KRA, ISTHMUS OF

Thai Khokhok Kra narrow neck of southern Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand, connecting the Malay Peninsula to the Asian mainland. The isthmus lies between the Gulf of Thailand to the east and the Andaman Sea to the west. It is 2530 miles (4048 km) wide at its narrowest point, between Chumphon and Kra Buri (both in Thailand). Kra Buri, for which it was named, is at the head of the Pakchan River estuary, an inlet of the Andaman Sea. Since the late 19th century the Isthmus of Kra has frequently been proposed for canalization, with the aim of decreasing travel and shipping time between Europe and East Asia by eliminating the voyage around Singapore. There is a road from Chumphon to Kra Buri and Phuket, and in 1942 the Japanese built a railway (later dismantled) over part of this route.