(click on the images to get a
larger view)
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Cambodia is located only 11.5
degrees above the Equator, so it is a
tropical country. The climate is warm
and rainy with monsoon rains coming
twice a year. From November to April,
days are sunny and dry, but from May to
October, it rains almost every day. On
the coast, during these monsoon
seasons, Cambodia receives up to 200
inches of rain a year. Inland, rainfall
amounts to about 55 inches.
Temperatures range from 80-100 degrees
Fahrenheit.
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Map from Apsara Tours:
Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Kingdom of
Cambodia, 1998.
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Cambodia is dominated by a mighty lake, the
Tonle Sap, located roughly in its center. Once a
year, due to the enormous amount of rain, the
level of the Mekong River rises so much that the
Tonle Sap River can no longer flow into it. The
river reverses its direction and flows north
into the lake, causing it to swell to triple its
size. The Tonle Sap Lake then covers one-seventh
of Cambodia! Fish abound, and silt created by
the river's reversal, make soil quite
fertile.
The central half of Cambodia is a flat
rolling plain. Surrounding the plain is a
savanna; bordering it are low mountains. The
Dangrek Mountains are located on the northern
border with Thailand. South of these lie the
Cardamom Mountains; south of the Cardamoms along
the coast are the Elephant Mountains. Sandy
beaches dot the south coast. Highlands lie to
the east along the Vietnamese border.
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Beach at
Sihanoukville.
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Elephant Mountains.
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Natural vegetation grows lush and thick in
Cambodia. Its eastern highlands are covered with
thick tropical rainforest. Out of a plane it
looks like a bumpy, woven green blanket
completely covering the ground. Mahogany and
teak trees form a canopy over shorter palms and
vines. Seventy-five percent of Cambodia was once
covered with rainforest; now, that amount has
been reduced to forty percent due to excessive
logging by foreign and local companies.
Mangroves, trees which grow in salt water, join
palm trees bordering much of the coast.
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Coastal palms.
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Wild cacti near Siem Reap and
Tonle Sap Lake.
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Mangroves on southern
coast.
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Hardwood forest near Angkor Wat
and Siem Reap.
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Wild bananas on the river in the northeast
highlands.
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