Shan Hills

Shan Hills
ရှမ်းရိုးမ / ฉานโยมา
The Shan Hills in Mae Hong Son Province
Highest point
Peak	Loi Leng
Elevation	2,673 m (8,770 ft)
Coordinates	22°39′N 98°4′E / 22.650°N 98.067°E / 22.650; 98.067
Dimensions
Length	560 km (350 mi) N/S
Width	330 km (210 mi) E/W
Geography
<div style="padding:2px 2px 5px 2px;> Location of the Shan Hills
Countries	Burma and Thailand
Region	Southeast Asia
Range coordinates	21°30′N 98°00′E / 21.5°N 98°E / 21.5; 98Coordinates: 21°30′N 98°00′E / 21.5°N 98°E / 21.5; 98
Parent range	Indo-Malayan System
Type of rock	Granite, limestone

Sunset at Inle Lake, Myanmar with the Shan Hills in the background.

The Shan Hills between Chiang Mai and the border with Myanmar.

March 2011 earthquake location

The Shan Hills (Burmese: ရှမ်းရိုးမ, Thai: ฉานโยมา; Shan Yoma), also known as Shan Highland, are part of the range of hills that extends through Yunnan to Burma and Thailand, linking to the Himalayas, of which they may be considered foothills. The highest point is Loi Leng^[1] Other peaks are 2,565 m high Mong Ling Shan,^[2] 2,565 m high Doi Inthanon and 2,563 m high Loi Pangnao. All are ultra prominent peaks of Southeast Asia.^[3]

Geologically in the Shan Hills and their southern subranges, layers of alluvium are superimposed on hard rock.^[4] Karstic ranges are common, for large tracts of the hills are limestone.

Etymology

The name of the range is derived from the Shan State and its peoples, said in its turn to be derived from the word "Siam",^[5] that occupies most of the Shan Highland area.

Geography

The area of the Shan Highland is a combination of hill ranges, steep river valleys and an elevated plain, the Shan Plateau. The plateau is the primary source of the nation's sapphires, rubies and other gems for which Burma is famous; it is also a principal source of lead, silver and zinc. The high plain averages about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in elevation, and is sparsely populated.^[6]

The Shan Hills straddle central eastern Burma and northwestern Thailand. They rise steeply from Burma's central plain and stretch for hundreds of kilometres eastwards into Thailand's northwest. The average elevation is around 1,000 m. The surface of the system is cut across by steep river gorges, part of the drainage basins of the Chao Phraya, the Irrawaddy, the Sittaung and the Salween or Thanlwin River which cuts across the plateau in a north/south direction.^[7]

Subranges

• Daen Lao Range. The Daen Lao Range (ทิวเขาแดนลาว) or 'Loi La Range' range is located in the southern and southeastern area of the Shan Hills. It separates the Salween watershed from the Mekong watershed. The Daen Lao Mountain Range begins at Chiang Saen in the east and Doi Chiang Dao (2,175 m) is one of its highest points. The Daen Lao subrange includes Doi Nang Non (The Sleeping Lady), a karstic formation at its southern end with waterfalls and caves.^[8]

• Karen Hills. The western end of the Shan Hills system is not clearly defined, with the Karen Hills in the southwestern area of the system beyond the Salween. Geographically the Karen Hills are the southwestern projection of the Shan Hills.^[9] They are also referred to as "Kayah-Karen Mountains".^[10]

• Thanon Thong Chai Range. The Thanon Thong Chai Range (เทือกเขาถนนธงชัย) is the southernmost prolongation of the Shan Highland system. Southwards from the Daen Lao Range a series of mountain ranges extend in near-parallel fashion above the Shan Plateau rising up to heights of 2,500 m, with the Dawna Range in the west reaching the beginning of the Tenasserim Hills further south. Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand, reaching 2,565 m (8,415 ft), is part of the Inthanon Range (ทิวเขาอินทนนท์), a high ridge of the Thanon Thong Chai subrange located in Chiang Mai Province. The tallest point of the Thanon Thong Chai Range in neighboring Mae Hong Son Province is Doi Mae Ya (ยอดเขาแม่ยะ) (2,005 m), located on the western side of these mountains in Pai District.^[11] Other high peaks of this range are Doi Pui (1,685 m) and Doi Suthep (1,676 m). Some geographers include the Thanon Thong Chai Range subsystem as part of the Daen Lao Range.^[7]

History

In British colonial times, the main hill station in Burma, Pyin Oo Lwin known in English as Maymyo, was built in the western region of the Shan Hills. Located at 1,000 m above sea level and about one-hour drive from Mandalay, it was one of the retreats for colonial officials escaping the heat of the Burmese summer. Pyin Oo Lwin is still famous for its botanical gardens and, like all British hill stations, has samples of colonial architecture. Presently the Inle Lake near Yawnghwe is one of the tourist attractions of the Shan highlands.^[12]

The Taunggyi Bird Sanctuary, established in 1906 as the Taunggyi Wildlife Reserve was redesignated as a Bird Sanctuary in 1989.^[13]

Owing to the insurgency and the activity of the Tatmadaw in the area many local people living in the mountainous areas of the Shan Hills have moved across the border into Thailand where they live in refugee camps.^[14]

Despite the ongoing insurgency, the Shan Hills is the area of Burma which accounts for most of the national potato production.^[15]

On 24 March 2011 a severe magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck in Tarlay, Tachileik Township, located in the Daen Lao range area on the eastern part of the hill system. It killed more than 70 and injured more than 100 people. 390 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries and 9 government buildings were damaged.^[16][17]

See also

• List of Ultras of Southeast Asia
• Doi Inthanon

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shan Hills.

• The Geology of Burma (Myanmar)
• Peakbagger - Shan-Western Thailand