Chapter 1 GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE Beautiful temples sit in tropical forests Rivers flow under misty mountains Water buffalo look for crocodiles and tigers People fill nearby cities This is Vietnam a coastal country and its islands Land Vietnam is in Southeast Asia The north borders China The west borders Cambodia and Laos The east is a long curving coastline The coast touches the Vịnh Bắc 4
Bộ Gulf of Tonkin the Biển Đông South China Sea and Vịnh Thái Lan Gulf of Thailand Off the coast are thousands of small islands Vietnam has many natural resources On land there is coal timber and farmland The ocean holds oil and natural gas VIETNAM'S MAINLAND HAS 2,030 MILES 3,260 KM OF COASTLINE 5
Fansipan rises behind a low plain Regions Vietnam has low deltas and plains in the south and north Rivers flood the flat deltas during high tide and monsoon seasons Central Vietnam has highlands Hills and mountains rise in the north and northwest Forest covers almost half of the country Rain forests dot the north from the Red River to the coast Subtropical forests occupy mountainous regions in the north and 6
northwest Dense forests cover the highlands Mangrove forests line the coast Vietnam has 2,140 miles 3,444 km of coastlines Tourists and locals visit the coast and coastal islands to fish The coast also has beaches and boat harbors A mangrove tree 7
