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Cambodia occupies a compact territory covering 181, 035 sq.km. in the southwestern corner of Indochina, bordered by Thailand to the west, Lao P.D.R. to the north, Vietnam to the east and Gulf of Thailand to the south. The central plain which is frequently flooded spreads along the Mekong River and Tonle Sap (Great) Lake. The rich sediment deposited during the Mekong's annual wet season flooding has made the agricultural lands highly fertile. In the south-west, much of the area between the Gulf of Thailand and the Tonle Sap is covered by a highland region formed by two distinct upland blocks, the Cardamom Mountains and the Elephant Mountains. About two-thirds of the total population lives in the central plain. Elevations exceed 1, 500 m only in the Cardamom range in the southwest and in the Annamite range on the Lao P.D.R. and Vietnamese borders in the northeast.
Cambodia is part of the monsoon Asia and tropical climatic zones, with pronounced wet and dry seasons. The dry season is between November and April. Rain falls mainly in May-June and around September-October. The heaviest precipitation is recorded along the coast, where it averages between 2, 000 and 3, 800 mm/year. In the central plain, annual precipitation is between 1, 000 and 1, 400 mm/year. |
