Mekong River

Introduction and map

2008-06-09T15:56:00.000+08:00

Hi! I'm the Mekong River. Let me give you a short introduction of myself. I am the 12th-longest river in the world, and 7th longest in Asia, running through China's Yunnan province, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. I have an estimated length is 4,400 km and drains an area of 795,000 km². Let me show you a map and some pictures of myself.

Map of Mekong River

Source: http://www.vnmc.gov.vn/images/map.gif

Part of Mekong River

Source: http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/images/2007/11/14/mekong_river_in_dzado.jpg

A small village: Chiangsenbd at Thailand located beside the Mekong River

Source: http://zamaitt.com/wagamama/thailand/img/MekongRiver.jpg

A boat tour along Mekong River

Source: http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/asia/images/mekongdelta05.jpg

Description of river

2008-06-08T16:34:00.000+08:00

According to a survey conducted by the China Science Exploration Association, the source of Mekong River is the Lasagongma spring, located on Mount Gupzongmucha, and forms the Zaqu, the headwaters of the Mekong, within northwestern China's Qinghai Province.

Qinghai Province (Zaqu is located at the south of Qinghai)

Source: http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Provinces/Province-Qinghai-map.jpg

Approximately half the river's length is in China and the entire river is known as the Meigong in Chinese ( 湄公河). Next the river next forms the border between Burma and Laos for 200 kilometres meets the tributary Ruak River at the Golden Triangle. This point also marks the division between the Upper and Lower Mekong. Here are some of the pictures of Mekong River.

A view of Mekong River at at Luang Prabang , a city located in north central Laos

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_River and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luang_Prabang

A view of Southern Laos from the Mekong River

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_River

A tourist travelling along the Ruak River

Source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2173/2130030692_cd9a65bf78.jpg

A view of the Golden Triangle

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_River

The river then divides Laos and Thailand, before a stretch passing through Laos alone. It is known as Maè Nam Khong (Mother of all rivers) in both Lao and Thai. The river again marks the Lao-Thai border in the stretch which passes Vientiane, followed by a short stretch through Laos alone.

A view of Mekong River in Vientiane

Source: http://i.pbase.com/u35/andrewd/upload/23391803.IMG_1552.jpg

In Cambodia, the river is called the Mékôngk or Tonle Thom (great river). Just above Phnom Penh is the confluence with the Tonle Sap, the main Cambodian tributary. Below Phnom Penh, it divides into the Bassac and the Mekong proper, which both flow into the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

A view of Mekong River from Phnom Penh

Source: http://andybrouwer.co.uk/200311.jpg

In Vietnamese, the river as a whole is known as Mê Kông. The part flowing through Vietnam, known as Sông Cửu Long (river of nine dragons), divides into two major branches, the Tiền Giang (Front River) and Hậu Giang (Back River). These in turn enter the sea through nine estuaries, thus the Vietnamese name. Here are the pictures for the tributaries and distributaries of the Mekong River.

A detailed picture of the tributaries of Mekong River

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_River

There are 5 distributaries for Mekong River: Bassac River, My Tho River, Ham Luong River, Co Chien River and Ba Lai rivers. The above picture is the Bassac River.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassac_River

Social and Political background of river

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History:

The difficulty of navigating the river has meant that it has divided, rather than united, the people who live near it. The earliest recorded civilisation was the 1st century Indianised-Khmer culture of Funan, in the Mekong Delta. Excavations at Oc Eo, near modern An Giang, have found coins from as far away as the Roman Empire. The first European to encounter the Mekong was the Portuguese Antonio de Faria in 1540 The first systematic exploration began with the French Mekong Expedition led by Ernest Doudard de Lagrée and Francis Garnier, which ascended the river from its mouth to Yunnan between 1866 to 1868. Their chief finding was that the Mekong had too many falls and rapids to ever be useful for navigation. From 1893, the French extended their control of the river into Laos.

Map of Mekong River in 1715

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_River

The members of the French Mekong Expedition of 1866

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_River

Bridges:

There are a total of 4 bridges that are built across part of the Mekong River. The first two is known as first and second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge. The third bridge is located in Champasak province, in Laos. Unlike the Friendship bridges, this bridge is not a border crossing. Cambodia has one two-lane bridge located near the city of Kompong Cham, on the road linking Phnom Penh with the remote provinces of Ratanakiri and Mondolkiri, and further away Laos.

1st bridge, Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge: 1170-metre-long bridge with two 3.5 m-wide lanes and an unfinished single railway line in the middle

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai%E2%80%93Lao_Friendship_Bridge

2nd Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge: It connects Mukdahan to Savannakhet. The two-lane, 12-metre-wide, 1600-metre-long bridge opened to the general public on January 9, 2007.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Thai%E2%80%93Lao_Friendship_Bridge

3rd bridge: Pakxe Bridge

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakxe

Dams:

There are a total of 8 dams built across parts of Mekong River in Western China, namely (from the oldest to the latest) Ganlanba Dam, Mengsong Dam, Manwan Dam, Dachaoshan Dam, Gongguoqiao Dam, Jinghong Dam, Xiaowan Dam and Nuozhadu Dam.

Dachaoshan Dam, completed in 2003

Source: http://www.threegorgesprobe.org/tgp/images/Dachaoshan.jpg

Biodiversity:

There are many type of fishes, reptiles and mammals in Mekong River and the following are some of the unique fishes, reptiles and mammals.

Siamese crocodile, Endangered
Source: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/nimages/crocplan/054.jpg

Siamese giant carp, Endangered

Source: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/files/120kg_giant_carp06.jpg

Giant Mekong Catfish, Endangered

Source: http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper344/stills/2uch8zi1.jpg

Irrawaddy dolphin, Rare

Source: http://www.wwf.org.ph/_content/irrawaddy.jpg

Fishing Cat, Vulnearable

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_cat

Smooth-coated otter, vulnerable

Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060601/cth6.jpg

Myth:

Balls of light are observable from time to time rising from the water's surface in the stretch of the river near Vientiane or Nong Khai. These are sometimes referred to as Naga fireballs. The locals attribute the phenomenon to Phaya Naga, Mekong Dragons.

Naga fireball (in purple circle)

Source: http://www.moohin.com/trips/nakhonphanom/payanak/150/big.jpg

Close up picture of Naga fireball

Source: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pantawee.dk/images/payanagafire1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pantawee.dk/pajahist.asp&h=167&w=230&sz=10&hl=en&start=28&um=1&tbnid=PbaRow5OOySYfM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3DNaga%2Bfireballs%26start%3D21%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26sa%3DN

Uses of river

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About 90 million people rely on the river. The area they live in, known as the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), comprises Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces in China, Burma, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The main livelihood of the people of the GMS is rice production. A huge number of rice varieties are grown along the Mekong river.

Rice plantation in Luang Prebang (Laos) at Mekong River

Source: http://www.threeland.com/images/lao/luang-prabang_mekong.jpg

In the background are rubber plantations and shifting cultivation

Source: www.natureproducts.net/Ecotourism/Mekong.html

Poverty stricken Cambodia is an example of one nation that is completely dependent on the river for food and the vast majority of its fledgling economy.

Dai ladies gleaning the shallow waters of the Mekong for shells

Source: http://natureproducts.net/Ecotourism/Dai_gleaning400.jpg

The annual floods provide much needed water for crops of the otherwise dry dusty land, and to refresh Tonle Sap, a combined lake and river system of huge importance to Cambodia.

A satellite image of Tonle Sap

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonle_Sap

Flooding at a village near Tonle Sap

Source: http://www.scienceclarified.com/landforms/images/ueol_02_img0058.jpg

Dams have been built across Mekong River to use its water to generate hydroelectricity.

Pak Mun dam at Thailand

Source: http://www.prachatai.com/english/upload/pictitle/20070619132619_18_065256_47.jpg

Physical Features

2008-06-05T11:46:00.000+08:00

Mekong had too many falls and rapids to ever be useful for navigation. The Lao stretch of Mekong River is characterised by gorges and rapids.

Mekong River Rapids near Chiang Khan Loei Province, where the opposite is Laos

Source: http://www.thailandmagic.com/Loei/Mekong%20River%20Rapids%20near%20Chiang%20Khan%20Loei%20Province%20opposite%20is%20Laos.jpg

Dragon's Teeth Rapid on The Mekong River

Source: http://www.shangri-la-river-expeditions.com/journals/mekong1995/dragonsteeth.jpg

Lancang gorge in Tibet

Source: http://www.shangri-la-river-expeditions.com/journals/2004/LancangGorge.jpg

Mekong River valley near Tibet

Source: http://www.arizonahandbook.com/images/C20-34.jpg

There is a famous waterfall, Khone Falls near the Cambodian border. The Khone Falls are the main reason that the Mekong is not navigable into China.

Khone Fall

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Somphamit.jpg/800px-Somphamit.jpg

A bigger view of the Khone Fall

Source: http://www.cpamedia.com/travel/laos_champasak_to_bolaven_plateau/khone_phapeng_falls_243x164.jpg

The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries.

A satellite image of the Mekong Delta

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekong_Delta

A clear view of Mekong Delta and the distributaries (with the name written in bold red)

Source: http://alliance.la.asu.edu/mywonderfulworld/GeoLiteracy/MartinFord/Photos/mangroves_mekong_delta.jpg

Reflection

2008-06-04T15:08:00.000+08:00

It is fun to do this project and i have learnt some interesting facts about Mekong River such as the Giant fishes and the cities around the Mekong River. With the pictures i get to know more about the different physical features of the river, such as the rapids and deltas. While searching for the pictures i happen to visit some of the people's blogs as well and it's an eye-opener to read their explanation and reflection upon visiting the Mekong River. While doing this project i have responded with Wonderment and Awe when i read about strange facts like the Naga fireball , gathering data through all senses to look out for pictures and information to be put in this blog. Last but not least i remained open to continuous learning! In future whenever i happen to read any article about the Mekong River i will put it in this blog as well, for everyone to read and enjoy:D