Karen Hills

Coordinates: 19°12′N 97°17′E / 19.200°N 97.283°E / 19.200; 97.283
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the English football manager, see Karen Hills (footballer).
Karen Hills
Location of the Karen Hills
Highest point
PeakNattaung[1]
Elevation2,623 m (8,606 ft)
Coordinates18°49′N 97°2′E / 18.817°N 97.033°E / 18.817; 97.033
Geography
CountryBurma
Range coordinates19°12′N 97°17′E / 19.200°N 97.283°E / 19.200; 97.283
Parent rangeShan Hills
Geology
Type of rockGranite, limestone
A temporarily abandoned village in the Karen Hills in 1922
Women of the Karen Hills in 1922

The Karen Hills, (

all-weather roads in Burma was across the Karen Hills connecting Taungoo with Loilem
.

war reparation, is located in these mountains.[2]

The name of the range is derived from the Karen people who occupy the highland area. In colonial times these mountains were often referred to as the "Toungoo Hills", for they rise east of Taungoo (formerly "Toungoo").[3]

Geography

Geographically the Karen Hills are the southwestern projection of the Shan Hills.[4] The highest peak is

ultra prominent peaks in Southeast Asia. Another prominent mountain is 1,249 m high Takolaw Kyo.[6]

The Karen Hills rise from Burma's central plain and stretch for 120 km eastwards in their broadest part until they reach the

Salween (Thanlwin) River valley. The steep gorge of this river, one of the main rivers in Burma, divides the Karen Hills from the Dawna Range in the east.[7]

Human activity and ecology

The Karen Hills are covered with dense montane

rain forest. Local villages used to be far up in the hills and as much off the main roads as possible and villagers used to cultivate upland rice in forest clearings. Owing to the activity of the Tatmadaw in the area many local people have moved across the border into Thailand where they live in refugee camps.[8]

These mountains are geologically and ecologically homogeneous with the neighboring Dawna Range and the head of the

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
as priorities for conservation. Among the rare and
holoparasitic flowering plant Sapria himalayana deserve mention.[11]

Protected areas

There were two main protected areas during British rule, the Kahilu Reserved Forest and the Sinswe Reserved Forest. Since the area is a conflict zone, the KNU initially delimited an area in the Minanwe Wildlife Sanctuary, but in recent years these forests have seen unprecedented destruction.[12]

See also

  • List of ecoregions in Burma

References

  1. ^ Nattaung, Myanmar
  2. ^ Lawpita Hydropower Project
  3. ^ Sketches from the Karen Hills
  4. ^ "Burma -Geography". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  5. ^ Nattaung, Myanmar
  6. ^ Takolaw Kyo, Burma
  7. ISBN 978-0-19-924802-5
  8. ^ Karen Cultural Profile - Geography
  9. ^ Global 200 ecoregion: Kayah-Karen / Tenasserim Moist Forests
  10. ^ Kayah Karen Tenasserim Ecoregion Archived 2011-03-26 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Kayah-Karen montane rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  12. ^ Mu Traw district - Status of the Rainforest

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karen_Hills&oldid=1166065506"