The country covers an area of 5,000 square kilometers and, when looking on a map, resembles the shape on an axe. Although the lao have few possessions beyond their food, their buddhist beliefs help them to find happiness. Laos is an independent republic, and a landlocked nation in southeast asia, northeast of. Its politburo was dominated by a small cohesive band of revolutionaries who had founded the party in 1955 and had engaged in persistent revolutionary activity. Laos weather, climate and geography weather and climate best time to visit. Lao peoples democratic republic or laos, is a country in southeast asia. East asiasoutheast asia laos the world factbook central. Laos has a singleparty communist government, in which the lao peoples revolutionary party lprp is the only legal political party.
Laos borders on thailand to the southwest, myanmar burma and china to the northwest, cambodia to the south, and vietnam to the east. Under the rule of king fa ngum, the wealthy and mighty kingdom covered much of what today is thailand and laos. Debbie nevins a book about the history, geography, culture, religion, etc. Read about laoss nature and wildlife, weather and geography, along with country. The new york times noted this was nearly a ton for every person. Throughout the book, boyter reflects on his life and considers what he wants for the future. Laos is bounded to the north by china, to the northeast and east by vietnam, to the south by cambodia, to the west by thailand, and to the northwest by myanmar burma. Laos book whatcom county library system bibliocommons. The kingdom of lan xang the first extended lao kingdom dates from the mid14th century, a time of many changes in mainland southeast asia.
Laos officially the lao peoples democratic republic lao. Laos is an independent republic, and a landlocked nation in southeast asia, northeast of thailand, west of vietnam. The highest point of laos is phou bia whose summit peaks at 9,242 ft. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about laos geography 2015 should be addressed to the cia.
Overall, the country extends about 650 miles 1,050 km from northwest to southeast. At goway we believe that a wellinformed traveller is a safer traveller. Since 1992, these policies have been rubberstamped by an elected national assembly, now boasting 2 members, all belonging to the lprp. History, geography and social studies pearson global schools. In so doing, nias has published well in excess of one hundred books in the last three decades. From 1964 to 1973, the united states dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on laos to disrupt the ho chi minh trail and try to stanch a communist insurgencymore than was dropped on. Buy laos in pictures visual geography series on free shipping on qualified orders. The famous plain of jars in xieng khouang province and stone columns in huaphan province date back to the neolithic period.
A fine book on the recent history of laos, the author strives to be fair and evenhanded in placing responsibility for the various troubles plaguing the country. His chapter on the indochina war is especially good and provides insight into how and why. Laos, landlocked country of northeastcentral mainland southeast asia. History of laos laos traces its first recorded history and its origins as a unified state to the emergence of the kingdom of lan xang literally, million elephants in 53.
Laos traces its history to the lower paleolithic period stone tools and skulls were discovered in huaphan and luang prabang provinces. To the north it borders myanmar and laos and to the east laos and cambodia. Lan xang existed as a unified kingdom from 571707, divided into the three rival kingdoms of luang prabang, vientiane. History, geography, social studies and fun facts are expanded on here.
The tailao, or lao for short, moved slowly down the rivers of northern laos until they arrived at the mekong, the great river. The nations history explains why laos is currently the most. It is bordered by myanmar used to be known in english as burma and by china to the northwest, by vietnam to the east, by cambodia to the south and by thailand to the west. Laos landforms, geography, mountains, forests, mekong.
In the 14th century, the first laotian state was founded, the lan xang kingdom, which ruled laos until it split into three separate kingdoms in 17. A neolithic culture evolved about 8000 bc, and huntergatherers spread throughout the region, including laos. Laos is southeast asias only landlocked country, yet, paradoxically, life revolves around water. With this in mind, we have compiled an easy to navigate travel information section dedicated to laos learn about the history and culture of laos, the musttry food and drink, and what to pack in your suitcase. Laos traces its first recorded history and its origins as a unified state to the emergence of the kingdom of lan xang literally, million elephants in 53. The first modern humans homo sapiens arrived in southeast asia around 50,000 years ago. The lao people migrated into laos from southern china from the 8th century onward. Laos exists in truncated form from the thirteenth century lao kingdom of lan xang. It covers 236,800 square kilometers in the center of the southeast asian peninsula and it is surrounded by myanmar burma, cambodia, the peoples republic of china, thailand, and vietnam. It consists of an irregularly round portion in the north that narrows into a peninsulalike region stretching to the southeast. Laos the lao peoples democratic republic britannica. Laos stands at the center of mainland southeast asia, sharing borders with all the main states in. Suriya vongsa ascended to the throne and his subsequent rule was a golden age in laotian history.
Laos simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about laos geography 2018 should be addressed to the cia. Geography ensured laos was sucked into the vietnam war and a lengthy civil. The country of laos first began to form in 53 when the kingdom of lan xang took power.
Its location has often made it a buffer between more powerful neighboring states. The lao kingdom recovered under one of its greatest rulers, who came to the. This is the first and only youtube channel that actively attempts to cover profiles on every single country of the world. Laos has been referred to as one of southeast asia and pacifics fastest growing. The modern western border is marked by the mekong river, the regions major arterial river. Laos has been referred to as one of southeast asia and pacifics fastest growing economies by. Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the history of the world. The south is next to the gulf of thailand and malaysia. The modern nationstate laos emerged from the french colonial empire as an independent country in 1953. Click on any book below for more information and sample pages. During the 1990s, the country began making more diplomatic overtures toward its neighbors. Built in 1962 to honor those who died in previous wars, many locals refer to it as anousavali, meaning simply the monument.
History in progress pupil book 1 sample pages pdf, 1. Laos was invaded several times by armies from burma and. Stuartfox does a good job providing a onevolume history on laos. The capital of laos is vientiane laos is landlocked it does not have a coast on a sea or ocean. Over centuries, rural settlements in laos grew slowly to muang townships along the. Some notes and explanations are at the bottom of this list. Laos became a member of asean in 1997 and the wto in 20. These people were the ancestors of the presentday upland minorities, collectively known as the lao thoeng upland lao, the largest group of which are the khamu of northern laos. A book about the history, geography, culture, religion, etc. The history of cartography project university of wisconsin department of geography 470 science hall 550 north park street madison wi 537061404 usa. During this time buddhism became the primary religion. There are 16 provinces, 1 municipality and 1 special zone in laos. Laos is the only landlocked country in southeast asia. This book is bascially a midupper division college text on the development of modern laos from the 1800s to the present.
Choose from 500 different sets of chapter 31 world geography flashcards on quizlet. This authoritative and wideranging history focuses on the period. Located at a central crossroads in the capital city of vientiane, patouxai means victory gate in the lao language. Laos, a landlocked nation that covers 236,800 square kilometers in the center of the southeast asian peninsula, is surrounded by burma, cambodia, china, thailand, and vietnam. The politics of the newly established republic were guided by the lao peoples revolutionary party lprp. One of the unintended consequences of this alien species being brought to laos was the. This activity book series takes a fun approach to teaching history, geography, social studies and language by placing them into a travel theme. Get unlimited access to all of britannicas trusted content.
No claims are made regarding the accuracy of laos geography 2015 information contained here. It was called then souvannaphm pethet or lam thong or 31uong xieng. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of laos geography 2018 information contained here. Laos traces its history to the kingdom of lan xang million elephants, which was founded in the. Crescent moon over laos is a travel memoir from mark boyters 18day trip in laos in 1990, not long after the border was reopened for foreign visitors. River valleys and an increasingly steep terrain front the mountainous landscape. Learn chapter 31 world geography with free interactive flashcards. Laos traces its history to the kingdom of lan xang million elephants, which was. Running the length of the mainly mountainous country is the mighty mekong river, which floods.
The overall topography of laos is hilly and mountainous with thick green forests. The lowest point is along the mekong river at 229 ft. After king suriya vongsa died without an heir, laos was split into the three states of 1 luang prabang, 2 wieng chan now called vientianne and 3 champasak. The weather is very similar to that of northern vietnam. Oneparty rule continues as international relations improve. An elevenmember politburo and a 61member central committee make all laws and policies for the country. There are two major plains in laos, the plain of jars and the plain of vientiane. Lao peoples democratic republic lao pdr is located in the heart of the indochinese peninsular, in southeast asia, at a latitude of 14 to 23 degrees north and longitude 100 to 108 degrees east. Boyter taught english and studied meditation in japan and spent time in thailand before embarking towards laos.
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