Mekong RiverLaos
14°03′N 105°50′E
Si Phan Don
The Si Phan Don (Lao: ສີ່ພັນດອນ; meaning '4,000 islands') is a riverine archipelago in the Mekong River, Champasak Province in southern Laos. Si Phan Don is part of Khong District, including the islands and part of the mainland in the east.
Chart
Overview
The Si Phan Don (Lao: ສີ່ພັນດອນ; meaning '4,000 islands') is a riverine archipelago in the Mekong River, Champasak Province in southern Laos. Si Phan Don is part of Khong District, including the islands and part of the mainland in the east. Si Phan Don is dotted with numerous islands, half of which are submerged when the Mekong River is in flood. The principal islands of Si Phan Don are Don Khong (the largest), Don Som (the second largest), Don Det and Don Khon. Si Phan Don borders Cambodia and historical and cultural ties link the people on both side of the border. Pakse is the closest of the bigger cities in Laos to the area.
Key features of the Si Phan Don archipelago include:
The remains of the first railway in Laos, the Don Det–Don Khon narrow gauge railway, built by the French to bypass the Khone Phapheng Falls and enable vessels, freight, and passengers to travel along the Mekong River. The Khone Phapheng Falls, a succession of impassable rapids that gave rise to the construction of the railway. In the past, timber was logged on the islands, but it is now regulated; illegal logging incurs stiff penalties. While the local economies are predominantly based on agriculture, the Si Phan Don archipelago has seen an increasing number of visitors. Tourism is concentrated on Don Khong, Don Det, Don Khon and small numbers on Don Som. Many of the other islands are rarely visited.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Census, cataloged
- Major islands1
- Minor islands2
- Islets0
- Rocks & skerries0
Major islands
Khong Island
- Area
- 89 km²
- High point
- 248 m
Khong Island or Don Khong (Lao: ດອນໂຂງ) is the largest island and the seat of administration in the Si Phan Don riverine archipelago located in the Mekong River, Khong District, Champasak Province, southern Laos.
Minor islands
Figures
Photographs
Pirogue running on the Mekong in front of a tiny island with green trees reflecting in the water, near Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos
Pirogue running on the Mekong in front of an island hosting a Samanea saman (rain tree) and other trees, at sunset with pink clouds, seen from Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos.
Submerged Samanea saman (Albizia saman or rain tree) in the Mekong, near the island of Don Loppadi, Laos, during the dry season (when the river is low), in the afternoon at 4:00 pm
careening of a pirogue on a sandy beach of a tiny island in the Mekong, near Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos. Long-exposure photography (6 s)
Albizia saman (rain tree) trunk leaning over the water, in sunshine, on a Mekong bank at golden hour in Si Phan Don, Laos
Submerged tree in the Mekong under a dark and cloudy sky during the monsoon, in Si Phan Don (4000 islands), Laos
Tad Somphamit also called Li Phi Waterfalls, Si Phan Don, Champasak Province, Laos.
Water reflection of a green island in the Mekong at sunrise with blue sky, white cloud and running pirogue, in Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos.
Water reflection of trees (bamboos and Samanea saman or "rain tree") planted on green islands of the Mekong, with a pirogue being careened, under a blue sky with a few clouds, at golden hour, in Si Phan Don, Laos.
Tour boat on Mekong River, near Lao-Cambodia border, Four Thousand Island, Laos
Branch of the Mekong River near Li Phi Falls, Four Thousand Islands, Laos
Sources
Facts
Photographs
- Pirogue and tiny wooded island reflecting in the water. Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pirogue running on the Mekong at sunset with pink clouds in Don Det Laos. Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Flooded Albizia Saman (rain tree) in the Mekong. Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Careening of a pirogue on a sandy beach of a tiny island in the Mekong near Don Det in Laos. Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Albizia saman trunk leaning over the water on a Mekong bank in sunshine at golden hour (2). Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Submerged tree under a dark and cloudy sky in Si Phan Don. Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Champasak DonKhone LiPhi1 tango7174. Tango7174 / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Water reflection of a green island at sunrise with blue sky and pirogue in Don Det Laos. Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Water reflection of trees on islands with pirogue being careened at golden hour in Si Phan Don Laos. Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wooden fence in Si Phan Don (2). Basile Morin / CC BY-SA 4.0
- 20171122 Łódź turystyczna Cztery Tysiące Wysp Laos 3882 DxO. Jakub Hałun / CC BY-SA 4.0
- 20171122 Si Phan Don 3822 DxO. Jakub Hałun / CC BY-SA 4.0