22/03/2014
Land and topography of Ha Nam Province
Ha Nam Province is a delta province bordering mountains; hence, its topography is a mixture of plain terrain and hilly terrain. The density and depth of dissected topography compared to other mountainous areas in the country is almost negligible. The direction of the terrain is quite simple, only northwest - southeast direction, consistent with the most popular direction of mountains and rivers in Vietnam. The slope direction of the terrain is also northwest - southeast along the Red River Valley, Day River and Hoa Binh - Ninh Binh limestone mountains, reflecting the simple geologic structures.
To the west of the province (accounting for around 10-15% of the territory of Ha Nam Province ) are mountainous hills with limestone mountains, forests, hills and mountains, many have steep terrain. Karst here is part of Hoa Binh - Ninh Binh limestone mountains, having high split density, creating stalactite caves with fascinating shapes. Down to the east are lowland hills, interspersed with rocky mountains and stretching fields and valleys. Most of the land in the mountainous areas is yellow-brown soil on ancient alluvial, barren soil on shales, red -brown soil on limestone base and red-brown soil on limestone, suitable for forest trees, fruit trees and industrial crops. With caves and historic-cultural monuments, this region also has great potentials for development of tourism zones.
To the east are plains formed from deposition of sediment from large rivers (accounting for around 85-90% of the territory of Ha Nam Province) with fertile soil, suitable for the cultivation of rice, vegetables and short-term industrial crops such as sugarcane, strawberries, soybeans, peanuts and some fruit trees. Most of the land in this region is split by the dense river system. Hence this region has large water surface with ponds, lakes, lagoons, low fields and rivers, which is favorable for farming, fisheries and poultry under water.