Pannee Cheewinsiriwat*
Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
This article implemented geographic information system and spatial statistics to
explore the settlement patterns of ethnic groups in Nan, Thailand, in relation to
geographic factors. The general findings reveal that people of the same ethnic group
tend to live in clustered fashion. In addition, ethnic groups located on an elevation of
200–500 m above the mean sea level tend to live near both roads and rivers (within
1 km), while those on higher elevations tend to live further away from roads and rivers.
Furthermore, the unique characteristics of the settlement patterns of each ethnic group
were also identified.
Keywords: ethnic group; settlement pattern; GIS; spatial statistics