|
Mainland Southeast Asia faces the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand to the south, the Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca to the west, the South China Sea to the east and South and East Asia to the north. The countries included within this region are
Cambodia,
Laos,
Malaysia,
Burma
(Myanmar),
Thailand, and
Vietnam. The terrain is fertile and verdant on the whole with large areas covered in thick tropical forest. The lush landscape is fuelled by some of Asia's largest rivers including the Mekong which flows through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The northern region of Mainland Southeast Asia, which touches China, is home to some higher areas of mountainous plateau. The Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Asia and has the strange phenomenon of being able to reverse the flow of its tributary river during the wet season. Because of the incredibly fertile composition of Mainland Southeast Asia's landmass, rice production is widespread across the region. |
