Official Name: | Mukdahan |
Native Name: | Thai: มุกดาหาร |
Pushpin Map: | Thailand |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Thailand |
Pushpin Mapsize: | 280 |
Settlement Type: | Town |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Thailand |
Subdivision Type1: | Provinces |
Subdivision Name1: | Mukdahan Province |
Subdivision Type2: | District |
Subdivision Name2: | Mueang Mukdahan District |
Population: | 180,600[1] |
Population As Of: | 2000 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Coordinates: | 16.5431°N 104.7228°W |
Elevation M: | 145 |
Timezone: | ICT |
Utc Offset: | +7 |
Blank Name: | Climate |
Blank Info: | Aw |
Mukdahan (th|มุกดาหาร, pronounced as /th/) is a town (thesaban mueang) and capital of Mukdahan Province, which became Thailand's 73rd province in 1982. In the northern region of the country, on the right (west) bank Mekong River, it was formerly a district of Nakhon Phanom Province. The population of the municipal area was 180,600[2] in 2010. Mukdahan is 645 km northeast of Bangkok.
The city was established at the mouth of Muk Creek (th|ห้วยมุก) and named Mukdahan from Kaeo Mukdahan, derived from the following:
Prehistoric paintings and other archaeological discoveries show that the area of Mukdahan was the site of ancient communities. The modern history of the city begins late in the Ayutthaya Era (1350–1767). In the years 1767–1770, Prince Kinnari, son of Prince Suriwong, ruler in Ban Luang Phonsim of Savannakhét, established a settlement at the mouth of Muk Creek, across the Mekong from Savannakhét. In the reign of King Taksin, 1768–1782, Prince Kinnari received appointment as Phraya Chandara Sri Surat with a rank equivalent to viceroy. In 1893, Savannakhét District of Mukdahan was ceded to France.[3]
Mukdahan has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are dry and warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is hot with the average daily maximum at 36.1°C. The monsoon season runs from late-April through early-October, with heavy rains and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm.
The Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, across the Mekong to Savannakhet, Laos was completed in December 2006.
Ho Kaeo Mukdahan (th|หอแก้วมุกดาหาร), or Mukdahan Tower, is an observation tower 65.5 metres in height, constructed in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the king's accession to the throne.