
from the 11th grade Geography class of
Mr. Ricky Adams


Climate is tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
Terrain is low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest

Introduction
Vietnam is a country located on the eastern coast of the Indochina Peninsula. Vietnam is bordered on the north by China, on the west by Laos and Cambodia, and on the south and east by the South China Sea. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi. The largest city is Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam
’s terrain is varied. The areas in
North and
Vietnam
has about 50 ethnic groups and languages. However,
Vietnamese make up the majority of the population.
The Vietnamese people came from
The French colonized
Natural Regions

Plant and Animal Life
Plant and animal life thrive in 
Vietnam ’s forests have many large mammals, including elephants, deer, bears, tigers and leopards. Smaller animals, such as monkeys, rabbits, squirrels are also found in considerable numbers throughout the country

Natural Resources
People
Today there are about 75
million people in Vietnam. Most of the people live in or near the densely
populated Red or Mekong deltas. Four of the five largest
cities in Vietnam are located on or very near the coast. Vietnam’s largest
metropolis is the southern port of Ho Chi Minh City. The administrative capital
of Hanoi, Vietnam’s next largest city, lies in the Red River Delta about 85
miles upriver from the Gulf of Tonkin. Haiphong is the major northern seaport;
Da Nang is an important port in central Vietnam; and Hue, located near Da Nang,
is the former imperial capital and an important trade center.
Eighty percent of
these are ethnic
Vietnamese, while the remaining twenty percent comprises more than fifty separate
ethnic groups. About seven million of these ethnic minorities are members of the
montagnards or
hill tribes, making their homes and livelihoods in the spectacular mountains of
the north and central highlands. Among the many languages spoken in Vietnam are
Vietnamese, Chinese, English, French, and Russian.
Economy
Vietnam is a poor, densely-populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market-oriented economy would lead to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 6% to 7% in 2000-02 even against the background of global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to significantly increase Vietnam's exports to the US. The US is assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms called for in the agreement
Test
What is the capital of Vietnam?
What is Vietnam's most valuable mineral?
What is Vietnam's climate like most of the year?
What is the largest city in Vietnam?
What are the three countries that border Vietnam?
Links
http://www.geographia.com/vietnam/
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vm.html
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552648/Vietnam.html
http://www.webshots.com/search?query=MeKong+Delta&start=36