| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Capital: | Songkhla |
| Area: | 7,393.9 km² Ranked 26th |
| Inhabitants: | 1,249,402 (2001) Ranked 12th |
| Pop. density: | 169 inh./km² Ranked 15th |
| ISO 3166-2: | TH-90 | Map |
Songkhla (Thai สงขลา) is the one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from east clockwise) Satun, Phattalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Pattani and Yala. To the south it borders Malaysia.
The name derives from the old name Sinhgala (city of lions). This refers to a lion-shaped mountain near the city of Songkhla.
In contrast to the other provinces the capital Songkhla is not the biggest city in the province - Hat Yai with a population of 194,000 is twice as big as Songkhla. This often leads to the misconception that Hat Yai is the capital.
| Table of contents |
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2 History 3 Demographics 4 Symbols 5 Administrative divisions 6 External links |
The province is located on the Malay Peninsula, at the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The highest elevation is the Khao Mai Kaeo at 821 meters.
In the north of the province is the Songkhla lake, the biggest natural lake in Thailand. This shallow lake covers an area of 1,040 km², and has a south-north extent of 78 kilometers. At its mouth on the Gulf of Thailand near the city of Songkhla the water becomes brackish. A small population of Irrawaddy Dolphins live in the lake, but is in danger of extinction from bycatch by the local fishing industry.
Geography
Demographics
23.2% of the population are muslim, and 4.6% are from the Malayan minority.
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The provincial seal shows a conch shell on a tray with glass decorations. The origin of the conch shell is unclear, but the most widely adopted interpretation is that it was a decoration on the jacket of the Prince of Songkhla. The provincial tree is the Sa-dao-thiam (Azadirachta excelsa). |
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