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. For other uses, see Isthmus (disambiguation). ... The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... 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. ... Anthem Kaba Ma Kyei Capital Naypyidaw Largest city Yangon Official languages Burmese Demonym Burmese Government Military junta  -  Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Than Shwe  -  Prime Minister Soe Win  -  Acting Prime Minister Thein Sein Establishment  -  Bagan 849–1287   -  Taungoo Dynasty 1486–1752   -  Konbaung Dynasty 1752–1885   -  Colonial rule... The Andaman Sea (Burmese: ; IPA: ) is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Myanmar, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands; 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 44 km, and has a maximum altitude of 75 m 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. For other meanings, see Estuary (disambiguation) Río de la Plata estuary An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. ... 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 400 km 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

Further information: Thai canal

The Thai Canal (formerly known as Kra Canal) is a proposed canal from the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea via southern Thailand. 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. ...

In popular culture

• In the Yoko Tsuno graphic novel Le Canon de Kra, the isthmus featured as the site for a large railway cannon.

La Fille du Vent Yoko Tsuno is a comic book series created by the Belgian writer Roger Leloup published at Dupuis and in Spirou magazine since its debut. ... Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ... Le Canon de Kra (The Cannon of Kra) is the fifteenth book from Yoko Tsuno comic book series written by Roger Leloup and published in 1985. ...

See also

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

Malaccamax is a naval architecture term for the largest ships capable of fitting through the Straits of Malacca. ... 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. ... The Lombok Strait is a strait connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, located between the islands of Bali and Lombok. ... Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. ...

References

Further reading

• 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.

Coordinates: 10°11′N, 98°53′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...