Ko Tapu
Encyclopedia
Khao Phing Kan or Ko Khao Phing Kan (เกาะเขาพิงกัน) is a pair of islands on the west coast of Thailand
, in the Phang Nga Bay
, Andaman Sea
. About 40 metres (131.2 ft) from its shores lies a 20 meters (66 ft) tall islet Ko Tapu (เกาะตะปู, kɔ̀ʔ tapuː) or Khao Tapu (เขาตะปู kʰǎw tapuː). The island is a part of the Ao Phang Nga National Park
. Since 1974, when it was featured in the James Bond
movie The Man with the Golden Gun
, it is popularly called James Bond Island.
, reflecting the connected nature of the islands, and Ko Tapu can be literally translated as "nail" or "spike" island, reflecting its shape. With "Ko" meaning "island" and "Khao" meaning "hill", the terms Ko, Khao, and Ko Khao are frequently interchanged in the naming of the islands. After appearing in the 1974 James Bond
movie The Man with the Golden Gun
, Khao Phing Kan and sometimes Ko Tapu became widely referred to as James Bond Island, especially in tourist guides, and their original names are rarely used by locals.
movie The Man with the Golden Gun
as the hideout for Bond's antagonist, Francisco Scaramanga
. After the movie release it turned into a popular tourist destination that has gradually contaminated Khao Phing Kan with household litter.
In 1981, the island became the most famous part of the newly established Ao Phang Nga Marine National Park. Since 1998, it is forbidden for tourist boats to approach Ko Tapu. This measure aims to stop erosion of the limestone rocks on and near the islet that might eventually result in its collapse.
cliff tumbled sideways and leaned on a similar rock in the center of the island.
Bay waters around the island are only few meters deep and are pale-green in color. The bottom is covered with silt
which is brought to the Phang Nga Bay by several rivers from the north.
A local legend explains the formation of Ko Tapu island as follows. Once upon a time, there lived a fisherman who used to bring home much fish every time he went to the sea. However, one day he could not catch any fish despite tedious attempts and only picked up a nail with his net. He kept throwing the nail back to the sea and catching it again. Furious, he took his sword and cut the nail in halves, using all his power. Upon impact, one half of the nail jumped up and speared into the sea forming Ko Tapu.
A scientific version of the Ko Tapu formation says that in the Permian
period, the area was a barrier reef
. Then, upon tectonic movements, it ruptured, and its parts were dispersed over the area and flooded by the rising ocean. Wind, waves, water currents and tides gradually eroded the islands thus formed, sometimes producing peculiar shapes, such as Ko Tapu. Tide-related erosion is visible at the bottom of the rock.
is 83%.
limestone shrubland
and evergreen trees. Some plants, such as pandanus
, cycad
s, euphorbs and prickly pear cactus
grow on nearly soil-free cliffs, such as those of Ko Tapu, penetrating their roots into the numerous cracks and surviving on rainwater.
Shallow water depth, warm and stable temperature and rich nutrient supply from mangrove
forests and several rivers running into the Phang Nga Bay result in abundant plankton
and other marine life. The bay around the island host 26 species of reptiles, 24 species of fish, 14 species of shrimp, 15 species of crabs and 16 species of manta ray
s, sharks and game fish
. Most fishes are typical of coral reef
s, such as butterflyfish
. Other common inhabitants are blue crab
, swimming crab
, mudskipper
, humpback shrimp
, mud lobster
, pomfret
, sole
, anchovy
, scad
, rock cod
, rainbow cuttlefish
, soft cuttlefish, musk crab, mackerel
, moray eel
, puffer fish, rabbitfish
, grouper
s, black sea cucumber
, brain coral
, staghorn coral
and flowerlike soft coral
. Amphibians include Fejervarya raja
, cricket frog (Fejervarya limnocharis
) and Rhaco phorusleucomystax. Aquatic plants are represented by red algae
, halimida, seagrass
and plant plankton. There are more than 100 species of birds in the area such as Striated Heron
, Pacific Reef Heron, Little Egret
and others.
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, in the Phang Nga Bay
Phang Nga Bay
Phang Nga Bay is a 400 km² bay in the Andaman Sea between the island of Phuket and the mainland of the Malay peninsula of southern Thailand. Since 1981, an extensive section of the bay has been protected as the Ao Phang Nga National Park...
, Andaman Sea
Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean....
. About 40 metres (131.2 ft) from its shores lies a 20 meters (66 ft) tall islet Ko Tapu (เกาะตะปู, kɔ̀ʔ tapuː) or Khao Tapu (เขาตะปู kʰǎw tapuː). The island is a part of the Ao Phang Nga National Park
Ao Phang Nga National Park
Ao Phang Nga national park is located in Phang Nga Province in southern Thailand.Ao Phang Nga park was created by Royal decree and announced in the Royal Gazette under proclamation number 98 section 64 of April 29, 1981,- References :* *...
. Since 1974, when it was featured in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth spy film in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
, it is popularly called James Bond Island.
Etymology
Khao Phing Kan means "Hills leaning against each other" in ThaiThai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, reflecting the connected nature of the islands, and Ko Tapu can be literally translated as "nail" or "spike" island, reflecting its shape. With "Ko" meaning "island" and "Khao" meaning "hill", the terms Ko, Khao, and Ko Khao are frequently interchanged in the naming of the islands. After appearing in the 1974 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth spy film in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
, Khao Phing Kan and sometimes Ko Tapu became widely referred to as James Bond Island, especially in tourist guides, and their original names are rarely used by locals.
History
Before 1974, the island was a rarely visited indigenous area. However, it was chosen as one of the locations for the 1974 James BondJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movie The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth spy film in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
as the hideout for Bond's antagonist, Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel The Man with the Golden Gun. The film was so named because it described Scaramanga's possession of a golden gun....
. After the movie release it turned into a popular tourist destination that has gradually contaminated Khao Phing Kan with household litter.
In 1981, the island became the most famous part of the newly established Ao Phang Nga Marine National Park. Since 1998, it is forbidden for tourist boats to approach Ko Tapu. This measure aims to stop erosion of the limestone rocks on and near the islet that might eventually result in its collapse.
Khao Phing Kan
Khao Phing Kan consists of two forest-covered islands with steep shores. They lie in the north-western part of the Phang Nga Bay, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the main land, amidst a group of a dozen of other islands. Its western part is about 130 metres (426.5 ft) in diameter whereas the eastern part is about 240 metres (787.4 ft) long and 140 metres (459.3 ft) wide and is elongated northwards. The island has a few caves and two sandy beaches, on the south western part and between the twin islands. The former hosts the government office where every visitor has to pay tax. The latter is used as the port for the tourist boats arriving from the continent and has several souvenir shops selling items like coral and shells and plastic-encased butterflies, scorpions and spiders. Beaches and caves are regularly flooded with the tides, which have an amplitude of 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft), so access to some caves is only possible during the low waters. The Thai name for Khao Phing Kan reflects the particular shape of the island which appears as if a flat limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cliff tumbled sideways and leaned on a similar rock in the center of the island.
Bay waters around the island are only few meters deep and are pale-green in color. The bottom is covered with silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
which is brought to the Phang Nga Bay by several rivers from the north.
Ko Tapu
Ko Tapu is a limestone rock about 20 metres (65.6 ft) tall with the diameter increasing from about 4 metres (13.1 ft) near the water level to about 8 metres (26.2 ft) at the top. It lies about 40 metres (131.2 ft) to the west from the northern part of Khao Phing Kan.A local legend explains the formation of Ko Tapu island as follows. Once upon a time, there lived a fisherman who used to bring home much fish every time he went to the sea. However, one day he could not catch any fish despite tedious attempts and only picked up a nail with his net. He kept throwing the nail back to the sea and catching it again. Furious, he took his sword and cut the nail in halves, using all his power. Upon impact, one half of the nail jumped up and speared into the sea forming Ko Tapu.
A scientific version of the Ko Tapu formation says that in the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
period, the area was a barrier reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
. Then, upon tectonic movements, it ruptured, and its parts were dispersed over the area and flooded by the rising ocean. Wind, waves, water currents and tides gradually eroded the islands thus formed, sometimes producing peculiar shapes, such as Ko Tapu. Tide-related erosion is visible at the bottom of the rock.
Climate
The area has a tropical marine climate, which is characterized by frequent rains and stable temperature. According to the data collected between 1961 and 1990, average number of rainy days is 189 per year bringing 3560.5 millimetres (140.2 in) of precipitation, mostly between May and October. The temperature varies between 23 °C (73.4 °F) and 32 °C (89.6 °F) and the average relative humidityRelative humidity
Relative humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor in a mixture of air and water vapor. It is defined as the partial pressure of water vapor in the air-water mixture, given as a percentage of the saturated vapor pressure under those conditions...
is 83%.
Flora and fauna
Most of the island is covered with deciduousDeciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
limestone shrubland
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...
and evergreen trees. Some plants, such as pandanus
Pandanus
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...
, cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
s, euphorbs and prickly pear cactus
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
grow on nearly soil-free cliffs, such as those of Ko Tapu, penetrating their roots into the numerous cracks and surviving on rainwater.
Shallow water depth, warm and stable temperature and rich nutrient supply from mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forests and several rivers running into the Phang Nga Bay result in abundant plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
and other marine life. The bay around the island host 26 species of reptiles, 24 species of fish, 14 species of shrimp, 15 species of crabs and 16 species of manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s, sharks and game fish
Game fish
Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly...
. Most fishes are typical of coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s, such as butterflyfish
Butterflyfish
The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. Found mostly on the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, there are approximately 120 species in 10 genera...
. Other common inhabitants are blue crab
Blue crab
Callinectes sapidus , the Chesapeake or Atlantic blue crab, is a crustacean found in the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific coast of Central America and the Gulf of Mexico...
, swimming crab
Portunidae
Portunidae is a family of crabs which contains the swimming crabs.-Description:Portunid crabs are characterised by the flattening of the fifth pair of legs into broad paddles, which are used for swimming...
, mudskipper
Mudskipper
Mudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae , within the family Gobiidae . They are completely amphibious fish, fish that can use their pectoral fins to walk on land...
, humpback shrimp
Hippolyte (genus)
Hippolyte is a genus of shrimp of the family Hippolytidae, containing the following species:*Hippolyte acuta *Hippolyte australiensis *Hippolyte bifidirostris...
, mud lobster
Thalassinidea
Thalassinidea is an infraorder of decapod crustaceans that live in burrows in muddy bottoms of the world's oceans. In Australian English, the littoral thalassinidean Trypaea australiensis is referred to as the yabby , frequently used as bait for estuarine fishing; elsewhere, however, they are...
, pomfret
Pomfret
Pomfret are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae.They are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and the largest species, the Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama, grows up to long....
, sole
Sole
Sole may refer to:* Sole , the bottom of the foot* Sole , the bottom supporting member of the shoe-Business:* Sole proprietorship, a business which legally has no separate existence from its owner...
, anchovy
Anchovy
Anchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish.-Description:...
, scad
Carangidae
Carangidae is a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, and scads.They are marine fish found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, rock cod
Rock cod
The rock cod is a temperate fish found off the coasts of southeastern Australia, Tasmania, the Great Australian Bight and northwards up the south western Australia coasts. They are also found around the coasts of New Zealand. They belong to the family Moridae and are not related to the true cods...
, rainbow cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
, soft cuttlefish, musk crab, mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
, moray eel
Moray eel
Moray eels are cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water and a few, for example the freshwater moray can sometimes be found in freshwater...
, puffer fish, rabbitfish
Rabbitfish
Rabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 28 species are in a single genus, Siganus. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces–are in the genus Lo. Other species like the Masked...
, grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
s, black sea cucumber
Sea cucumber
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea.They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. There are a number of holothurian species and genera, many of which are targeted...
, brain coral
Brain coral
Brain coral is a common name given to corals in the family Faviidae so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain...
, staghorn coral
Staghorn coral
The Staghorn coral is a branching coral with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef and fore reef environments from 0 to 30 m depth. The upper limit is defined by wave forces, and the lower limit is controlled by...
and flowerlike soft coral
Alcyonacea
The Alcyonacea, or the soft corals are an order of corals which do not produce calcium carbonate skeletons. Soft corals contain minute, spiny skeletal elements called sclerites. Aside from their scientific utility in species identification, sclerites give these corals some degree of support and...
. Amphibians include Fejervarya raja
Fejervarya raja
Fejervarya raja is a species of frog in the Ranidae family.It is found in Malaysia and Thailand.Its natural habitats are coastal saline lagoons, urban areas, and canals and ditches. Adults can survive in salt water with salinity as high as 2.8%, and tadpoles can survive salinities as high as...
, cricket frog (Fejervarya limnocharis
Fejervarya limnocharis
The Cricket Frog is a species of frog found widely distributed in South Asia. Molecular studies of the species complex suggest that there may be multiple species involved.-Description:...
) and Rhaco phorusleucomystax. Aquatic plants are represented by red algae
Red algae
The red algae are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae, and also one of the largest, with about 5,000–6,000 species of mostly multicellular, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds...
, halimida, seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
and plant plankton. There are more than 100 species of birds in the area such as Striated Heron
Striated Heron
The Striated Heron, Butorides striata, also known as Mangrove Heron, Little Heron or Green-backed Heron, is a small heron. Striated Herons are mostly non-migratory and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to...
, Pacific Reef Heron, Little Egret
Little Egret
The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
and others.
