Ubon Ratchathani Province

Mekong River in Khong Chiam

At Khong Chiam the Mun River, the biggest river of the Khorat Plateau, joins the Mekong, which forms the northeastern boundary of Thailand with Laos. It is called "Maenam Song Si" or the "Mun River alluvium" because the brown water from Mekong River mixes with the blue water of the Mun. It is about 84 km (52 mi) from Ubon Ratchathani city centre.[5]

The area in the Dângrêk Mountains where the borders of the three countries, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia meet is promoted as the "Emerald Triangle", in contrast to the "Golden Triangle" in the north of Thailand. "Emerald" refers to the largely intact monsoon forests there.

The city was founded in the late-18th century by Thao Kham Phong, descendant of Phra Wo and Phra Ta, who escaped from King Siribunsan of Vientiane into Siam Kingdom during the reign of King Taksin the Great. Later Thao Kham Phong was appointed to be "Phra Pathum Wongsa", the first ruler of Ubon Ratchathani. In 1792 Ubon Ratchathani became a province, and was also the administrative center of the monthon Isan. In 1925 it became part of monthon Nakhon Ratchasima. With the abolition of the monthon system in 1933, the province became a first level subdivision of the country. Until 1972, Ubon Ratchathani Province was the largest province of Thailand by area. Yasothon Province was split off from Ubon Ratchathani Province in 1972, followed by Amnat Charoen Province in 1993.

The provincial seal shows a Lotus flower in a pond. This alludes to the meaning of the name of the province, which translates to 'royal city of the lotus flower'. The provincial flower is the lotus (Nymphaea lotus). The provincial tree is the Yang-na (Dipterocarpus alatus).

Ubon Ratchathani is the nation's leading rice-producing province. It earns more than 10 billion baht a year from rice sales.[6]

Sirindhorn Reservoir, Sirindhorn District

Ubon Ratchathani boasts the following national parks:

• Phu Chong–Na Yoi National Park is in the mountainous southern region of the province.[7]
• Kaeng Tana National Park is in Khong Chiam District.[8]
• Pha Taem National Park covers an area of 140 km² (54 sq mi). Plateaus and hills dominate the park landscape. The sheer cliffs here are a result of earthquakes. The interesting places in the national park are Pha Taem and Pha Kham. On the cliffs surfaces are numerous prehistoric cave paintings from 3,000-4,000 years ago. These paintings depict scenes of fishing, rice farming, figures of people, animals, hands and geometric designs that depict life during the pre-historic time and reflect the ancient lifestyle of the people who lived there.[9][10]

The main hospital of Ubon Ratchathani Province is Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital.

Ubon Ratchathani Province is the home of Ubon Ratchathani University.

Health	Education	Employment	Income
66	72	63	65
Housing	Family	Transport	Participation
12	7	29	33
Province Ubon Ratchathani, with an HAI 2017 value of 0.5586 is "low", occupies place 62 in the ranking.

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index (HAI), a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) has taken over this task since 2017.[3]

Map with provinces and HAI 2017 rankings

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  Wat Tham Heo Sin Chai
• 
  Sao Chaliang or mushroom-like sandstone pillars, dated from the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods, Pha Taem National Park
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  Wat Sirindhorn Wararam Phu Phrao, Sirindhorn District
• 
  Pha Taem National Park

• Bujumbura, Burundi
• Kigali, Rwanda
• Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Paris, France

• Ubon Ratchathani travel guide from Wikivoyage

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ubon Ratchathani Province.

• Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT): Ubon Ratchathani
• Website of province (Thai only)