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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Laos
Index
Most of the western border of Laos is demarcated by the
Mekong
River, which is an important artery for transportation
(see
fig. 4). The Khong falls at the southern end of the country
prevent
access to the sea, but cargo boats travel along the entire
length
of the Mekong in Laos during most of the year. Smaller
power boats
and pirogues provide an important means of transportation
on many
of the tributaries of the Mekong. The Mekong has thus not
been an
obstacle but a facilitator for communication, and the
similarities
between Laos and northeast Thai society--same people, same
language--reflect the close contact that has existed
across the
river for centuries. Also, many Laotians living in the
Mekong
Valley have relatives and friends in Thailand. Prior to
the
twentieth century, Laotian kingdoms and principalities
encompassed
areas on both sides of the Mekong, and Thai control in the
late
nineteenth century extended to the left bank. Although the
Mekong
was established as a border by French colonial forces,
travel from
one side to the other has been significantly limited only
since the
establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic
(LPDR, or
Laos) in 1975.
The eastern border with Vietnam extends for 2,130
kilometers,
mostly along the crest of the Annamite Chain, and serves
as a
physical barrier between the Chinese-influenced culture of
Vietnam
and the Indianized states of Laos and Thailand. These
mountains are
sparsely populated by tribal minorities who traditionally
have not
acknowledged the border with Vietnam any more than lowland
Lao have
been constrained by the 1,754-kilometer Mekong River
border with
Thailand. Thus, ethnic minority populations are found on
both the
Laotian and Vietnamese sides of the frontier. Because of
their
relative isolation, contact between these groups and
lowland Lao
has been mostly confined to trading.
Laos shares its short--only 541 kilometers--southern
border
with Cambodia, and ancient Khmer ruins at Wat Pho and
other
southern locations attest to the long history of contact
between
the Lao and the Khmer. In the north, the country is
bounded by a
mountainous 423-kilometer border with China and shares the
235-
kilometer-long Mekong River border with Burma.
The topography of Laos is largely mountainous, with
elevations
above 500 meters typically characterized by steep terrain,
narrow
river valleys, and low agricultural potential. This
mountainous
landscape extends across most of the north of the country,
except
for the plain of Vientiane and the Plain of Jars in
Xiangkhoang
Province. The southern "panhandle" of the country contains
large
level areas in Savannakhét and Champasak provinces that
are well
suited for extensive paddy rice cultivation and livestock
raising
(see Crops and Farming Systems
, ch. 3). Much of Khammouan
Province
and the eastern part of all the southern provinces are
mountainous.
Together, the alluvial plains and terraces of the Mekong
and its
tributaries cover only about 20 percent of the land area.
Only about 4 percent of the total land area is
classified as
arable. The forested land area has declined significantly
since the
1970s as a result of commercial logging and expanded
swidden, or
slash-and-burn, farming
(see Forestry
, ch. 3).
Data as of July 1994
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