Southern Thailand  is located in the Malayan Peninsula, with an area around 70.713 km², jumped al north by Isthmus of Kra as the part more I tighten of the peninsula.  The western part has the steepest coasts, while in the plains of the the east zone river dominates.  The river more large southern is the Tapes, that along with the Phum Duang drains more than 8.000 km², more than 10% of the total area of Thailand Southern.  The smallest rivers include the Pattani, the river of Saiburi and the Trang.  The lake more large southern is the lake of Songkhla (1.040 km² entirely), the largest artificial lake is the Chiao Ral (dike of Ratchaprapha) with 165 km² inside the Khao Sok the national park. 

Running for the center of the peninsula is several mountain range, with the highest elevation in the 1835 M Khao Luang high in the Province of Nakhon If Thammarat.  Traveling through of the Isthmus of Kra to the island of Phuket is the chain of Phuket, that connects to the mountain range of Tanao If still more al north.  Almost parallel to the chain of Phuket but 100 km al this is the Nakhon If Thammarat or chain of Banthat, that begins with the island of Samui and end in the border malaisa in the archipelago of Korea Ta Ru Tao.  The border to Malaya is formed for the San range of Kala Khiri, at times subdivided in the Pattani, Taluban and Songkhla chain.  In the border to Malaya begins the chain of Titiwangsa. 

Southern Thailand History

The Malayan peninsula wrote down since times prehistoric .  Archaeological it remains they were found in several caves, some utilized for dwellings, another as places of burial also.  The oldest one remains was found in cave of Lang Rongrien that date 38.000 to 27.000 years before the present, and in the contemporary cave of Moh Khiew. 

In the first chronicles of the Chinese millennium mentions several cities or coastal city-states, nevertheless they do not give the exact geographical location, so the identification of these cities with the subsequent historic cities is difficult.  The very important one of these states was Langkasuka, considered generally a precursor of the kingdom of Pattani; Tambralinga, probably the precursor of the kingdom of Nakhon If Thammarat, or of P' a P' a, probably located in the Bay of Bandon.  The cities were influenced extremely by the culture India, and they have adopted Brahman or the buddhist religion.  When Srivijaya extended its sphere of the influence, those cities came be the tax states of Srivijaya. 

After Srivijaya lost its influence, Nakhon If Thammarat came be the dominant kingdom of the area.  During the rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai, the Thai influence reached first Nakhon If Thammarat.  According to the inscription of Ramkhamhaeng Nakhon was still a tax state of Sukhothai.  During most of the history subsequent Nakhon was a tributary of Ayutthaya.