DAMREI MOUNTAINS

Khmer Chuor Phnum Dmrei, formerly Elephant Mountains, French Chane de l'lphant north-south-trending range of high hills, an offshoot of the Krvanh Mountains, southwestern Cambodia. Chuor Phnum Dmrei literally translated means The mountains round which the clouds turn. Extending 70 miles (110 km) north from the Gulf of Thailand, they reach a high point in the Bok Kou ridge at Mount Bokor (3,547 feet ). The densely wooded hills receive rainfall of 150200 inches (3,8005,000 mm) annually on their western slopes (which are subject to southwest monsoons) but only 4060 inches (1,0201,520 mm) on their eastern, or rain shadow, slopes. The Dmrei Mountains were, until 1975, the principal centre of Cambodia's pepper-growing industry.