Thanh Hóa Province

Thanh Hóa Province (Vietnamese: Tỉnh Thanh Hóa) is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the North Central Region and is bordered by the provinces of Sơn La, Hòa Bình and Ninh Bình to the north, Nghệ An Province to the south, and Laos to the west, and also has a coast on the Gulf of Tonkin.

Its capital and largest city is Thanh Hóa, located in the east of the province. It is the 5th largest province of Vietnam and one of the most populous. The province is known for its seaside holiday town of Sầm Sơn.

Geography
The province is mostly flat in the east, with a few hills protruding from the flat landscape. In the west there are mountains, which form the border with Laos. In the far north-western corner of the province is the small town of Mường Lát in the Mã River Valley, an extension of the relatively densely populated area in Laos. There is a border checkpoint here.

A vast majority of the province's population lives in the east near the coast on the Gulf of Tonkin and around the cities Thanh Hòa and Sầm Sơn.

Islands
Off the coast of the province's south-eastern corner is Hòn Mê and numerous smaller surrounding islands. The island is home to a military transmission station and around 500 people.