Tarutao National Marine Park

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Tarutao National Marine Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location:	Satun Province, Thailand
Nearest city:	Satun
Coordinates:	6°35′43″N, 99°38′41″E
Area:	1,490 km²
Established:	1974

Ko Yang

Tarutao National Marine Park (Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติทางทะเลตะรุเตา ) consists of 51 islands located in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Satun Province of Southern Thailand. The Tarutao National Marine Park consists of two island groups: Tarutao (Thai: หม่เกาะตะรุเตา ) and Adang-Rawi (Thai: หม่เกาะอาดัง-ราวี), which are scattered from 20 to 70 kilometers distance from the southwestern most point of mainland Thailand. The park covers an area of 1,490 square kilometers (1,260 ocean, 230 island). The southern most end of the Park lies on the border with Malaysia. Tarutao became Thailand's first marine national park on April 19, 1974.

The word Tarutao is Malay for "old, primitive, mysterious". The diving sites at the park are considered to be some of the best.

1 Main (larger) islands
2 History
3 References & Notes
4 External links

[edit] Main (larger) islands

There are essentially 7 islands of note in the Tarutao/Adang-Rawi archipelagoes:

Tarutao Archipelago (located approximately 30 km off the Thai coast)
- Ko Tarutao (Thai: เกาะตะรุเตา ) - The largest of the islands, Ko Tarutao is 26.5 km long, and 11 km wide. The highest point is over 2,000 feet. Forest covers over 60% of the island.
- Ko Klang(Thai: เกาะกลาง), Ko Lek (Thai: เกาะเหล็ก)
Adang Archipelago (located approximately 45 km west of Tarutao)
- Ko Adang (Thai: เกาะอาดัง), Ko Rawi(Thai: เกาะราวี), Ko Lipe (Thai: เกาะหลีเป๊ะ ), Ko Dong (Thai: เกาะดง)
- In the Adang Archipelago, the small (4 sq. km) island of Lipe is the most important. With water available year-round, it is the home of the largest permanent settlement, of approximately 800, and the gateway for boat transportation in and out of the Adang group.

[edit] History

The park was established in 1974. In 1982, it was listed as one of the original ASEAN Heritage Parks. It was also submitted to UNESCO for inclusion to the World Heritage in 1990, but its listing was deferred in the fifteenth session of the World Heritage Committee in 1991. The UNESCO requested a stronger management of the area^[1].