View source for Gulf of Thailand

[[Image:LocationGulfOfThailand.png|thumb|right|Map showing the location of the gulf]]
[[Image:Gulf of Thailand.svg|thumb|right|Gulf of Thailand]]

The '''Gulf of Thailand''' is a shallow arm of the [[South China Sea]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.paknam.com/books/1850s-royal-geographical-society.html |title=Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society |access-date=2012-06-11 |archive-date=2014-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308151309/http://www.paknam.com/books/1850s-royal-geographical-society.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Geography==
The Gulf of Thailand is bordered by [[Cambodia]], [[Thailand]] and [[Vietnam]]. The northern tip of the gulf is the [[Bay of Bangkok]] at the mouth of the [[Chao Phraya River]]. The gulf is about 320,000&nbsp;km². The boundary of the gulf is defined by the line from [[Ca Mau Province|Cape Bai Bung]] in southern Vietnam to the city [[Kota Baru]] on the Malaysian coast.

The Gulf of Thailand is relatively shallow. Its average depth is 45 m, and the maximum depth only 80 m. This makes water exchange slow.  The strong water inflow from the rivers make the Gulf low in [[salinity]] (3.05-3.25%) and rich in [[sediment]]s. The main rivers which empty into the gulf are the Chao Phraya (including its distributary [[Tha Chin River]]), [[Mae Klong]] and [[Bang Pakong River|Bang Pakong]] Rivers at the [[Bay of Bangkok]], and the [[Tapi River, Thailand|Tapi River]] into [[Bandon Bay]] in the southwest of the gulf.

==Tourism==
The Gulf of Thailand has many [[coral]] reefs, and several diving resorts. Due to the tropical warmth of the water, it is popular with tourists. Some of the most important tourist places in the Gulf of Thailand are the islands of [[Ko Samui]] and [[Ko Pha Ngan]] in [[Surat Thani province]], [[Pattaya]] in [[Chonburi province]], [[Cha-am]] in [[Phetchaburi Province]],  [[Hua Hin]] in  [[Prachuap Khiri Khan Province]], [[Ko Samet]] in [[Rayong Province]],and [[Ko Chang]] in [[Trat Province]]

==References==
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==Other websites==
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{{List of seas}}

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[[Category:Gulfs of Asia|Thailand]]
[[Category:Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Thailand]]