Pursat is a province in the northwestern part of Cambodia and the capital of this province is Pursat. It is bordered by Battambang Province to the north, Koh Kong Province to the south, Tonle Sap Lake to the northeast, and Siem Reap and Kampong Thom Provinces to the other side of the lake. With Kampong Speu Province to the southeast and Tong Ai Province in Thailand to the west, this province can be described as a landlocked province of Cambodia. It is bordered by the Pursat River. There are national highways and railroads connecting the capital Phnom Penh and neighboring provinces. Pursat Province starts from the center of Tonle Sap Lake in the east and ends in the west at the narrow coastal area of Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of 12,692 square kilometers, of which the central part of the Cardamom Mountains in the west occupies one-third, and the lowland near Tonle Sap Lake has fertile soil and plenty of water, which makes it the second largest rice-growing province in Cambodia in normal years. It also grows corn, potatoes, bananas, mulberry, vegetables, cotton, ramie and jute, and after 1975, a number of water conservancy projects were constructed, which greatly increased the productivity of agriculture. Some of these projects include the "Democratic Kampuchea" and the "4-17 Canal," which connects the eastern part of the country with the eastern part of the country. These projects include the "Democratic Kampuchea" and the "4-17 Canal", a 63-kilometer-long canal connecting the Dong Khoi River to Battambang Province, the Pursat River Dam, and the Pasir Masan Reservoir. Fishing is important in the Tonle Sap Lake shoreline. Population: Towns: about 16,000; provinces: about 204,400 (1987).