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The [[Highland (landform)|highlands]] in the north of Thailand are characterized by a pattern of generally steep hill ranges, [[wikt: intermontane|intermontane]] basins and alluvial gorges. Elevations are generally moderate, little above {{convert|2000|m|ft}} for the highest summits. There is a wide range of elevations though, with floors ranging between {{convert|200|and|500|m|ft}} above sea level.
Towards the [[Laos|Lao]] border, the divide to the [[Mekong]] basin becomes higher with peaks occasionally rising above {{convert|1500|m|ft}} and streams flowing in narrow steep valleys.<ref>[http://www1.mod.go.th/heritage/nation/geography/geo4.htm Heritage Thailand, Geography 4] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007221750/http://www1.mod.go.th/heritage/nation/geography/geo4.htm |date=2011-10-07 }}</ref>
The climate is typical of tropical mountains with clearly delineated wet and dry seasons. Winter temperatures can be cool with frosts occurring most years at higher elevations, but no snow even on the highest peaks.
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==Geography==
Except for the [[Daen Lao Range]] (ทิวเขาแดนลาว) at the far northern edge, all ranges in the north of Thailand are roughly aligned from north to south. They are linked to a wide system of ranges in neighboring Burma and [[Laos]] that do not have a specific name for the whole, "Thai highlands" being the term generally restricted to the Thai area.<ref>''The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia'', Avijit Gupta</ref> Broadly defined, and based on their [[geological]] composition, there are two [[mountainous]] subsystems in Northern Thailand:
*In the western part the ranges stretching southwards from the Daen Lao Range, in the southern region of the [[Shan Hills]] or Shan Highland, with the two parallel mountain chains of the [[Thanon Thong Chai Range]] (เทือกเขาถนนธงชัย). This area has the highest elevations, with [[Doi Inthanon]], the highest point in Thailand, reaching {{Convert|2565|m|0}}. The [[Dawna Range]] (ทิวเขาดอยมอนกุจู) forms the western border of Thailand between [[Mae Hong Son]] and the [[Salween River]],<ref>[http://www1.mod.go.th/heritage/nation/geography/geo3.htm Northern Thailand] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128091643/http://www1.mod.go.th/heritage/nation/geography/geo3.htm |date=2012-01-28 }}</ref>
*The remaining mountainous region of parallel ranges that extend into northern Laos includes the [[Khun Tan Range]] (ทิวเขาขุนตาน), the [[Phi Pan Nam Range]] (ทิวเขาผีปันน้ำ), the [[Phlueng Range]] (ทิวเขาพลึง) as well as the western part of the [[Luang Prabang Range]] (ทิวเขาหลวงพระบาง).<ref>ดร.กระมล ทองธรรมชาติ และคณะ, สังคมศึกษา ศาสนาและวัฒนธรรม ม.1, สำนักพิมพ์ อักษรเจริญทัศน์ อจท. จำกัด, 2548, หน้า 24-25</ref>
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==Geology==
Geologically in the southern subranges of the Shan Hills layers of [[alluvium]] are superimposed on hard rock.
The ranges closer to Laos consist of [[Permo-Carboniferous]] [[limestone]], which makes for a more jagged and steep relief, despite the more moderate height.<ref>[http://www.dmr.go.th/main.php?filename=GeoThai_En Geology of Thailand - Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Bangkok]</ref> Most of the Thai highlands are part of the [[Shan-Thai Terrane]], a [[tectonic plate]].<ref>{{cite web|accessdate= 10 August 2014|author= |last= Bunopas|first= Sangad|author2= Paul Vella|date= 17–24 November 1992|format= PDF (Acrobat 7.x) 1.8 MB|work= National Conference on "Geologic Resources of Thailand: Potential for Future Development"|publisher= Department of Mineral Resources, Bangkok|pages= 209–229|url= http://library.dmr.go.th/library/Proceedings-Yearbooks/M_1/1992/6198.pdf|title= Geotectonics and Geologic Evolution of Thailand|quote= Thailand consists of Shan–Thai and Indochina Microcontinents or Terranes welded together by the subsequently deformed Nan Suture.... During the Middle Triassic Shan–Thai sutured nearly simultaneously to Indochina and to South China, the continent–continent collision being a part of the Indosinian Orogeny and Indochina tended to underthrust Shan–Thai.|deadurl= yes|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140812203633/http://library.dmr.go.th/library/Proceedings-Yearbooks/M_1/1992/6198.pdf|archivedate= 12 August 2014|df= }}</ref>
== Environment and human impact==
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For centuries the Thai highlands have been inhabited with [[hill tribe (Thailand)|hill tribes]] mostly from [[Chinese people|Chinese]] or [[Tibeto-Burman]] descent, such as the [[Akha people|Akha]], [[Yao people|Yao]], [[Lahu people|Lahu]], [[Khmu people|Khmu]], [[Hmong people|Hmong]] and [[Lisu people|Lisu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/chiangmai/2011/05/20/north-thailands-ethnic-minorities-the-lisu/|title=Thailand travel guide and holiday planner}}</ref> These human groups immigrated into this relatively empty region fleeing persecution or harsh central rule in their respective environments, as well as seeking new land for their shifting agricultural productions system. For the past decades these groups have been undergoing a process of integration into the [[Thaification|Thai mainstream]].
Owing to the unrest in [[Burma]], some [[refugee camp]]s have been established for cross-border refugees in the Thai highlands.<ref>[http://www.tbbc.org/camps/2011-07-jul-map-tbbc-unhcr.pdf TBBC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501223552/http://www.tbbc.org/camps/2011-07-jul-map-tbbc-unhcr.pdf |date=2012-05-01 }}</ref> Certain [[Red Karen|Kayah]] and [[Karen people|Karen]] communities, like the "long-necked Karen", are regularly visited by organized tourist groups.<ref>[http://www.akha.org/content/tourismecotourism/ethnictourism.pdf The Politics of Ethnic Tourism in Northern Thailand]</ref>
At higher elevations, above {{convert|1000|m|ft}}, one of the main crops was [[opium]] until the 1990s, when the combined effects of development became evident—from the construction of roads into the remote area, increasingly efficient policing, and [[opium replacement]] programs.<ref>[http://www.adkn.org/assets/adkn_33.pdf Opium Reduction and Highland Development: Thailand Case Study]</ref>
Yearly [[wildfire]]s are started by local farmers during the dry season in different areas of northern Thailand. Often speculators also hire people to set forests on fire in order to claim land title deeds for the areas that, post-fire, become "[[degraded forest]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/284574/pm-misses-the-boat-again-on-northern-haze|title=PM Misses the Boat...|work=Bangkok Post}}</ref> The smoke produced by these fires is the main cause of the intense seasonal [[air pollution]] in the Thai highlands, also known as the "northern haze".<ref>[http://www.mushroomresearchcentre.com/studentprofiles.html Mushroom Research Center] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127224818/http://www.mushroomresearchcentre.com/studentprofiles.html |date=2012-01-27 }}</ref> Fires also contribute to the [[2011 Thailand floods|floods in the country]] by denuding forest [[undergrowth]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/27047631/national-forest-policy-review-thailand|title=national forest policy review-thailand}}</ref> and the dry forest soil leads to lower water intake for the trees to extract when the rains arrive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrm.org.uy/deforestation/UNreport.html|title=Underlying Causes of Deforestation|work=
Presently large tracts of the mountains are covered with a mixed vegetation resulting from the capacity of the efficient [[shifting agricultural]] system being exceeded. As a result, large areas end up becoming dominated by ''[[Imperata cylindrica]]'' grass, which is used throughout Thailand as roofing material. Cattle can graze on the grass to an extent, as [[agricultural science]] research in the 1970s showed.<ref>[[Lindsay Falvey]], ''Cattle and Sheep in Northern Thailand,'' Chiang Mai (1979). 104pp</ref> The longer term environmental care of the region is associated with [[forestry]] and in the lower reaches, perennial fruit like [[peach]]es and other trees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sgp.undp.org/web/projects/12355/development_of_integrated_farming_for_environment_rehabilitation.html|title=Welcome to The GEF Small Grants Programme}}</ref> Some projects for the restoration of forest cover have been undertaken in ecologically degraded areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y2795e/y2795e10.htm|title=REHABILITATION OF DEGRADED SITES - Unasylva 207}}</ref>
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*[http://changnoi1.blogspot.com/2010/11/golden-triangle-and-beyond.html Golden Triangle and beyond]
*[http://www.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de/fileadmin/startseite/institution/mitarbeiter-publikationen/glaubrecht/K%C3%B6hler__Panha___Glaubrecht_Kaek_River_2010.pdf Speciation and Radiation in a River]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150112060905/http://44877-web01.bangkokpost.net/lite/topstories/281900/premier-orders-urgent-action-to-tackle-haze-in-north Premier orders urgent action to tackle haze in North]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Thailand]]
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