf of Thailand. The Isthmus of Panama connects North and South America. ... The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Tanintharyi, better known by the old name Tenasserim, is a division of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the Kra Isthmus. ... The Andaman Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Myanmar and west of Thailand; it is part of the Indian Ocean. ... The Gulf of Thailand is a gulf located in the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean), surrounded by the countries Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. ...

The narrowest part between the estuary of the Kra River and the bay of Sawi near the city Chumphon has a width of 44km, and has a maximum altitude of 75m above sea level. The Isthmus is named after the city Kra Buri, in the Ranong province of Thailand, which is located at the west side of the narrowest part. Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits. ... Chumphon is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Chumphon province. ... Ranong (Thai ระนอง) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand, at the shore to the Andaman Sea. ...

The Isthmus of Kra marks the boundary between two parts of the central cordillera, the mountain chain which runs from Tibet through all of the Malay peninsula. The southern part is called the Phuket chain, the northern part is the Tenasserim chain, which continues for 400km until the Three Pagodas Pass. The Phuket mountain range (Thai เทือกเขาภูเก็ต) is the mountain chain on the Malay Peninsula extending from the Kra Isthmus in the north till the Phuket island. ... Three Pagodas Pass (Thai ด่านเจดีย์สามองค์, pronounced Darn Chedi Sam Ong) is a pass through the Bilauktaung Mountains on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, at an altitude of 282 metres. ...

Kra Canal

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The Thai Canal (formerly known as Kra Canal or Kra Isthmus Canal) refers to a plan for a large canal that would cut through southern Thailand to enable improved transportation in the region, like the Panama Canal and Suez Canal. Image File history File links Splitsection. ... The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ... Ships moored at El Ballah during transit The Suez Canal (Arabic: ‎, translit: , French: ), west of the Sinai Peninsula, is a 163-km-long (101 miles) and, at its narrowest point, 300-m-wide (984 ft) maritime canal in Egypt between Port Said (Būr Saīd) on the Mediterranean Sea...

As the Malay Peninsula enlarges the shipping routes around Asia significantly, a canal through the Kra Isthmus was suggested as early as 1677, when the Thai King Narai the Great asked the French engineer de Lamar to survey the possibility of building a waterway to connect Songkhla with Marid (now Myanmar). It turned out too impractical with the technology of that time. In 1793 the idea resurfaced when the younger brother of King Chakri (Rama I) suggested it to make it easier to protect the western coast with military ships. Also in the early 18th century the British East India Company became interested in a canal. After Burma became a British colony in 1863 with Victoria Point opposite the Kra estuary as its southernmost point, an exploration was undertaken, again with negative result. In 1882 the constructor of the Suez canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps, visited the area, but wasn't allowed to investigate in detail by the Thai king. In 1897 Thailand and the British empire agreed not to build a canal there, to protect the regional dominance of the harbour of Singapore. Events First performance of Racines tragedy, Phèdre Sarah Churchill marries John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough Battle of Cassel, Philippe I of Orléans defeats William of Orange Mary II of England marries William of Orange English Statute of frauds is passed into law Battle of Landskrona Elias... King Narai the Great (Thai สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช) (1629 - July 11, 1688) became king of the Ayutthaya kingdom or Siam, todays Thailand, in 1655. ... Songkhla is both a city and a province in Thailand. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... His Majesty King Rama I of Siam (portrait in the National History Museum, Bangkok) Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke or Rama I the Great, was king of Thailand from 1782 to 1809. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company which was granted an English Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intention of favouring trade privileges in India. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar. ... Ferdinand de Lesseps. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

In the 20th century the idea resurfaced several times again, now changing the preferred route to somewhere in Southern Thailand, to connect the Bandon Bay near Surat Thani with Phangnga. A Japanese plan for a canal in 1985 would have used over twenty nuclear devices each roughly twice as large as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The latest proposed site is across Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang provinces. If finished, it is believed that the canal would bring an economic boost to the nearby area and the whole country. The canal would compete directly with ports in the Strait of Malacca area and Singapore. Bandon Bay (Thai: อ่าวบ้านดอน) is a bay in the Gulf of Thailand in the Surat Thani Province, extending from the Chaiya district in the northwest to the Don Sak district to the east. ... Surat Thani (Thai สุราษฎร์ธานี) is a city in southern Thailand. ... Phang Nga (Thai: พังงา) is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Phang Nga province. ... Nakhon Si Thammarat (often in short Nakhon, Thai นครศรีธรรมราช) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand, at the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand. ... Trang (also Muang Thap Thiang, Thai ตรัง) is the one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand, at the western shore of the Andaman Sea. ... This wide-angle map of south-east Asia shows that the Strait is the most direct route from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. ...

The idea is still entertained by a few Thai politicians today, however the high costs as well as ecological problems make it unlikely to be realized in the near future. Instead currently the construction of a railroad connection between Surat Thani and Phuket is discussed.^{[citation needed]} In 2005, however, an internal report prepared for U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was leaked to The Washington Times, spelling out China's strategy of underwriting construction of the canal across the Kra Isthmus complete with Chinese port facilities and refineries, as part of its "string of pearls" strategy of forward bases and energy security. [1] The Chinese plan called for construction over ten years employing roughly 30,000 workers and costing between 20 and 25 billion American dollars. Phuket (Thai ภูเก็ต) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense, concerned with the armed services and The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9, 1932, Evanston, Illinois) is the 21st and current United States Secretary of Defense. ... The Washington Times[1] is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ...

This is also a reason for recent interest in the canal. The Straits of Malacca, just under 1000 kilometers long, are narrow, less than 2.5 kilometers at the narrowest. It is heavy used by oil tankers and bulk carriers. Some 80 percent of Japan's oil supplies pass through the Straits. The three countries on either side of the Straits are Singapore, Malaysia and the world's biggest Islamic country, Indonesia. Any planned canal in Thailand would mean that large ships could travel through the region and on to China and Japan without passing through the volatile regions of Aceh and southern Thailand. The Straits of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. ... Aceh (IPA pronunciation: , pronounced approximately Ah-Cèh, but with [e], not [ei] at the end) is a special territory (daerah istimewa) of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. ...

See also

• Malaccamax
• Isthmus of Panama
• Nicaraguan Canal
• Sunda Strait

The Isthmus of Panama. ... Panoramic View of proposed Canal, 1899. ... The Sunda Strait The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. ...

External links

• 2Bangkok about the Kra Isthmus canal
• Thai Canal project feasibility study, the latest effort for the Kra Canal (bilingual site)
• Thai Canal project feasibility study (bilingual site)

Related Isthmus of Kra Biogeography References

• Abdullah MT. 2003. Biogeography and variation of Cynopterus brachyotis in Southeast Asia. PhD thesis. The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
• Corbet, GB, Hill JE. 1992. The mammals of the Indomalayan region: a systematic review. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284.
• Wilson DE, Reeder DM. 2005. Mammal species of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC.