User:Fondofgeography/Draftpage

Already expanded a bit: Vàm Cỏ and Soài Rạp rivers, Đồng Tháp Mười wetlands, Thác Bà Lake dam, Mông Dương, Pác Bó cave, Mã Pí Lèng Pass, Cù Mông Pass, Khau Phạ Pass, Ngoạn Mục Pass, Bãi Cháy beach resort , Hải Hòa Beach and Hồng Lĩnh mountain.

Bà Lụa Islands (Quần đảo Bà Lụa) is an archipelago locating in the Gulf of Thailand. It constitutes Son Hai Commune of Kien Luong District, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam. The archipelago is known as "(Small) Ha Long of the South".

Etymology
There are several different interpretations to the name of the islands. Some sources explain that Bà Lụa is the Chinese Vietnamese wife of an influenced Frenchman coming here to exploit the area; since all of related legal papers were in her name, the islands was named Bà Lụa. Anh Dong (2010) claims that Bà Lụa ("Lady Silk") is the name of a female general in charge of military logistics who established a silk mill on the islands in order to supply Nguyen Trung Truc's militia force. Another source says that around 1858, a feudal mandarin married a beautiful and gentle wife who wanted to stay away from the officialdom and eventually settled on the islands. Every day she raised silkworms and wove silk, so the islands has been called Bà Lụa ever since.

Geography
The islands, formed from lower-mid Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, consists of about 34 (or 42 ) islands spreading out over a 70-square-kilometer water area, among which Hòn Heo is the largest entity. Apart from Hòn Heo, none of the rest has highest point exceeding 100 m. The most populous islands are Hòn Heo, Hòn Ngang and Hòn Nhum. Around the archipelago is shallow-water sea; in many places, people can even walk from island to island during low tide.

Hòn Heo ((literally "Pig Island") is the largest island of Bà Lụa. It is approximately 7 km in circumference and has an area of 1.5 sqkm. Its name originates from the fact that the French built a piggery on the island in 1918 (Anh Dong, 2010). Here lies the People's Committe of Son Hai Commune.


 * Incomplete list of islands

Administrative history

 * On 14 January 1983, Kien Hai District formed with six communes including Ba Lua Commune that administered Bà Lụa Islands.
 * On 27 September 1983, Ba Lua Commune was renamed to Son Hai Commune (Kien Hai District).
 * Since 17 August 2000, Son Hai Commune has been under the administration of Kien Luong District.