Geography

The Indochinese Peninsula occupies over one third of the South-East Asia territory located in the extreme south-east of the Eurasian continent and adjacent islands. It is washed by the East- and South-China Seas with the Gulf of Siam, the Andaman Sea, and the Malacca Strait. The core of the peninsula is formed by a mountain chain which stretches from north to south – the Arakan, Andaman, Cardamom Hills, etc. In the mountains there are many caves that used to serve as natural temples. The majority of Indochinese population lives in the valleys of full-flowing navigable rivers Mae Nam, Mekong, Ayeyarwady, Red River, etc. Many regions of the peninsula with their thick forests, savannas, bamboo thickets and waterfalls on mountain rivers are very picturesque. There are vast deposits of tin, tungsten, coal, oil, gold, and precious stones.

On most of the peninsula the climate is monsoon tropical, and equatorial in the south. The alternation of monsoon winds defines the change of the dry and rainy seasons; the monsoons are sometimes accompanied by typhoon and tsunami. The dry season can be divided into cool and hot periods. The flora and fauna of Indochina are extremely diverse: there are elephants in primeval forests, as well as rhinoceros, leopards, Asian black bears, wild Asian dogs, different types of monkeys, over 100 types of snakes; in the rivers there live crocodiles and numerous kinds of fish. The world of birds and insects is also very rich. There are several natural parks on the peninsula.

In Vietnam jungles.  V. N. Kolotov. 2000		Mekong is the largest river on the Indochinese Peninsula. J. Knudsen. 2006		Elephant bathing. Tailand. Ye. Pugacheva. 2007
Gulf of Siam of the South China Sea. The Gulf juts out into the sea for 720 km, width at entrance is about 400 km, depth - to 70 m. Thailand. Pugacheva E., 2007.		Siamese kitten. Bangkok. Pugacheva E.		View of tea plantation. Thailand. Pugacheva E.
The Valley of Pagodas at sunset. Myanmar. Shneerson D. Gubanov A.		Fog over the Valley of Pagodas. Myanmar. Pagan (Bagan). Shneerson D. Gubanov A.		It is hard to imagine village life without a buffalo. Myanmar. Shneerson D. Gubanov A.
Buffalos are water-loving animals. Myanmar. Shneerson D. Gubanov A.		Burmese cat. Myanmar. Shneerson D. Gubanov A.		Storm. Vietnam. Kolotov V., 2000.
Goldwashing in Mekong River. Laos. Knudsen. 2006.		Mekong Sunset. Laos. Knudsen. 2006.		Buffalos. Myanmar. The Burmese. Snatenkov V., 2006.
Water coco. Vietnam. Kolotov V.		Durian. The fruit pulp has specific garlic smell. Vietnam. Kolotov V. 2000.		Phyllocactus. Vietnam. Kolotov V. 2000.
"Golden triangle" - a place where borders of three states, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, converge. Thailand. Pugacheva E., 2007.		Over the clouds. Myanmar. Shneerson D. Gubanov A.