The Great Lake ecosystem
Cambodian floodplain
Cambodian floodplain
Map of Tonlé Sap lake and river, and drainage basin
The Great Lake ecosystem e Mekong Plain is a vast low-lying area traversed by the Mekong river; however, only a relatively small portion of the plain consists of fluviatile deposits of the young Mekong. The plain comprises most of lowland Cambodia and the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, a small part of southern Laos and a small part of eastern Thailand in Chantaburi and Prachinburi provinces. It is bordered by the Dangrek Mountains on the north, the Elephant and Cardomom mountains on the south, and the southern Annamite Range on the east. The plain is about 800 kilometers from north to south and 600 kilometers from east to west; it is mostly less than 100 meters in elevation, but a few higher outcroppings are scattered throughout the plain and much of northern Cambodia is characterized by rolling and dissected plains between 100 and 200 meters elevation. The plain is the result of erosion and sedimentation; the sediments vary in depth from at least 500 meters near the mouth of the Mekong to only about 30 meters at Phnom Penh, with bedrock outcroppings in isolated hills above the plain in several places.
The Great Lake ecosystem e Mekong Plain is a vast low-lying area traversed by the Mekong river; however, only a relatively small portion of the plain consists of fluviatile deposits of the young Mekong. The plain comprises most of lowland Cambodia and the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, a small part of southern Laos and a small part of eastern Thailand in Chantaburi and Prachinburi provinces. It is bordered by the Dangrek Mountains on the north, the Elephant and Cardomom mountains on the south, and the southern Annamite Range on the east. The plain is about 800 kilometers from north to south and 600 kilometers from east to west; it is mostly less than 100 meters in elevation, but a few higher outcroppings are scattered throughout the plain and much of northern Cambodia is characterized by rolling and dissected plains between 100 and 200 meters elevation. The plain is the result of erosion and sedimentation; the sediments vary in depth from at least 500 meters near the mouth of the Mekong to only about 30 meters at Phnom Penh, with bedrock outcroppings in isolated hills above the plain in several places.
The Cambodian floodplain or the Mekong Plain is a vast low-lying area traversed by the Mekong river; however, only a relatively small portion of the plain consists of fluviatile deposits of the young Mekong. The plain comprises most of lowland Cambodia and the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, a small part of southern Laos and a small part of eastern Thailand in Chantaburi and Prachinburi provinces. It is bordered by the Dangrek Mountains on the north, the Elephant and Cardomom mountains on the south, and the southern Annamite Range on the east. The plain is about 800 kilometers from north to south and 600 kilometers from east to west; it is mostly less than 100 meters in elevation, but a few higher outcroppings are scattered throughout the plain and much of northern Cambodia is characterized by rolling and dissected plains between 100 and 200 meters elevation. The plain is the result of erosion and sedimentation; the sediments vary in depth from at least 500 meters near the mouth of the Mekong to only about 30 meters at Phnom Penh, with bedrock outcroppings in isolated hills above the plain in several places.
