Thung Salaeng Luang National Park
Encyclopedia
Thung Salaeng Luang National Park is a national park located in the Phitsanulok
and Phetchabun
Provinces of Thailand
. It encompasses substantial portions of Amphoe Wang Thong
and Amphoe Lom Sak
.
The park consists of limestone hills, slate and hardpan at altitudes ranging from 300 to 1,028 meters. Thung Salaeng Luang is inlaid with meadows, especially in the southern portions of the park. The park is also the source of numerous streams. There are large salt licks at Pong Sai in the north-west and Pong Thung Phaya in the south-west. the Wang Thong River
flows through the park.
The park's forest is primarily classified as deciduous, with lowland scrub and tropical broadleaved evergreen covering smaller areas.
.
. Shaped like a stairway, Kaeng Sopha is the largest waterfall in Phitsanulok, and it has been dubbed the Niagara Falls
of Thailand. The torrents are very strong in the rainy season. The vapor rising in the area creates a vast rain-like curtain. Kaeng Sopha is the subject of a June, 2007 postage stamp
in Thailand in the Thailand Waterfall series.
Phitsanulok Province
Phitsanulok is a provinces of Thailand, located in the north. Neighboring provinces are Loei, Phetchabun, Phichit, Kamphaeng Phet, Sukhothai, Uttaradit. In the north-east it also has a short border with Xaignabouli of Laos....
and Phetchabun
Phetchabun Province
Phetchabun is one of the northern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Loei, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Lopburi, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit and Phitsanulok.- Geography :...
Provinces of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It encompasses substantial portions of Amphoe Wang Thong
Amphoe Wang Thong
Wang Thong is a district of Phitsanulok Province, northern Thailand.-History:The district was established in 1895 in the name Nakhon Pa Mak district after the name of the central tambon, with the district office located at Ban Sam Ruen...
and Amphoe Lom Sak
Amphoe Lom Sak
Lom Sak is a district in the northern part of Phetchabun Province, northern Thailand.-History:The history of Lom Sak area dates back to the founding time of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13th century. The governor of Mueang Rat , Pho Khun Pha Mueang , was one of Thai warlords who defeated the...
.
Topography
Wang Thong River
The Wang Thong River is a river in Thailand. Its source lies in the Phetchabun Mountains in the Khao Kho District, Thailand.It flows through Thung Salaeng Luang National Park and forms Namtok Sri Dit and Namtok Kaeng Sopha in the Wang Thong District of Phitsanulok Province, and finally flows...
flows through the park.
Forest
Climate
The average annual temperature is 25°C, although temperatures often reach 30°C during late spring and early summer. The average annual rainfall is 1.7 meters.History
Thung Salaeng Luang was proposed for inclusion in the national parks system In 1959. Thung Salaeng Luang was declared a national park in 1972. From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the park's forest was used as a major base for guerrillas of the Communist Party of ThailandCommunist Party of Thailand
The Communist Party of Thailand - CPT was a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Thailand, active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as Communist Party of Siam the party was founded officially on the 1st of December 1942, although communist activism in the country began as early...
.
Thung Nang Phaya
Thung Nang Phaya is a meadow area of the park known for its stunning combination of meadow and pine trees.Thung Non Son
Thung Non Son is a meadow area near the center of the park situated on a plateau. In the fall, Thung Non Son is resplendent with large clusters of flowers.Kaeng Sopha Waterfall
Thung Salaeng Luang National Park is home to the Kaeng Song Waterfall, (or Namtok Kaeng Sopha) which is a three-tiered waterfall of the Wang Thong RiverWang Thong River
The Wang Thong River is a river in Thailand. Its source lies in the Phetchabun Mountains in the Khao Kho District, Thailand.It flows through Thung Salaeng Luang National Park and forms Namtok Sri Dit and Namtok Kaeng Sopha in the Wang Thong District of Phitsanulok Province, and finally flows...
. Shaped like a stairway, Kaeng Sopha is the largest waterfall in Phitsanulok, and it has been dubbed the Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
of Thailand. The torrents are very strong in the rainy season. The vapor rising in the area creates a vast rain-like curtain. Kaeng Sopha is the subject of a June, 2007 postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
in Thailand in the Thailand Waterfall series.
Animal Species
Among the species of animal in the park are:- ElephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
- Yellow-throated marten
- Masked palm civetMasked Palm CivetThe Masked Palm Civet or Gem-faced Civet is a civet species native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and classified by IUCN in 2008 as Least Concern as it occurs in many protected areas, is tolerant to some degree of habitat modification, and widely distributed with presumed large...
- Siamese fire back pheasant
- HeronHeronThe herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
- Eagle
- PartridgePartridgePartridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...
- PheasantPheasantPheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
- Pigeon
- OwlOwlOwls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
- Swift
- HornbillHornbillHornbills are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly-colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible. Both the common English and the scientific name of the family...
- BarbetBarbetAmerican barbets, family Capitonidae, are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes which inhabit humid forests in Central and South America. They are closely related to the toucans....
- WoodpeckerWoodpeckerWoodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
- BulbulBulbulBulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands...
- BabblerBabblerBabbler may refer to:* Old World babbler, a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds* Australo-Papuan babbler, passerine birds endemic to Australia-New Guinea* The Babbler, the journal of BirdLife International in Indochina...
- WarblerWarblerThere are a number of Passeriformes called "warblers". They are not particularly closely related, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal and insectivorous....
- FlycatcherFlycatcherThere are various families of bird termed flycatchers:* The Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae* The Tyrant flycatchers, Tyrannidae* The Monarch flycatchers, Dicruridae* The Silky-flycatchers, Ptilogonatidae* The Fairy flycatchers, Stenostiridae...
- FlowerpeckerFlowerpeckerThe flowerpeckers are a family, Dicaeidae , of passerine birds. The family comprises two genera, Prionochilus and Dicaeum, with 44 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarged sunbird family Nectariniidae. The berrypeckers of the family Melanocharitidae and the painted...