Pak Phanang district
district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand
Pak Phanang (Thai: ปากพนัง, pronounced [pàːk pʰā.nāŋ]) is a district (amphoe) of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand.
The name of district means 'sheltered mouth', referring to the mouth of the Pak Phanang River protected from the open sea by a long peninsula.
History
During the thesaphiban administrative reforms the district was created in 1895 with the name Bia Sad (เบิ้ยซัด). On 22 March 1903 it was renamed Pak Phanang, a name first recorded for the area in 1665.
On 25 October 1962 Tropical Storm Harriet hit the district. The low Talumphuk peninsula to the north of the district was completely devastated, and even in the town Pak Phanang itself the storm surge made the water rise four metres. The flooding caused more than 1,000 fatalities and many more homeless. It is the most severe windstorm that has ever occurred in Thailand recorded.
Geography
Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise): Hua Sai, Chian Yai, Chaloem Phra Kiat and Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat. To the east is the Gulf of Thailand.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Pak Phanang district” is district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Phanang, district and Nakhon, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “district in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q476328. Authority coordinates are 8.358, 100.207. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1903, 1665 and 1962.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pak Phanang district”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pak Phanang district primary sources, Pak Phanang district archive and Phanang research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pak Phanang district”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pak Phanang district” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.