Kalasin กาฬสินธุ์ |
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Province | ||
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Nickname(s): Green Heart of Thailand | ||
Map of Thailand highlighting Kalasin Province |
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Coordinates: 16°25′57″N 103°30′25″E / 16.43250°N 103.50694°ECoordinates: 16°25′57″N 103°30′25″E / 16.43250°N 103.50694°E | ||
Country | Thailand | |
Capital | Kalasin town | |
Government | ||
• Governor | Nattapat Suwanprateep (since October 2016) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 6,946.7 km2 (2,682.1 sq mi) | |
Area rank | Ranked 29th | |
Population (2014) | ||
• Total | 984,907 | |
• Rank | Ranked 22nd | |
• Density rank | Ranked 30th | |
HDI | ||
• HDI (2009) | 0.718 (medium) (53rd) | |
Time zone | ICT (UTC+7) | |
Area code(s) | 043 | |
ISO 3166 code | TH-46 | |
Vehicle registration | กาฬสินธุ์ |
Kalasin (Thai: กาฬสินธุ์, pronounced [kāːlāsǐn]) is one of the northeast (Isan) provinces (changwat) of Thailand. The province was established by the , and it came into existence on 1 October 1947.
Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Sakon Nakhon, Mukdahan, Roi Et, Maha Sarakham, Khon Kaen, and Udon Thani.
Most of the province is covered by hilly landscape. In the north is the Lam Pao Dam built from 1963-1968. It stores 1,430 million m³ of water for flood prevention and agriculture. The Lam Pao reservoir effectively cuts the northern part of the province in half, but there are car ferries connecting the district of Sahatsakhan in the east with the district Nong Kung Si in the west, saving up to one hour off the journey by road. On the northwestern creek of the reservoir a road bridge connects the village of Ban Dong Bang in the west with the district town of Wang Sam Mo in the east. Although the bridge was constructed several years ago (pre-2000) it is not featured (2006) on any commercially available road maps.
The Phu Phan mountain range marks the border with Sakhon Nakhon Province, part of which is preserved as a national park.
Kalasin is famous for the dinosaur fossils found at Phu Kum Khao (Sahatsakhan District), the largest dinosaur site in Thailand. Most of the fossils are sauropods from 120 million years ago.