Su Inc
Tonle Sap
The Tonle Sap (Great Lake in Khmer) is unusual for two reasons - its flow changes direction twice a year and the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonle Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June, the Tonle Sap backs up to form the largest lake in Southeast Asia.
For most of the year, the lake is about 2,700 sq. kms but with the monsoon rains and the pushing back of the mighty Mekong River, the lake expands to 16,000 sq. kms, almost 6 times its regular size.
In the village of Chong Khneas and other villages around the Tonle Sap, houses are built on stilts to accomodate the rise and fall of water levels, hence the term floating village.
Tonle Sap
The Tonle Sap (Great Lake in Khmer) is unusual for two reasons - its flow changes direction twice a year and the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonle Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June, the Tonle Sap backs up to form the largest lake in Southeast Asia.
For most of the year, the lake is about 2,700 sq. kms but with the monsoon rains and the pushing back of the mighty Mekong River, the lake expands to 16,000 sq. kms, almost 6 times its regular size.
In the village of Chong Khneas and other villages around the Tonle Sap, houses are built on stilts to accomodate the rise and fall of water levels, hence the term floating village.