Kampong Thom province

Coordinates: 12°42′N 104°53′E / 12.700°N 104.883°E / 12.700; 104.883
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Kampong Thom
កំពង់ធំ
UNESCO World Heritage Site
and the symbol of the province
Official seal of Kampong Thom
Map of Cambodia highlighting Kampong Thom
Map of Cambodia highlighting Kampong Thom
Coordinates: 12°42′N 104°53′E / 12.700°N 104.883°E / 12.700; 104.883
Country Cambodia
Provincial status1907
CapitalKampong Thom
Subdivisions1 municipality; 8 districts
Government
 • GovernorNgoun Ratanak (CPP)
 • National Assembly
6 / 125
Area
 • Total13,814 km2 (5,334 sq mi)
 • Rank2nd
Population
 (2019)[1]
 • TotalIncrease 681,549
 • Rank11th
 • Density49/km2 (130/sq mi)
  • Rank17th
Time zoneUTC+07:00 (ICT)
Dialing code+855
ISO 3166 codeKH-6
Websitewww.kampongthom.gov.kh

Kampong Thom (

Tonle Sap
to the west.

The provincial capital is

Stung Sen River
.

Kampong Thom is Cambodia's second largest province by area. There are a number of significant

Angkorian sites in the area, including Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk and Prasat Andet temples. As one of the nine provinces bordering Tonle Sap Lake, Kampong Thom is part of the Tonlé Sap Biosphere Reserve.[2]

Etymology

Kampong Thom in Khmer means 'great port' or 'great harbor'. Kampong in Khmer translates as 'port' or 'harbor'. The word Kampong is shared in other Asian languages, the Malay and Indonesian, both meaning 'village'. Thom in the Khmer language means 'big', 'grand', or 'large'.

Administration

The province is divided into eight districts and one municipality, further divided into 81 communes.

ISO code District Khmer Population (2019)
06-01
Baray
ស្រុកបារាយណ៍ 104,032
06-02
Kampong Svay
ស្រុកកំពង់ស្វាយ 90,271
06-03
Steung Saen Municipality
ក្រុងស្ទឹងសែន 53,118
06-04 Prasat Balangk ស្រុកប្រាសាទបល្ល័ង្ក 47,888
06-05 Prasat Sambour ស្រុកប្រាសាទសំបូរ 43,390
06-06
Sandaan
ស្រុកសណ្ដាន់ 62,013
06-07 Santuk ស្រុកសន្ទុក 101,428
06-08 Stoung ស្រុកស្ទោង 108,372
06-09 Taing Kouk ស្រុកតាំងគោក 64,888

History

The previous name of the province was Kampong Pous Thom ('Port', 'City of the Great Snakes'). According to local legend, at a lakeside dock near the Sen River, a pair of large snakes inhabited a nearby cave. On every Buddhist holiday, the snakes would make appearances to the people nearby who then began to refer to the area as Kampong Pous Thom. Eventually the snakes disappeared and the name was shortened to Kampong Thom. During the

Colonial Cambodia
period, the French divided Cambodian territory into provinces and named most of them according to the local popular names for the respective areas.

Kampong Thom was a powerful capital in Southeast Asia during the

Funan period.[citation needed] Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk, dating from the Chenla era, is in Kampong Thom province.[3]

The ancient temple complex of Sambor Prei Kuk in northern Kampong Thom.

Geography

Two of the three core areas in Tonlé Sap Biosphere Reserve lie in Kampong Thom.

Prey Pras, Kampong Thom

Religion

Religion in Kampong Thom (2019 census)[5]

  
Christianity
(0.3%)
  Animism and Other religions (0%)

The state religion is

Theravada Buddhism. More than 98.6% of the people in Kampong Thom are Buddhists. Chams have been practicing Islam
for hundreds of years. A small percentage follow Christianity.

Economy

Much of Kampong Thom is on the floodplain of the Tonlé Sap lake. In 2003–2004, it was a significant producer of wild fish (18,800 tons) and the fourth largest producer of fish through aquaculture in Cambodia (1,800 tons). Most of the fish-raising is done by home production, with a growing segment devoted to rice field aquaculture.[6]

Kampong Thom is also one of the largest producers of

cashew nuts in Cambodia, with 6,371 hectares under production in 2003–2004.[7]

cashews
in the country.
Rice paddies in Baray District.
Irrigation canals and farmlands

Notable people

Attraction

  • Tonle Sap See
    Tonle Sap See
  • Sambor Prei Kuk
    Sambor Prei Kuk
  • Phnom Santuk
    Phnom Santuk
  • Prey Pras
    Prey Pras

References

  1. ^ "General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019 – Final Results" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics. Ministry of Planning. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve Environmental Information Database - Home". Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. ^ Kubo, Sumiko; Shimamoto, Sae; Nagumo, Naoko; Yamagata, Mariko; Him, Sophorn; So, Sokuntheary; Chang, Vitharong; Lun, Votey; Shimoda, Ichita; Nakagawa, Takeshi (March 2012). "Geomorphology, Archaeo-stratigraphy, and 14C Ages of Sambor Prei Kuk Pre-Angkorean Site, Central Cambodia" (PDF). BULLETIN of the Graduate School of Education of Waseda University. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  4. ^ Save Cambodia's Wildlife. The Atlas of Cambodia: National Poverty & Environment Maps, SWC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006, p. 72.
  5. ^ "Final General Population Census 2019-English.pdf" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics Ministry of planning. October 2020.
  6. ^ Save Cambodia's Wildlife. The Atlas of Cambodia: National Poverty & Environment Maps, SWC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006, pp. 78–81.
  7. ^ Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, The Fruit Crops: Agricultural Statistics, 2003–04, Phnom Penh, 2004.

External links