Geography of Vietnam
Đồng Nai river (longest inland river) 586 kilometres (364 mi) | |
Largest lake | Ba Bể Lake 6.5 square kilometres (2.5 sq mi) |
---|---|
Exclusive economic zone | 417,663 km2 (161,261 sq mi) |
The boundary with Laos was settled on both an ethnic and geographical basis between the rulers of Vietnam and Laos in the mid-seventeenth century. The
16°00′N 108°00′E / 16.000°N 108.000°E
Physiography
The country is divided into the highlands and the
Terrain
Vietnam is a country of subtropical and tropical lowlands, hills, and densely forested highlands, with level land covering less than 20% of the area.
Red River Delta
The joined Delta of
The Red River, rising in China's Yunnan Province, is about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) long. Its two main tributaries, the Sông Lô (also called the Lo River, the Riviere Claire, or the Clear River) and the Sông Đà (also called the Black River or Riviere Noire), contribute to its high water volume, which averages 4,300 cubic metres (150,000 cu ft) per second.[3]
The entire delta region, backed by the steep rises of the forested highlands, is no more than three meters above sea level, and much of it is one meter or less. The area is subject to frequent flooding; at some places the high-water mark of floods is fourteen meters above the surrounding countryside. For centuries flood control has been an integral part of the delta's culture and economy. An extensive system of
Mountainous
The mountain plateaus in the north and northwest are inhabited mainly by tribal minority groups. The Dãy Trường Sơn (Annamite Range) originates in the Tibetan and Yunnan regions of southwest China and forms Vietnam's border with Laos. It terminates in the Mekong River Delta north of Hồ Chí Minh City (formerly Saigon).
These central mountains, which have several high plateaus, are irregular in elevation and form. The northern section is narrow and very rugged; the country's highest peak, Fan Si Pan, rises to 3,142 meters in the extreme northwest. The southern portion has numerous spurs that divide the narrow coastal strip into a series of compartments. For centuries these topographical features not only rendered north–south communication difficult, but also formed an effective natural barrier for the containment of the people living in the Mekong basin.
Central Highlands
Within the southern portion of Vietnam is a plateau known as the
Coastal lowlands
The narrow, flat coastal lowlands extend from south of the Red River Delta to the Mekong River basin. On the landward side, the Dãy Trường Sơn rises precipitously above the coast, its spurs jutting into the sea at several places. Generally the coastal strip is fertile and rice is cultivated intensively.
A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 3,069 km2 of tidal flats in Vietnam, making it the 10th ranking country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there.[4]
Mekong River Delta
The Mekong Delta, covering about 40,000 square kilometers, is a low-level plain not more than three meters above sea level at any point and criss-crossed by a maze of canals and rivers. So much sediment is carried by the Mekong's various branches and tributaries that the delta advances sixty to eighty meters into the sea every year. An official Vietnamese source estimates the amount of sediment deposited annually to be about 1 billion cubic meters, or nearly thirteen times the amount deposited by the Red River. About 10,000 square kilometers of the delta are under rice cultivation, making the area one of the major rice-growing regions of the world. The southern tip, known as the
The
Climate
Vietnam's climate, being located in the tropics and strongly influenced by the
Based on geographic and climatic conditions, there are seven different climatic regions in Vietnam:[5]: 26 [10] Northwest, Northeast, North Delta (Red River Delta), North Central (North Central Coast), South Central (South Central Coast), Central Highlands, and the South.[5]: 26 The South is subdivided into the Southeast for the southeastern provinces and the Mekong Delta for the southwestern provinces.[10] Generally, these seven different climatic regions are grouped into two main types: The North (includes Northwest, Northeast, North Delta (Red River Delta), North Central (North Central Coast)) which includes all areas north of the Hải Vân Pass and the South (South Central Coast, Central Highlands and the extreme south) which includes all areas south of the Hải Vân Pass.[6][7][8][11] These climatic regions are based on time of rainy season and other climatic elements such as insolation, sunshine, temperature, precipitation, and humidity.[5]: 38–39
During winter, polar air originating from the Siberian High penetrate deeply into the low latitudes, facilitated by the eastern Tibetan Plateau that funnels the air southwards in a northeast direction (the cool air is a wind coming from the northeast).[5]: 27 Many cold fronts can penetrate into Vietnam during winter of which there are three to four occurrences every month in northern Vietnam.[5]: 27 This leads to cold temperatures where temperatures drop by 4 to 5 °C (7 to 9 °F).[5]: 27 Cold weather, occasionally extreme cold can persist for a long time, being characterized by a long stretch of cloudless or partly cloudy days in the first half of winter or a long stretch of cloudy and drizzly conditions in the latter half of winter.[5]: 27 Cold weather occurs more frequently in the north than in the south due to cold fronts penetrate the north more frequently.[5]: 27
In summer, the general wind pattern are southwesterly winds in the southern parts of Vietnam and southeasterly winds in northern Vietnam.
Spring and Fall are transitional seasons.[5]: 27 The atmospheric circulation in these seasons represent a transition between winter–summer and summer–winter respectively.[5]: 28
Mean annual temperatures in the country, based on meteorological data from weather stations range from 12.8 to 27.7 °C (55 to 82 °F) in Hoang Lien Son.[5]: 30 [9]: 24 At the highest altitudes in the Hoang Lien Son range, mean annual temperatures is only 8 °C (46 °F).[5]: 30 As temperatures vary by altitude, temperatures decrease by 0.5 °C (1 °F) for every 100 metres (328 ft) increase in altitude.[5]: 30 The lowest mean annual temperatures are found in the mountainous areas where the altitude is higher and in northern areas due to their higher latitudes.[5]: 30 Many mountainous areas in the north have experienced subzero conditions.[5]: 31 In contrast, temperatures in the Spratly Islands never falls below 21 °C (70 °F).[5]: 31 Because Vietnam is strongly influenced by the monsoon, the mean temperatures in Vietnam are lower than other countries located at the same latitude in Asia.[6][8] The highest temperatures normally occurs in March–May in the south and May–July in the north.[5]: 31 Temperatures in summer are relatively equal among the northern and southern parts of the country with differences being mostly due to altitude (the decrease in temperature is predominantly due to altitude).[5]: 30
Mean annual rainfall in the country ranges from 700 to 5,000 mm (28 to 197 in) although most places in Vietnam receive between 1,400 to 2,400 mm (55 to 94 in).[5]: 33 The majority of rainfall occurs during the rainy season, which is responsible for 80%–90% of the annual precipitation.[9]: 24 Generally, northern parts of the country receive more rainfall than southern parts of the country.[5]: 33 Drizzle is a weather phenomenon that is characteristic of the weather in winter in the north and north central coast.[5]: 36 Depending on the region, the onset of the rainy season (defined as when the monthly average precipitation exceeds 100 mm (3.9 in)) differs.[5]: 35
Area and boundaries
- Area
-
- Total: 331,210 km2 (127,880 sq mi)
- country rank in the world: 66th
- Land: 310,070 km2 (119,720 sq mi)
- Water: 21,140 km2 (8,160 sq mi)
- Total: 331,210 km2 (127,880 sq mi)
- Area – comparative
-
- Australia comparative: approximately 4/9 larger than Victoria
- Canada comparative: approximately half the size of Alberta
- United States comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico
- United Kingdom comparative: approximately 1+1/3 times the size of the United Kingdom
- EU comparative: slightly larger than Poland
- Land boundaries
-
- Total: 4,639 kilometres (2,883 mi)
- Border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km (763 mi), China 1,281 km (796 mi), Laos 2,130 km (1,320 mi)
- Coastline
- 3,444 km (2,140 mi) (excludes islands)
- Maritime Claims
-
- Contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
- Continental shelf: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) or to the edge of the continental margin
- Exclusive economic zone: 417,663 km2 (161,261 sq mi), 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
- (Territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
- Elevation extremes
-
- Lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
- Highest point: Fansipan 3,144 m (10,315 ft)
- Rivers
-
- Longest river: Đồng Nai river(longest inland river) 586 kilometres (364 mi)
- Longest river:
- Lakes
-
- Biggest lake: Ba Bể Lake 6.5 square kilometres (2.5 sq mi)
Resources and land use
Natural resources:
Land use:
- Arable land: 19.64%
- Permanent crops: 11.18%
- Other: 69.18% (2011)
Irrigated land: 45,850 km2 (2005)
Total renewable water resources: 864.1 km3 (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
- total: 82.03 km3/yr (1%/4%/95%)
- per capita: 965 m3/yr (2005)
Environmental concerns
Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong Delta.
Environment – current issues:
Environment – international agreements: party to:
Climate change
Vietnam is among the most affected countries by global climate change.[12] A large number of studies show that Vietnam is experiencing climate change and will be severely negatively affected in coming decades. These negative effects include sea level rise, salinity intrusion and other hydrological problems like floods, river mouth evolution and sedimentation. Natural hazards such as cold waves, storm surges will increase in frequency, with negative effects on the country's development, infrastructure and economy.
Some issues, such as land subsidence (caused by excessive groundwater extraction) further worsen some of the effects climate change will bring (sea level rise) especially in areas such as the Mekong Delta.[13] The government, NGOs, and citizens have taken various measures to mitigate and adapt to the impact.[14]See also
- Exclusive economic zone of Vietnam
- List of endangered species in Vietnam
- Zomia (geography)
- History of Vietnam
References
- ^ Agroviet Newsletter September 2005 Archived 2008-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 9781641531832.
- ^ "State of water: Vietnam". Water Environment Partnership in Asia. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- .
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Viet Nam Assessment Report on Climate Change (VARCC)" (PDF). Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d "MỘT SỐ THÔNG TIN VỀ ĐỊA LÝ VIỆT NAM" (in Vietnamese). Viet Nam Government Portal. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Vietnam". Country Nuclear Power Profiles: 2012 Edition. International Atomic Energy Agency. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ a b c "Climate". Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Viet Nam's Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" (PDF). Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ a b Nguyen, Mui (2006). "Viet Nam" (PDF). Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles. Food and Agriculture Organization. pp. 9–12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- doi:10.3354/cr01021. Archived from the original(PDF) on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- ^ Sustainable Development Department, Vietnam Country Office, "The World Bank: Climate-Resilient Development in Vietnam: Strategic Directions for the World Bank", January 2011.
- ^ Groundwater extraction, land subsidence, and sea-level rise in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
- ISSN 2666-2787.
Sources
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Vietnam: A Country Study. Federal Research Division.
- This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.