GeoLog

Imaggeo on Mondays: One of the oldest evergreen rainforests in the world

Imaggeo on Mondays: One of the oldest evergreen rainforests in the world

A blazing sky and shimmers cast by water ripples frame the spectacular beauty of one of the world’s oldest treasures: an evergreen rainforest in Thailand. Today’s featured image was captured by Frederik Tack, of the Institute for Space Aeronomy in Brussels.

This picture was taken during sunset between the limestone mountains with the sunlight reflecting on beautiful Ratchaprapha lake in Khao Sok National Park.

Khao Sok National Park is one of the oldest evergreen rainforests in the world since Thailand has remained in a similar equatorial position throughout the last 160 million years. The climate in the area has been relatively unaffected by ice ages, as the landmass is relatively small and has seas on both sides. Even whilst other places on the planet were suffering droughts, the Khao Sok region still received enough rainfall to sustain the forest.

Khao Sok is also famous for its vertiginous limestone cliffs or ‘karst’ mountains. In most of the region, ground level is about 200m above sea level with the average mountain heights around 400m. The tallest peak in the National Park is 960m high. The national park area is inhabited by a large range of mammals such as tigers, elephants, tapirs and many monkey species. Birds such as hornbills, banded pittas and great argus are as well forest residents. Less commonly seen reptiles include the king cobra, reticulated python, and flying lizards.

One of the most interesting areas is stunningly beautiful Cheow Lan or Ratchaprapha Lake in the heart of the National Park. It is an 165-square-kilometre artificial lake, created in 1982, by the construction of Ratchaprapha Dam as a source of electricity.

By Frederik Tack, of the Institute for Space Aeronomy in Brussels

Imaggeo is the EGU’s online open access geosciences image repository. All geoscientists (and others) can submit their photographs and videos to this repository and, since it is open access, these images can be used for free by scientists for their presentations or publications, by educators and the general public, and some images can even be used freely for commercial purposes. Photographers also retain full rights of use, as Imaggeo images are licensed and distributed by the EGU under a Creative Commons licence. Submit your photos at http://imaggeo.egu.eu/upload/.

This guest post was contributed by a scientist, student or a professional in the Earth, planetary or space sciences. The EGU blogs welcome guest contributions, so if you've got a great idea for a post or fancy trying your hand at science communication, please contact the blog editor or the EGU Communications Officer to pitch your idea.


1 Comment

  1. Khao Sok National Park is one of the natural wonders of the world. The shape of the karst limestone cliffs is absolutely awe-inspiring, particularly when the jagged ridgelines are made more visible at sunrise and sunset.

    Reply

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