Vietnamese Geography
An article covering the populations, climate, landscapes, and wildlife of Vietnam.
Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country of the Indochina Peninsula. The nation is long and narrow, stretching down the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin, South China Sea, and Gulf of Thailand. Moving counterclockwise from the north, Vietnam borders China, Laos, and Cambodia. Its major population centers are clustered in the Red River Delta to the north and the Mekong River Delta in the south. The central portion, less suited to agriculture, is lightly populated. At its narrowest, the nation is only about 30 miles wide. Its total landmass covers 119,719 square miles or 310,070 square kilometers. Major cities include Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon (approx. population 8.145 million), Da Nang (1.444 million), Hai Phong (1.219 million), Can Tho (1.175 million), Haiphong (1.075 million) and its capital, Hanoi (1.064 million). Overall, Vietnam is home to an estimated 96,160,163 people.
Vietnam’s landscape is one of fertile lowlands divided by hilly tropical jungles. Low-lying coastal areas typically lead into the borderland Long or Annamite mountains. Central Vietnam is dominated by high plateaus, known as the Annam Highlands. Farms and population centers tend to concentrate around the flat, marshy deltas of the nation’s two major rivers. The Red River Delta is still expanding via sediment into the Gulf of Tonkin. The Mekong Delta is larger but less developed. One of the nation’s most famous geographical features is Hạ Long Bay, located within the Gulf of Tonkin. The bay is well known for its eroded limestone columns and steep, lush islands.
Native tree species include Ta-khian hardwoods, white pine, cashew, banyan, myrtle, mangrove, and invasive eucalyptus. Among Vietnam’s abundant wildlife are elephants, gibbons, tigers, bears, pythons, monkeys, leopards, and many tropical birds.
References
Crawford, Ann Caddell. Customs and Culture of Vietnam. Tuttle Publishing. 2012.
Goscha, Christopher. Vietnam: A New History. Basic Books. 2016.
McLeod, Mark W and Thi Dieu Nguyen. Culture and Customs of Vietnam. Greenwood Publishing. 2001.
Taylor, K.W. A History of the Vietnamese. Cambridge University Press. 2013.
“The World Factbook: Vietnam.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 12 July 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vm.html.
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