page_title: Geography of Cambodia
section_title: Southern Mountains
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Cambodia / Regions / Southern Mountains
caption_attribution_description: English: Kampot Cambodia countryside with Elephant mountains
context_page_description: Cambodia is a country in mainland Southeast Asia, bordering Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Gulf of Thailand and covers a total area of 181,035 km². The country is situated in its entirety inside the tropical Indomalayan realm and the Indochina Time zone.
  Cambodia's main geographical features are the low lying Central Plain that includes the Tonlé Sap basin, the lower Mekong River flood-plains and the Bassac River plain surrounded by mountain ranges to the north, east, in the south-west and south. The central lowlands extend into Vietnam to the south-east. The south and south-west of the country constitute a 443 km long coast at the Gulf of Thailand, characterized by sizable mangrove marshes, peninsulas, sandy beaches and headlands and bays. Cambodia's territorial waters account for over 50 islands. The highest peak is Phnom Aural, sitting 1,810 metres above sea level.
  The landmass is bisected by the Mekong river, which at 486 km is the longest river in Cambodia. After extensive rapids, turbulent sections and cataracts in Laos, the river enters the country at Stung Treng province, is predominantly calm and navigable during the entire year as it widens considerably in the lowlands.
context_section_description: This region represents the eastern parts of the original extent of the wet evergreen forests that cover the Cardamom - and Elephant Mountains in South-West Cambodia and along the mountains east of Bangkok in Thailand.
  The densely wooded hills receive rainfall of 3,000 to 5,000 mm (120 to 200 in) annually on their western slopes (which are subject to the South-West monsoons) but only 1,020 to 1,520 mm (40 to 60 in) on their eastern - rain shadow - slopes.
  The Cardamom/Krâvanh Mountains
  Occupying Koh Kong Province and Kampong Speu Province, running in a north-western to south-eastern direction and rising to more than 1,500 m (4,900 ft). The highest mountain of Cambodia, Phnom Aural, at 1,810 m (5,940 ft) is located in Aoral District in Kampong Speu Province.
  The Cardamom Mountains form - including the north-western part of Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, the 'Soi Dao Mountains' - the Cardamom Mountains Moist Forests Ecoregion, that is considered to be one of the most species-rich and intact natural habitats in the region. The climate, size inaccessibility and seclusion of the mountains have allowed a rich variety of wildlife to thrive. The Cardamom and Elephant Mountains remain to be fully researched and documented.
  The Elephant Mountains
  Chuŏr Phnum Dâmrei - A north-south-trending range of high hills, an extension of the Cardamom/Krâvanh Mountains, in south-eastern Cambodia,  rising to elevations of between 500 and 1,000 meters. Extending 110 km (68 mi) north from the Gulf of Thailand, they reach a high point in the Bok Koŭ ridge at Mount Bokor 1,081 m (3,547 ft) near the sea.
  To the south-west of the Southern mountain ranges extends a narrow coastal plain that contains the Kampong Saom Bay area and the Sihanoukville peninsula, facing the Gulf of Thailand.
caption: Kampot Province, countryside with remote Elephant Mountains
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