Tây Nguyên
Encyclopedia
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. It contains the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông
Dak Nong Province
Đắk Nông , or Ðắc Nông, is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the country's Central Highlands. The provincial capital is Gia Nghĩa.-Geography:...
, Gia Lai
Gia Lai Province
Gia Lai is a province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.-Administrative divisions:The province is divided into one city , two towns , and 13 districts:#Chư Păh#Chư Prông#Chư Sê#Đắk Đoa#Đắk Pơ#Đức Cơ#Ia Grai#Ia Pa...
, Kon Tum
Kon Tum Province
Kon Tum province lies in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam and shares borders with Laos and Cambodia. It has an area of 9,934 square km and a population of approximately 330,000. The economy is primarily agricultural.-Name:...
, Lâm Đồng.
This region is sometimes referred to as Cao nguyên Trung bộ (literally "Midland Highlands"), and was referred to during the Republic of Vietnam as Cao nguyên Trung phần (literally "Central Highlands").
Provinces
| Provinces | Capital | Population (Census April 1, 2009) | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dak Lak | Buon Ma Thuot Buon Ma Thuot Buôn Ma Thuột or sometimes Buon Ma Thuat or Ban Mê Thuột, is the capital city of Dak Lak Province, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Its population is approximately 300,000... |
1,737,600 | 13,139.2 km² |
| Dak Nong Dak Nong Province Đắk Nông , or Ðắc Nông, is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the country's Central Highlands. The provincial capital is Gia Nghĩa.-Geography:... |
Gia Nghia Gia Nghia Gia Nghĩa is the capital town of Ðăk Nông Province, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.... |
407,300 | 6,516.9 km² |
| Gia Lai Gia Lai Province Gia Lai is a province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.-Administrative divisions:The province is divided into one city , two towns , and 13 districts:#Chư Păh#Chư Prông#Chư Sê#Đắk Đoa#Đắk Pơ#Đức Cơ#Ia Grai#Ia Pa... |
Pleiku Pleiku Pleiku is a town in central Vietnam, located in that nation's central highland region. It is the capital of the Gia Lai Province; it is inhabited primarily by the Bahnar and Jarai ethnic groups, sometimes known as the Montagnards or Degar.... |
1,161,700 | 15,536.9 km² |
| Kon Tum Kon Tum Province Kon Tum province lies in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam and shares borders with Laos and Cambodia. It has an area of 9,934 square km and a population of approximately 330,000. The economy is primarily agricultural.-Name:... |
Kon Tum | 383,100 | 9,690.5 km² |
| Lam Dong | Da Lat | 1,179,200 | 9,776.1 km² |
Demographics
The Tay Nguyen region is home to a large population of ethnic minorities such as the people of Malayo-Polynesian languagesMalayo-Polynesian languages
The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia...
(Jarai
Jarai
The Jarai is an ethnic group based primarily in Vietnam's Central Highlands. The Jarai language is a member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family...
and Ede
E De people
The E De are an ethnic group of southern Vietnam .-Language:The E De language is a member of the Chamic group of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family...
) and the people of Mon-Khmer languages
Mon-Khmer languages
The Mon–Khmer languages are a language family of Southeast Asia. Together with the Munda languages of India, they are one of the two traditional primary branches of the Austro-Asiatic family...
(Bahnar
Bahnar people
The Bahnar are an ethnic group of Vietnam living primarily in the Central Highland provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum, as well as the coastal provinces of Bình Định and Phú Yên...
and K'hor). They have made up the majority of the region's population for a long time. However, this changed over the last few decades due to immigration of Kinh
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
people (ethnic Vietnamese). As of 2006, there was a Kinh majority in the Central Highlands, while there were still several districts that had a non-Kinh majority (most of them in Gia Lai Province
Gia Lai Province
Gia Lai is a province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.-Administrative divisions:The province is divided into one city , two towns , and 13 districts:#Chư Păh#Chư Prông#Chư Sê#Đắk Đoa#Đắk Pơ#Đức Cơ#Ia Grai#Ia Pa...
).
The Central Highlands had a population of 4,935,200 people in 2007. As a result of resettlement campaigns of various governments (colonial, South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, post-war), the region's population has increased significantly. It was 420,000 in 1926, but had reached 2.8 million in 1991 and 4.2 million in 2000. Population growth between 2000 and 2007 averaged 2.24% per year, which is significantly higher than that of other regions, such as the South Central Coast
Nam Trung Bo
Nam Trung Bộ is one of the regions of Vietnam. It consists of the independent municipality of Đà Nẵng and seven other provinces. The two southern provinces Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận are sometimes seen as part of the Southeast region.The region has traditionally been one of the main gateways to...
(1.22%) and North Central Coast
Bac Trung Bo
Bắc Trung Bộ is one of the regions of Vietnam. It consists of six provinces: Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên-Huế...
(0.86%). Growth has been particularly fast in Dak Nong Province
Dak Nong Province
Đắk Nông , or Ðắc Nông, is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the country's Central Highlands. The provincial capital is Gia Nghĩa.-Geography:...
with 4.76%, followed by Kon Tum Province
Kon Tum Province
Kon Tum province lies in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam and shares borders with Laos and Cambodia. It has an area of 9,934 square km and a population of approximately 330,000. The economy is primarily agricultural.-Name:...
with 2.64%.
The Central Highlands' population density is 72.2/km² as of 2007, higher than that of the South Central Coast
Nam Trung Bo
Nam Trung Bộ is one of the regions of Vietnam. It consists of the independent municipality of Đà Nẵng and seven other provinces. The two southern provinces Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận are sometimes seen as part of the Southeast region.The region has traditionally been one of the main gateways to...
(68.4), but lower than that of the North Central Coast
Bac Trung Bo
Bắc Trung Bộ is one of the regions of Vietnam. It consists of six provinces: Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên-Huế...
(86.1). The most densely populated provinces are Dak Lak and Lam Dong, while Kon Tum is the least densely populated.
Geography
Tây Nguyên is a plateau، bordering the lower part of LaosLaos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and northeastern Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. Kon Tum Province shares a border with both Laos and Cambodia but Gia Lai Province
Gia Lai Province
Gia Lai is a province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.-Administrative divisions:The province is divided into one city , two towns , and 13 districts:#Chư Păh#Chư Prông#Chư Sê#Đắk Đoa#Đắk Pơ#Đức Cơ#Ia Grai#Ia Pa...
and Dak Lak Province only share borders with Cambodia. Lam Dong Province is landlocked, and thus has no international border with any other nation.
Actually, Tay Nguyen is not situated on a unique plateau, instead it lies on series of contiguous plateaus, namely Kon Tum at the height of 500 m, Kon Plông Plateau, Kon Hà Nừng Plateau, Pleiku with the height of around 800m, Mdrak Plateau of approximately 500 m, Đắk Lắk of around 800m, Mơ Nông with the height of about 800–1000 m, Lâm Viên Plateau
Da Lat Plateau
The Da Lat Plateau is a plateau in southeastern Vietnam.At its centre is the city of Da Lat.Several mountains in this area rise to over 2000m, the highest being Chu Yang Sin at 2442m....
of approximately 1500 m and Di Linh Plateau of about 900–1000 m. All of these plateau are surrounded by the high mountain ranges and mounts (South Anamite Range).
Tây Nguyên can be divided into 3 subregions according to its deviation in topography and climate, namely: North Tay Nguyen (Bắc Tây Nguyên) (inclusive of Kon Tum and Gia Lai Provinces), Middle Tay Nguyen (Trung Tây Nguyên) (covering provinces of Đắk Lắk and Đắk Nông), South Tay Nguyen (Nam Tây Nguyên) (Lâm Đồng). Trung Tây Nguyên has lower altitude and therefore has a higher temperature from other two subregions.
Agriculture
Tay Nguyen contains in it many primitive forests and is protected in its national parkNational park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s, such as Cat Tien National Park
Cat Tien National Park
Cát Tiên National Park is an important national park located in the south of Vietnam, approximately 150 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. It has an area of about 720 km² and protects one of the largest areas of lowland tropical rainforests left in Vietnam.-History:Cát Tiên national park was...
, Yok Don National Park
Yok Don National Park
Yok Don National Park is a national park located in Buôn Đôn District, Dak Lak Province, Tây Nguyên of Vietnam, 40 km west of Buôn Ma Thuột city. The park was established in 1991 to protect 582 km² of a biological area of khộp lowland forest. The total area is 1,155.45 km²...
, Kon Ka Kinh National Park
Kon Ka Kinh National Park
Kon Ka Kinh National Park is a national park of Vietnam, established by the Decision 167/2002/QĐ-TTg on November 25, 2002 of the Primer Minister, on the basis of the Kon Ka Kinh Sanctuary....
. The region has an average altitude of 500–600 m with basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
soil, suitable for planting coffee tree, cacao, pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, and white mulberry
White Mulberry
Morus alba, known as white mulberry, is a short-lived, fast-growing, small to medium sized mulberry tree, which grows to 10–20 m tall. The species is native to northern China, and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere...
. Cashew
Cashew
The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...
and rubber plant
Rubber plant
Rubber plant may mean:* Para rubber tree - a major commercial source of natural rubber* Castilla elastica - a source of rubber for the ancient Maya people* Ficus elastica - common ornamental plant...
s are also planted here. Coffee is the most important product of Tay Nguyen, with production centred in Dak Lak Province. The provincial capital of Buon Ma Thuot hosts a number of major coffee factories, including ones owned by major producer Trung Nguyen
Trung Nguyên
Trung Nguyên is a Vietnam-based business group involved in the production, processing and distribution of coffee. Trung Nguyên is a major domestic coffee brand within Vietnam, and exports its products to 25 countries, including major Asian markets such as Japan and Singapore.It is most noted for...
. Tay Nguyen is also the third natural bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
source in the world. Plans for bauxite mining in the area have met with some controversy, both because of the environmental impact of the proposed operations, and because of labour issues.
Flora and fauna
Tay nguyen is the home to most prominent and also most endangered species of Vietnam and Southeast Asia: the Indochinese tigerIndochinese Tiger
The Indochinese tiger or Corbett's tiger is a subspecies of tiger found in Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam and formerly in China. Tigers in peninsular Malaysia, formerly classified as Indochinese, have recently been reclassified as a separate subspecies, Malayan tiger Panthera tigris...
, the huge gaur
Gaur
The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...
, the Wild Asian Water Buffalo
Wild Asian Water Buffalo
The wild water buffalo also called Asian buffalo and Asiatic buffalo is a large bovine native to Southeast Asia...
, the banteng
Banteng
The banteng , also known as tembadau, is a species of wild cattle found in Southeast Asia.Banteng have been domesticated in several places in Southeast Asia, and there are around 1.5 million domestic banteng, which are called Bali cattle. These animals are used as working animals and for their meat...
, and the Asian elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
.