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Tha Chana
ท่าชนะ

Statistics
Province:	Surat Thani
District office:	9°34′24″N, 99°9′54″E
Area:	687.4 km²
Inhabitants:	49,938 (2005)
Pop. density:	72.6 inh./km²
Geocode:	8407
Postal code:	84170
Map

Tha Chana (Thai: ท่าชนะ) is a district (Amphoe) in the north of Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Administration 4 External links

The district is already quite old. Already before 1907 the district, then named Prasong (ประสงค์), was a subordinate of Chaiya, administrated in the monthon Chumphon. The seat of the district was in current-day Ban Tha Krachai. In 1909 as part of thesaphiban administrative reform most of the tambon were transferred to be administrated directly by Chaiya, and the remaining minor district (king amphoe) Prasong was reduced in status to a tambon.

As the area developed a lot in the following decades, the district was recreated on January 1, 1948 as a minor district. The seat of the minor district was in Ban Talad Nong Wai in tambon Tha Chana, thus the district was also named Tha Chana. In 1956 it was elevated to full Amphoe status.

The name Tha Chana means "Harbour of victory" and dates back to the expedition of vice-king Boworn Maha Surasinghanat to the south to fight back the Burmese invasion. During the victorious return in 1785 he founded the temple Wat Khotharam (now named Wat Amphawan), and also created two stele announcing his victory. One was placed in tambon Wang, the other in tambon Tha Chana.

In popular American culture, Tha Chana can also be pronounced "The Chanas". Though the obvious punctuation change, the definition remains the same. "The Chanas" represnts "Harbor of Victory" and usually relates to something being Victorious, or a Victorious Port.

Neighboring districts are Chaiya to the south, Phato to the northeast and Lamae to the north. The last two districts belong to Chumphon Province. To the east is the Gulf of Thailand.

The district is subdivided into 6 communes (tambon), which in turn are subdivided into 77 villages (muban). Each of the tambon is administrated by a Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO). Tha Chana has township (thesaban tambon) status, which covers parts of tambon Tha Chana and Samo Thong.

No. Name Thai name Villages Inh. 1. Tha Chana ท่าชนะ 10 6,694 2. Samo Thong สมอทอง 10 5,840 3. Prasong ประสงค์ 22 18,127 4. Khan Thuli คันธุลี 14 8,051 5. Wang วัง 8 3,784 6. Khlong Pha คลองพา 13 7,442

• http://www.thachanacity.org (Thai only)

Amphoe of Surat Thani
Amphoe:	Mueang Surat Thani - Kanchanadit - Don Sak - Ko Samui - Ko Pha Ngan - Chaiya - Tha Chana - Khiri Rat Nikhom - Ban Ta Khun - Phanom - Tha Chang - Ban Na San - Ban Na Doem - Khian Sa - Wiang Sa - Phrasaeng - Phunphin - Chai Buri
King Amphoe:	Vibhavadi