Bình Thuận is a province of Vietnam. It is located on the country's South Central Coast, not far from Hồ Chí Minh City. It is sometimes seen as part of the Southeast Region. Bình Thuận is known for its scenery and for its good beaches. There are also a number of sites of archaeological significance.
Much of what is now Bình Thuận Province was part of the Cham principality of Panduranga, which had its political centre in neighbouring Ninh Thuan province. It was the last independent principality after the fall of Vijaya in 1471. Bình Thuận was later incorporated into Vietnam, while Ninh Thuận remained independent longer, until 1832.
Before 1976, Bình Thuận province was much smaller because much of the west was a separate province (Bình Tuy). Bình Tuy, Bình Thuận and Ninh Thuận were merged in 1976 to form Thuận Hải province. It was divided again into Ninh Thuận and Binh Thuận in 1991, while Bình Tuy remained part of Bình Thuận province.
Binh Thuan
Bình Thuận borders Lam Dong province in the north, Ninh Thuận in the north-east, and Dong Nai province and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in the west.
Much of the borders with Lam Dong and Ninh Thuận are mountainous, while much of the rest of the province is relatively flat. However, there are several hills with a height of at least 200m along the coast of the province. The province's highest peak (1548m) is in the north-western Tanh Linh District near Lam Dong province.
Phu Quy Island is located around 120 km south-east of Phan Thiết. It is a separate district. There are several much smaller island off the coast of Bình Thuận. They include Cau Island (cù lao Cau) in the east, Lao Island (hòn Lao) at Mui Ne, and Ba Island (hòn Bà) in the west.
Bình Thuận has several rivers mostly originating in the province itself or in the highlands of neighbouring Lam Dong Province. Most of them flow into the South China Sea (East Sea). Some of the major rivers are Luy River (Sông Luỹ) in the east of the province, Cai River (Sông Cái) in the centre near Phan Thiết, and Dinh River (Sông Dinh) in the west. La Nga River (Sông La Ngà) flows through four districts in the north-west of the province and is a major tributary of theDong Nai River.The largest lake is Song Quan Lake (hồ Sông Quán) in the centre of the province around 30 km north of Phan Thiết. Another major lake is Biển Lạc in the north-west of the province.
As of 2007, 50% of the province (394,100ha) are covered with forests, which is high compared to most other provinces of the South Central Coast. Forests are mostly located in the province's mountainous regions in the north-west and north-east. Despite its large forested area, the province also has a lot of agricultural land. 284,200ha were used for agriculture in 2007, which is the largest figure among all provinces of the central coast regions (both north central andsouth central).
Bình Thuận is one of the most arid provinces in Vietnam. Much of the province receives less than 800mm of rain per year. The months from November to April are particularly dry, with less 200mm of rain. It has reserves of arsenic in the north-western mountains and titanium along its western coast.