Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia / is a country located in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of ​​181,035 square kilometers (69,898 sq mi), it is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest

Cambodia occupies a large shallow basin, most of which falls below 105 meters above sea level, centered around Tonle Sap Lake, the lowest parts of it. Thus, this basin forms a low plain that gently slopes towards the south, and is surrounded on all sides by mountain ridges and hills except for the southeastern part that opens towards the Delta The Mekong River. To the south and west of the basin, the Elephant Mountains rise to a height not exceeding 500 m, and the mountains of Cardamon, where one of their peaks rises to a height of 1813 m

In the north, along the border with Thailand, the Danrik Mountains, which form the southern edge of the Khurat Plateau in Thailand, stand out at the corner of the confluence of Cambodia's borders with Thailand and Laos (706 AD). To the east of the Cambodian Great Basin, a region of round hills separates Cambodia and Vietnam. There is an important terrain between the Kardamon Mountains and the Dangrek Mountains, which forms a corridor linking the Cambodian Plain and the South Thai Plain, through a major land route and a railway

Cambodia is surrounded by low mountains with the exception of the southeastern side, and parts of the coastline. The huge Mekong River runs south from Laos through Cambodia. It flows into the South China Sea via Vietnam. Fertile plains cover about a third of the land, while forests cover large portions of it. During the dry season, the Tonle Sap River flows to the southeast of the shallow Tonle Sap Lake to meet the Mekong River in Phnom Penh, but it runs in the opposite direction during monsoon rains. This occurs because floods and melted snow from the source of the Mekong in Tibet raise the river level to a higher level than the lake

And Cambodia's location makes its climate belong to the tropical climate, while its geographical location in the Southeast Asian region places its climate within the seasonal climate, and thus classifies its climate as a seasonal tropical climate. Its low and wide basin is characterized by its constant high temperature throughout the year. The annual average temperature in Phnom Penh ranges between 27 ° C in the coldest months and about 30 ° C in the warmest months

Rains are generally permanent throughout the year, as no month passes unless it rains with a summer concentration, with during the period (June-October) about 70% of the total annual rain. The least rainy months are the winter months (December, January and February), at around 5%

While the annual rainfall is less than 2000 mm in the low central part of Cambodia, where the average annual rainfall in Phnom Penh is about 1480 mm, it exceeds 4000 mm in the western coastal parts facing the southwestern summer monsoon

The surface water network is represented in a group of major rivers and their tributaries, the most important of which is the Mekong River coming from Laos after crossing the territory of Thailand, and it passes at the outskirts of the Cambodian capital, after which it takes about 75 km before entering Vietnam on its destination to the China Sea to flow into it

In the northern part of Cambodia, the Mekong provides several tributary tributaries, including the Khong River, the San River, and the Sreebok, which meet together with the Mekong before its termination at Stung Tring. There is the Tonle Sap River, which is the Cambodian River originating from the northern borderlands, flowing its waters southwest of about 300 km, before turning its course to the south and then southeast about 60 km to flow into the shallow Tonle Sap Lake

From its source to its entry into the lake, this river is known as the String River. With this name, the Tonle Sap River exits from the southern end of the lake in a southern destination until it meets the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. Cambodia is surrounded by a huge longitudinal lake which is the shallow Tonle Sap lake which is the most important natural appearance in the country

In the winter relatively dry season, the Tonle Sap River continues to run towards the Mekong, at which time the surface of the lake shrinks to about 2590 km 2. As for the heavy monsoon summer rainy season and Mekong River floods and its level rises above the level of Tonle Sap Lake, the water in Tonle Sap River moves in an opposite direction towards the lake, increasing its area to about 10350 km2

The dense seasonal forests cover a large area of ​​Cambodia (about 30%), especially the upland areas in its southwestern third. In drier regions, tropical savanna and shrubs, known locally as Tranah, are prevalent. As for the interior plains, it uprooted large areas of its trees to replace the various crops