Kampong Thom Province

Kampong Thom ខេត្តកំពង់ធំ
Province
Phnom Santuk
Map of Cambodia highlighting Kampong Thom
Coordinates: 12°42′N 104°53′E / 12.700°N 104.883°E / 12.700; 104.883Coordinates: 12°42′N 104°53′E / 12.700°N 104.883°E / 12.700; 104.883
Country	Cambodia
Provincial status	1907
Capital	Stueng Saen
Government
• Governor	Uth Sam An (CPP)
Area
• Total	13,814 km2 (5,334 sq mi)
Area rank	Ranked 2nd
Population (2009)
• Total	708,398
• Rank	Ranked 11th
• Density	51/km2 (130/sq mi)
• Density rank	Ranked 17th
Time zone	UTC+07
Dialing code	+855
ISO 3166 code	KH-6
Districts	8

Kampong Thom (Khmer: កំពង់ធំ, IPA: [kɑmpɔːŋ tʰom], "Great Port") is a province (khaet) of Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Siem Reap to the northwest, Preah Vihear to the north, Stung Treng to the northeast, Kratie to the east, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang to the south, and the Tonle Sap to the west.

The provincial capital is Stung Saen, a town of approximately 30,000 people on the banks of the Stung Sen River.

Kampong Thom is Cambodia's second largest province by area. There are a number of significant Angkorian sites in the area, including Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk and Prasat Andet temples. As one of the nine provinces bordering Tonle Sap Lake, Kampong Thom is part of the Tonlé Sap Biosphere Reserve.

The province is subdivided into 8 districts.

The previous name of the province was Kampong Pous Thom (Port/City of the Great Snakes). According to local legend, at a lakeside dock near the Sen River, a pair of large snakes inhabited a nearby cave. On every Buddhist holiday, the snakes would make appearances to the people nearby who then began to refer to the area as Kampong Pous Thom. Eventually the snakes disappeared and the name was shortened to Kampong Thom. During the Colonial Cambodia period, the French divided Cambodian territory into provinces and named most of them according to the local popular names for the respective areas.

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