The Gulf of Thailand. The importance of the region in the world economy

The Gulf of Thailand is located between the peninsulas of Indochina and Malacca, it is a part of the South China Sea located in the West. At the entrance its width is about 400 km, and the depth in some places reaches 100 m, and closer to the shore - up to 11 m, deepening to the land - up to 720 km. The bay is remarkable for the huge number of small islets that are of continental origin and composed of bedrock. The area is susceptible to monsoons, a shallow depth and proximity to the equator explain the high temperature of the water, which can reach up to 30 ° C.

The Gulf of Thailand in different epochs witnessed the revival and extinction of huge empires, different peoples. Time passed, administrative boundaries were erased, which caused controversy and numerous conflicts between countries. Until today, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand can not define themselves and place clear boundaries. The main subject of the dispute are the islands of the Gulf of Thailand, since most of them have deposits of natural gas and oil.

Ferries, oil, seafood, resort areas are the main riches of this region. The bay has huge biological resources, and this despite the active catch. Fishing boats produce mackerel, tuna, sardine, mackerel, herring and are exported in salt or dried form. At the end of the last century, the Gulf countries entered the top ten largest exporters of seafood, fish was caught in millions of tons. The local population is also engaged in this industry for the most part. Poor fishermen do not have ships, therefore oysters, mussels, shrimps, crabs, mollusks are manually caught, and edible seaweed is collected. The catch usually does not exceed 3 kg.

The Gulf of Thailand is a workplace that provides food to millions of people. On the shores are scattered small fishing villages, consisting of houses on high stilts, built in mangroves, because the tides sometimes reach 4 m. In conditions of high humidity, spreading of marshes, drying up of reservoirs, a certain ichthyofauna has formed. Its representatives can stay on air for a long time, crawl out of the water along the roots of trees and eat insects.

In the Gulf of Thailand is the island of Takayou. It is noteworthy that here live the species of birds that are disappearing from the face of the earth: the Javanese marabou, the Brahmin kite, the collar alcia, the Indian and dairy beak, the white-bellied and the gray-headed eagles and others. In addition to fishing, the Gulf States are also engaged in shipping. Sea ferries are very worn out and constantly overloaded, which is why major catastrophes with a large number of casualties in this region are not uncommon.

The map of the Gulf of Thailand can give an idea of the resorts located on it. Tourism is another branch of the economy of these countries, some fishing villages managed to develop infrastructure and turned into famous resorts, among them: Pattaya, Koh Samui, Chang, Taau. Serving in these top-class cities, tourists are given a huge choice of entertainment. Especially it is necessary to allocate excursions of scuba divers to sunken ships and scuba diving in the middle of coral reefs.