Vietnam is located in the mainland of South East Asia. It is a country that is shaped like an elongated “S” and its area and topography is similar to those of Norway. From north to south, Vietnam measures slightly over 1,000 miles and from east to west, it is only about 30 miles wide at its narrowest part. Its land area is 128,000 square miles. As a comparison, Minnesota is about 87,000 square miles.
Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, the South China Sea to the east and south and the Gulf of Thailand (or Siam) to the southwest. On Vietnam’s west are the countries of Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam has a mountainous spine along its western border. Its long coastline is marked by several river deltas and the most notable are the Red River delta in the north and the Mekong River delta in the south. Hundreds of islands that are composed mostly of limestone dot Vietnam’s northeast coast. Through erosion, these mostly uninhabited but picturesque islands have become a major tourist attraction.
The mountain range in Central Vietnam runs parallel to its coast and the coastal plain there is the country’s narrowest. In the 2000s, professional cave explorers and cave divers confirmed an earlier discovery of a huge cave complex near the Laotian border. First discovered by a local man in 1990, Hang Son Doong is the world’s largest limestone cave with a fast-flowing subterranean river system. This cave complex is so big that a block of skyscrapers 40 stories tall can easily fit inside. Hang Son Doong cave is part of the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park which also has several smaller limestone cave systems that are suitable for tourists to visit.
Vietnam has a tropical climate but its length means that weather patterns differ from north to south throughout a year. All regions of the country receive monsoons and central Vietnam is prone to typhoons. Vietnam’s northern regions have four seasons where early winters can be cold with cold air systems poring in from Tibet. The southern regions of Vietnam generally have two seasons, rainy and dry.
Rice Fields near Sa Pa, Vietnam. Sa Pa is northern Vietnam, near the border with China.
Ha Long Bay - featuring thousands of limestone outcroppings.
Hoi An River - in Hoi An, Vietnam. Hoi An faces the South China Sea and is a historical trading port.
Rural Village of Hoang Su Phi - in Northern Vietnam
Paradise Cave - near Dong Hoi, in Central Vietnam. Cave complex is part of Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park
Mỹ Sơn - Champa Ruins of temple complex - in central Vietnam.
Hanoi, Vietnam - Capital of Vietnam. View of skyline across the Hoan Kiem Lake. Also includes the view of turtle tower.