Bueng Boraphet

Bueng Boraphet
Fishing on Bueng Boraphet
Bueng Boraphet is located in Thailand
Bueng Boraphet
Bueng Boraphet
LocationCentral Thailand
Coordinates15°41′N 100°15′E / 15.683°N 100.250°E / 15.683; 100.250
Primary outflowsChao Phraya River
Basin countriesThailand
Surface area224 km2 (86 sq mi)
Surface elevation25 m (82 ft)
Islands2
SettlementsNakhon Sawan

Bueng Boraphet (Thai: บึงบอระเพ็ด, pronounced [bɯ̄ŋ bɔ̄ː.rā.pʰét], lit. "giloy swamp") is the largest freshwater swamp and lake in central Thailand. It covers an area of 224 km2 east of Nakhon Sawan, south of the Nan River close to its confluence with the Ping River. This swamp can be seen from the train window between Bueng Boraphet and Thap Krit stations on the Northern railway line.

Originally the area was covered by a large swamp, which was flooded in 1930 with the building of a dam to improve fishing.

This is the only known site for the white-eyed river martin which used to winter there, but has not been seen since 1980, and may be extinct.[1]

Once in the past Siamese tiger perch can be considered the most famous fish species here, until it was said that "If anyone comes to Bueng Borapet and doesn't eat this species of fish it is as if that person has never arrived". But now it is probably completely extinct in Bueng Boraphet, from being caught too much, both for consumption and for trade in the aquarium fish industry.[2]

A near-threatened species, the marsh grassbird, was first discovered in Thailand here in early December 2019.[3]

One hundred and six square kilometres of the lake were declared a non-hunting area in 1975. In 2000 it was designated a wetland of international importance by the Thai government.[4]

The purple swamphen is one of a multitude of bird species that inhabit this lake
  1. ^ Turner, Angela K; Rose, Chris (1989). Swallows & martins: an identification guide and handbook. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-51174-7. p86-88
  2. ^ ""เสือตอลายใหญ่" ปลาไทยหายาก ที่หลายคนเชื่อว่า…ใกล้สูญพันธุ์จากธรรมชาติแล้ว" [“Siamese tiger perch” a rare Thai fish, many people believe that...almost to extinction in the wild]. Amarin TV (in Thai). 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  3. ^ "ฮือฮา พบนกชนิดใหม่ของไทยที่บึงบอระเพ็ด" [Famed for discovering Thailand's new bird species at Bueng Boraphet]. ASTV Manager (in Thai). 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  4. ^ wetlands.org Archived July 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine