Chao Phraya River

{{Geobox | River |name = Chao Phraya River |native_name = |other_name = |other_name1 = |image = Chaophrayansawan03.jpg |image_size = 275px |image_caption = Origin of the Chao Phraya River in Nakhon Sawan |country = |country1 = |state = |state1 = |region = |region1 = |district = |district1 = |city = |city1 = |city2 = |city3 = |city4 = |city5 = |city6 = |length = 372 |watershed = 160400 |discharge = 718 |discharge_location = [[Nakhon Sawan]] |discharge_max = 5960 |discharge_min = |discharge1_location = |discharge1 = |source_name = Confluence of [[Ping River]] and [[Nan River]] |source_location = [[Pak Nam Pho]] |source_district = |source_region = |source_state = [[Nakhon Sawan province]] |source_country = |source_lat_d = |source_lat_m = |source_lat_s = |source_lat_NS = |source_long_d = |source_long_m = |source_long_s = |source_long_EW = |source_elevation = 25 |source_length = |mouth_name = |mouth_location = [[Gulf of Thailand]] |mouth_district = |mouth_region = |mouth_state = [[Samut Prakan Province]] |mouth_country = |mouth_lat_d = |mouth_lat_m = |mouth_lat_s = |mouth_lat_NS = |mouth_long_d = |mouth_long_m = |mouth_long_s = |mouth_long_EW = |mouth_elevation = 0 |tributary_left = [[Pa Sak River]] |tributary_left1 = |tributary_right = [[Sakae Krang River]] |tributary_right1 = |free_name = |free_value = |map = Chaophrayarivermap.png |map_size = |map_caption = Map of the Chao Phraya River drainage basin }} The '''Chao Phraya''' ({{lang-th|แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา}}, {{RTGS|''Maenam Chao Phraya''}}, {{IPA-th|mɛ̂ːnáːm tɕâːw pʰráʔ.jaː|pron}} or {{IPA-th|tɕâːw pʰra.jaː|}}, [http://www.forvo.com/word/chao_phraya_river#th listen]) is a major [[river]] in [[Thailand]], with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It runs through [[Bangkok]], the capital city, and then empties into the Gulf of Thailand. ==Etymology== On many old European maps, the river is named ''Menam'' or ''Mae Nam'' (Thai: [[wikt:แม่น้ำ|แม่น้ำ]]), Thai for "river". Englishman [[Herbert Warington Smyth|H. Warington Smyth]], who served as Director of the Department of Mines in Siam from 1891-1896, refers to it in his book first published in 1898 as "the Me Nam Chao Phraya." [[Thai_royal_and_noble_titles#Chao Phraya|Thai royal and noble title ''Chao Phraya'']] may be translated as "[[Grand Duke]]". In the English-language media in Thailand, the name is often translated as ''River of Kings''. [[Image:Wat Arun Bangkok View Photo D Ramey Logan.jpg|thumb|left|A view of the Chao Phraya River in the city of Bangkok.]] ==Geography== The Chao Phraya begins at the [[confluence]] of the [[Ping River|Ping]] and [[Nan River|Nan]] rivers at [[Nakhon Sawan]] (also called Pak Nam Pho) in [[Nakhon Sawan province]]. It then flows south for {{convert|372|km|mi}} from the [[Central Thailand|central plains]] to [[Bangkok]] and the [[Gulf of Thailand]]. In [[Chainat province|Chainat]], the river splits into the main course and the [[Tha Chin]] river, which then flows parallel to the main river and exits in the Gulf of Thailand about {{convert|35|km|mi}} west of Bangkok in [[Samut Sakhon]]. In the low [[alluvial plain]] which begins below the Chainat dam, many small canals (''[[khlong]]'') split off from the main river. The ''khlong'' are used for the irrigation of the region's rice paddies. The rough co-ordinates of the river are 13 N, 100 E. This area has a wet monsoon climate, with over 1,400 mm of rainfall per year, and temperatures range from 24°C to 33°C in Bangkok. ==River settlements== Cities along the Chao Phraya include [[Nakhon Sawan]], [[Uthai Thani]], [[Chainat]], [[Singburi]], [[Ang Thong]], [[Ayutthaya (city)|Ayutthaya]], [[Pathum Thani]], [[Nonthaburi town|Nonthaburi]], [[Bangkok]] and [[Samut Prakan]], listed from north to south. These cities are among the most historically significant and densely populated settlements of Thailand precisely because of their access to the waterway, with Bangkok alone having a population of over 12 million. ==Transportation== The major bridges that cross the Chao Phraya are in the province of Bangkok: the [[Rama VI Bridge|Rama VI]] rail-road bridge; [[Phra Pin-klao Bridge|Phra Pin-klao]] near the [[Grand Palace, Bangkok|Grand Palace]]; [[Rama VIII Bridge|Rama VIII]], a single tower asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge; [[Rama IX Bridge|Rama IX]], a semi-symmetric cable-stayed bridge; and [[Mega Bridge]], part of the Industrial Ring Road. In Bangkok, the Chao Phraya is a major transportation artery for a vast network of river buses, cross-river ferries and water taxis, also known as longtails. More than 15 boat lines operate on the rivers and canals of the city, including [[commuter|commuter lines]]. {{See also|List of crossings of the Chao Phraya River|Chao Phraya Express Boat|Bangkok Boat Express Lines|Sathon-Klong Toei Express Boat}} ==Tributaries== {{main|Tributaries of the Chao Phraya River}} The principal tributaries of the Chao Phraya River are the [[Pa Sak River]], the [[Sakae Krang River]], the [[Nan River]] (along with its principal confluent the [[Yom River]]), the [[Ping River]] (with its principal confluent the [[Wang River]]), and the [[Tha Chin River]]. Each of these tributaries (and the Chao Phraya itself) is further tributed by additional minor tributaries often referred to as ''khwae''. All of the tributaries, including the lesser khwae, form an extensive tree-like pattern, with branches flowing through nearly every province in central and northern [[Thailand]]. None of the tributaries of the Chao Phraya extend beyond the nation's borders. The Nan and the Yom River flow nearly parallel from [[Phitsanulok]] to Chumsaeng in the north of Nakhon Sawan province. The [[Wang River]] enters the Ping River near Sam Ngao district in [[Tak province]]. ==Chao Phraya watershed== [[Image:Bkkchaophraya0804a.jpg|thumb|right|Near [[Rama VIII bridge]].]] The expanse of the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, i.e. the ''Chao Phraya river system'', together with the land upon which falling rain drains into these bodies of water, form the ''Chao Phraya [[drainage basin|watershed]].'' The Chao Phraya watershed is the largest watershed in Thailand, covering approximately 35% of the nation's land, and draining an area of {{convert|157924|km2}}. The watershed is divided into the following basins: *[[Pa Sak River|Pa Sak Basin]] *[[Sakae Krang River|Sakae Krang Basin]] *[[Nan River|Greater Nan Basin]] (comprising the [[Nan River|Nan Basin]] and the [[Yom River|Yom Basin]], and usually divided as such in drainage analyses) *[[Ping River|Greater Ping Basin]] (comprising the [[Ping River|Ping Basin]] and the [[Wang River|Wang Basin]], and usually divided as such in drainage analyses) *[[Tha Chin River|Tha Chin Basin]] (the basin of the Chao Phraya's most significant distributaries) *Finally the Chao Phraya Basin itself is defined as the portion of the Chao Phraya Watershed drained by the Chao Phraya River itself, and not by its major tributaries or distributaries. As such, the Chao Phraya Basin drains {{convert|20126|km2}} of land. Meanwhile to the west the central plain of Thailand is drained by the [[Mae Klong]] and the east by the [[Bang Pakong River]]s which are not part of the Chao Praya system. The landscape of the river basins is a very wide, flat, well-watered plain continuously refreshed with soil and sediment brought down by the rivers. The Lower Central plain from the delta north to [[Ang Thong Province]] is a flat, low area with an average of 2m above sea level. Further north and into the plains of the Ping and the Nan the elevation is over 20m. Then the mountains that are the natural boundary of the Chao Praya watershed form a [[Drainage divide|divide]], which has, to some degree, historically isolated Thailand from other Southeast Asian civilizations. In fact in northern Thailand the divide roughly corresponds to a long section of the political border of the country today. Southern portions of the divide's boundary correspond less to the nation's political border, because isolation in this area was prevented by the ease of transportation along the lowlands surrounding the Gulf of Thailand, allowing a unified Thai civilization to extend beyond the watershed without issue. The slightly higher northern plains have been farmed for centuries and saw a major change from the 13th century onwards during the [[Sukhothai Kingdom]] in the 13th and 14th centuries and the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] that succeeded it when rice-growing intensified with the introduction of [[rice|floating rice]], a much faster-growing strain of rice from [[Bengal]]. The southern swamps meanwhile changed radically from the 18th century when King [[Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke]] moved the capital of Siam to Bangkok, and a process of canalisation and cultivation began, especially as Thailand began to export rice from 1855 onwards. ==Delta== The [[Tha Chin River]] is the major distributary of the Chao Phraya River. The expanse of the Chao Phraya and [[Tha Chin River|Tha Chin]] Rivers and their distributaries, starting at the point at which the distributaries diverge, together with the land amid the triangle formed by the outermost and innermost distributary, form the ''Chao Phraya [[River delta|Delta]].'' The many distributaries of the Chao Phraya delta are interconnected by canals that serve both for irrigation and for transportation. ==Ecology== [[Image:ChaoPhrayaRiver.JPG|thumb|left|View of the river from a boat ride.]] The lowland areas of the Chao Phraya watershed in central Thailand have been designated as the Chao Phraya freshwater swamp forests, a [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests]] [[ecoregion]], an area about 400 km north to south and 180 km wide. The original swamp forests have almost entirely been removed as the plain has been converted to rice paddies, other agriculture, and urban areas like the massive Bangkok, and much of the wildlife that once inhabited these plains has disappeared including a large number of fish in the river systems, birds such as vultures, the [[Oriental Darter]], [[White-eyed River Martin]] ''(Pseudochelidon sirintarae)'' and the [[Sarus Crane]] and animals such as tigers, [[Asian elephant]]s, [[Javan Rhinoceros]]es and the much-hunted [[Schomburgk's Deer]]. Today we can only estimate a description of the original habitat and wildlife by comparing with that of neighbouring countries and it is believed that it would have consisted of freshwater swamps inland and salty [[mangrove]]s on the coast and the river estuaries. The swamp would have been covered in [[Phragmites]] marsh grasses and today there is a small area of this remaining in [[Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park]], a relic of the original landscape. As so much has been cleared or altered the potential for creating large protected areas to preserve original habitat no longer exists. However much wildlife does remain in the rice fields and steps may be taken to preserve these as urban and industrial development on the plains is ongoing and the [[Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand]] has very little control or planning over this. Particular threats come from the conversion of rice paddies to large-scale production of prawns by pumping in seawater, and the use of pesticides to eliminate the introduced snail [[Pomacea canaliculata]], which damages rice plants. There are for example populations of threatened birds, including colonies of breeding water birds such as the world's largest populations of the near-threatened [[Asian Openbill]] ''(Anastomus oscitans)'', and other birds such as the wintering [[Black Kite]] ''(Milvus migrans)''. Endemic mammals that remain are the [[Limestone Rat]] ''(Niviventer hinpoon)'', [[Neill's Long-tailed Giant Rat]] ''(Leopoldamys neilli)'' and the near-endemic [[Thailand Roundleaf Bat]] ''(Hipposideros halophyllus)''. In [[2011]], the [[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] declared the endemic catfish species ''[[Platytropius siamensis]]'' [[extinct]]. There are few areas of wetland protected as national park and these are mostly very small. ==See also== * [[River Systems of Thailand]] * [[Giant freshwater stingray]] (''Himantura chaophraya'') ==External links== {{Commons category|Chao Phraya|Chao Phraya River}} * [http://www.thailand.tv/watch/chao-phraya-river Video Guide to the Chao Phraya River] * [http://www.chaophrayaboat.co.th/ Chao Phraya River Express] * [http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/case_studies/chao_phraya/index.shtml UNESCO World Water Assessment Program on the Chao Phraya] * [http://std.cpc.ku.ac.th/delta/conf/home2.htm Chao Phraya Delta Research and Reference Site] {{coord missing|Thailand}}