Chiang Mai province (Thailand), dam across the Ping river

This set of images of Thailand was acquired by the American Geographical Society from Robert Larimore Pendleton (1890 -1957), soil scientist and Professor of Geography at John Hopkins University. The pictures were taken during Pendleton's research visits to Thailand from the mid 1930s to 1950s. Pendleton served as agricultural adviser to the United Nations FAO Mission to Siam [Thailand] in 1947-1948 and as the soil scientist at the US Mutual Security Agency's Special Technical and Economic Mission to Thailand in 1952-1953.An old style dam across the Ping River for diverting water for padi [paddy] irrigation. It required 2,000 men about 7 days to cut bamboo, gather straw, and repair the dam after the annual high water. Chieng Mai province [Chiang Mai province], northern Thailand, 1948.Grayscal