The Thai Geological Park congratulates the new sibling geological park, "Chiang Rai Geological Park."

Chiang Rai Province announced the establishment of "Chiang Rai Geological Park" as a local geological park on February 21, 2024. The park covers 1434 square kilometers and covers the areas of Mae Sai District, Mae Chan District, and Chiang Saen District.

The geological features that stand out in the area include:

1.        The geological disaster of the Mae Chan landslide is connected to the collapse of Wiang Nong Lom.

2.        The movement of tectonic plates from two eras (Triassic and Tertiary):

(a) The movement of the Sibumasu plate collides with the Indochina plate.

(b) The uplift of mountains due to the collision of the Indian-Australian plate with the Eurasian plate resulted in diverse and beautiful landscapes and ecosystems, including the unique plant economy known as GI Plants.

3.        Limestone terrain and cave systems It is beautiful and is an important tourist attraction of Chiang Rai Province. There is a story connected to the world-class rescue that happened in 2018.

There are many exciting places to visit in the Geopark, such as Wiang Nong Lom, Tham Pla, Tham Luang, Pa Tueng hot springs, Tham Pum, etc., which the Chiang Rai Geopark cannot announce the establishment of at all. If there is a lack of cooperation with the community, local agencies and organizations.

Source: Department of Mineral Resources

Geological Knowledge: How do geologists know what they found (a python vertebra)? The current fossil of the elephant's molars is like flat bone plates with a hollow inside each plate about 1-1.5 centimeters thick, arranged continuously in a long-curved row resembling a jaw. These plates are the anchoring point for these teeth. The side embedded in the jawbone will have spaces between them. However, the chewing side will be closely adjacent and connected, preventing them from falling out individually like the teeth of other mammals that nurse their young. Even if most parts are broken, they will still have the characteristics of long, aligned plates, just like the molars of elephants in the small image that geologists from the Department of Mineral Resources, Region 4, examined in the fossil site in Bang Hian Village, Krabi Province, in October 2023.

Even in the earliest elephant molar fossils, the molars had prominent enamel ridges and short roots for chewing on soft plant leaves. When a clear difference was observed in the evolutionary development stages of mammoth and modern elephants, the molars transformed into multiple plates fused to form a toothed ridge for chewing more complex foods, unlike the ancient hominids. Geologists used tooth characteristics for comparison with previously discovered elephant molar fossils, alongside CT scan technology and age determination through carbon dating, to determine the period when the elephant died and fossilized into a molar fossil. The elephant molar fossil's characteristics included replacing mineral elements until it had a weight and hardness like stone, significantly heavier than its size. This allowed geologists to distinguish that the findings were indeed fossilized elephant molars.

Currently, paleontologists can study until they know that elephants originated in the continent of Africa after the dinosaur era, based on the discovery of the oldest elephant molar fragments in the world, Phosphaterium. These ancient elephant molar pieces were found in Morocco, dating back approximately 53 million years or the Paleocene epoch. Subsequently, elephants spread to Europe and Asia, including Thailand, where a diverse range of fossilized elephant remains have been found, including up to 10 lineages. Among the 55 lineages of fossilized elephant remains found globally, the most varied collection is exhibited at the Korat Fossil Museum in Nakhon Ratchasima, a fascinating paleontological tourist attraction in the Korat Geological Park.

Reference:      Benja Sekteera.(1996), Illustration of elephant teeth Geology News, 41(3), 64 - 65.

          Yaowalak Chaimanee, Chotima Yamee, Pannipa Saethian, and Kitti Khawwiset. (2003). Biodiversity of ancient elephants in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. (Academic report). Bangkok: Bureau of Geology Department of Mineral Resources., 2003

          Department of Mineral Resources.