bangkok thailand
Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or Krung Thep for short, is the capital of and largest city in Thailand, with an official year 2000 census population of 6,355,144, but actually numbering at least twice that.[citation needed] Bangkok is located at 13°45′N 100°31′ECoordinates: 13°45′N 100°31′E, on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, near the Gulf of Thailand.
Bangkok is the 22nd most populous city in the world. Although Bangkok now has roughly 7 million registered inhabitants, the actual population is much higher, and including commuters from the surrounding areas, may reach an estimated 10-15 million people during the day time.[1]. Recently, the value of Bangkok's economic output has matched that of Singapore, making Bangkok a major economic and financial center in Southeast Asia. Bangkok has one of the fastest rates in the world for construction of high rise buildings. The city's wealth of cultural sites makes it one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.
The Bangkok Province borders 6 other provinces: Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Chachoengsao, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and Nakhon Pathom.
The town of Bangkok began as a small trading center and port community on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River serving the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the precursor of modern Thailand which existed from 1350 to 1767. It is believed that the town's name derived from either Bang Makok, bang being the Central Thai name for towns or villages situated on the bank of a river, and makok being the Thai name of either Spondias pinnata (L.f.) Kurz or Elaeocarpus hygrophilus Kurz (both plants producing olive-like fruits), or Bang Koh, koh meaning "island," a reference to the area's landscape which was carved by rivers and canals.
After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese Kingdom in 1767, the newly declared King Taksin established a new capital in the area of then-Bangkok, which became known as Thonburi. When Taksin's reign ended in 1782, King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke reconstructed the capital on the east bank of the river and gave the city a ceremonial name (see below) which became shortened to its current official name, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (which means "city of angels").
The new city, however, also inherited the name Bangkok, which continued to be used by foreigners to refer to the entire city and became its official English name, while in Thai the name still refers only to the old district on the west bank of the river. The city has since vastly modernized and undergone numerous changes, including the introduction of transportation and utility infrastructure in the reigns of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn, and quickly developed into the economic centre of Thailand.
Bangkok province covers 1,568.7 km², making it the 68th largest province in Thailand. Much of the area is considered the city of Bangkok therefore making it one of the largest cities in the world. The Chao Phraya River which stretches 372 km is its main geographical feature along with being Thailand's longest river.
The Chao Phraya River basin, the area surrounding Bangkok and nearby provinces are the series of plains and river deltas that lead into the Bay of Bangkok about 30 km south of Bangkok City Center. This has given rise to Bangkok's name as 'Venice of the East' due to the number of canals and passages that divide the area into separate patches of land. The city once used these canals which were so plentiful within Bangkok itself as divisions for city districts, however as the city grew in the second half of the 20th century to enormous extents, the plan was abandoned and a different division was uptaken.
Bangkok lies about 2 m above sea level. This low ground level causes problems for the protection of the city against floods during monsoon season. Often after a downpour, water in canals and the river overflow the banks, resulting in massive floods. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has recently installed higher planks alongside some canals to keep water levels from reaching street level.
The Khlong Saen Saeb is perhaps one of the city's most notorious canals, the largest and most useful especially for commuting into the city. There are however some downsides for Bangkok's extensive canal routes, the city is rumored to be sinking an average of 2 inches a year as it lies entirely on a swamp. Some reports says that the city is sinking as much as 4 inches a year, and this combined with the sea level rising will leave Bangkok under 50 cm to 100 cm of water by 2025.
Bangkok has a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification system. Bangkok is said to have the highest average temperature of any city in the world. Average temperatures in the city is about 2C higher than the one shown for the Don Muang Airport at 1960-1990 period. Absolute maxima is 40.8C and absolute minima is 10.0C. Coldest temperatures were recorded in January 1924,January 1955 and January 1974.
