Phuket province
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right"\n! colspan="2" align=center bgcolor="#DEFFAD"|Statistics\n|-\n||Capital:||Phuket city\n|-\n||Area:||valign=top|543.0
km²Ranked 75th\n|-\n||Inhabitants:||valign=top|249,446
(2000)Ranked 68th\n|-\n||
Pop. density:||valign=top|459 inh./km²
Ranked 6th\n|-\n||
ISO 3166-2:||TH-83\n|-\n!colspan="2" align=center bgcolor="#DEFFAD"|Map\n|-\n|colspan="2" align=center|
\n|}\n
Phuket (
Thai ภูเก็ต) is one of the southern
provinces (
changwat) of
Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise)
Phang Nga and
Krabi, but as Phuket is an
island there are no land boundaries. The island is served by
Phuket International Airport, located in the north of the island.
Geography
\nPhuket is the biggest island in Thailand, located in the Andaman Sea on the west of Malay Peninsula. The island is mostly mountainous with a mountain range in the west of the island from the north to the south. The mountains of Phuket from the southern end of a mountain chain, which ranges for 440 km from the Kra Isthmus. The highest elevation of the whole Phuket chain is the Khao Phra Mi with an elevation of 1138 m, however the highest elevation on the island itself is Mai Tha Sip Song (Twelve Canes), at 529 m above sea level.
\n70% of the island is covered by forest. The western coast has several sandy beaches, while on the east coast are more muddy beaches. Nearly the southernmost point is Laem Promthep, which is a popular sunset viewpoint.
Economy
\nTin mining has been a major source of income for the island since the 16th century. Many Chinese workers were employed in the mines, and their influence on Phuket culture can still be felt today. With falling tin prices, the mining has now all but ceased. Nowadays, Phuket's economy rests on two pillars: rubber tree plantations (making Thailand the biggest producer of rubber in the world) and tourism.
Since the 1980s Phuket has become one of the major tourist attractions of Thailand, and most of the sandy beaches on the western coast of the island have been developed into tourist centers, with Patong, Karon and Kata being the most popular ones.
History
\nThe most significant event in the history of Phuket was the attack by the Burmese in 1785 after king Taksin had fought them back. Sir Francis Light, a British East India Company captain passing the island, sent word to the local administration that Burmese forces were preparing for an attack. Kunying Jan, the wife of the recently deceased governor, and her sister Mook then assembled forces. After one month of siege the Burmese had to turn back on March 13, 1785, and the two women became local heroines, receiving the honorary names Thao Thep Kasatri and Thao Sri Sunthon from King Rama I.
During the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) Phuket became the administrative center of the tin-producing southern provinces. In 1933 the Monthon Phuket was dissolved and Phuket became a province by itself.
Old names of the island include Ko Thalang, and Junk Ceylon, an English corruption of the Malay Tanjung Salang.
Demographics
\n17% of the population are muslim.
Symbols
\n{|\n|valign=top|
\n|valign=top|The provincial seal shows the two heroines of the province, Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao Sri Sunthon.
The provincial tree is the Burmese Rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus), and the provincial flower the Pepper Flower (Bougainvillea sp.).\n|}
Administrative divisions
\nPhuket is divided into 3 districts (Amphoe), which are further subdivided into 17 communes (tambon) and 103 villages (mubaan).\n#Mueang Phuket\n#Kathu\n#Thalang
External links
\n*Province page from the Tourist Authority of Thailand\n*Golden Jubilee Network province guide\n*Phuket Gazette - news
\n\n
