The Mekong is a river whose source is located in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, specifically on the Tangla Range. This is the largest water flow of the Indochina Peninsula, located in southeast Asia, and the fourth largest blue artery of this continent.
The total length of this river, which carries its waters through the territories of six states, is 4500 kilometers (the figure 4900 is also given). The water here is considered blessed, no wonder people called the Mekong the Mother of Waters and the Nile of Southeast Asia.
One of the largest in the world
Mekong is one of the largest rivers on our planet. In the ratings, it ranks 12th in the world in terms of full flow, and 11th in length. For comparison, the following data are given: it is longer than both our Lena and Mackenzie, the largest water artery in Canada. In many ratings, she is in 8th place, ahead of not only Lena, but also Amur and Congo. The number of states to which this mighty river is related, but flowsit covers the territories of only 4 countries - China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. And for Thailand and Myanmar (former Burma), it is the state border with Laos.
Born from glaciers
Mekong is a river whose source is located at an altitude of 5000 meters above sea level. As noted, it is located on the slopes of the Tangla Range, which is a 600-kilometer continuous ridge covered with eternal snow.
The highest point of the ridge is located at an altitude exceeding 6000 meters above sea level. Two alpine rivers - Dze-Chu and Dza-Chu, formed from numerous mountain streams, born as a result of snowmelt at an altitude of 5500 meters, merge, give rise to the largest water artery of Indochina called the Mekong. The river in its upper and middle reaches, which are located mainly in China, flows through narrow deep canyons. Its waters rush through the gorges of the Sichuan Alps (Sino-Tibetan Mountains) and, crossing the Yunnan Plateau, reach the stepped spurs of the Chungshon Mountains located in the east of the Hindustan Peninsula.
Big river - many names
There are a lot of rapids in the upper reaches, which increase even more when the water level in the river goes down. In the middle course in China, the river is called Lancangjiang.
In general, throughout the river, the inhabitants of the countries to which it is related give it different names - in Vietnam it is called Cuu Long (Cu Long), or "nine dragons". They call her "mother river", that is,“main, big river.”
Khon Waterfall
Already in Cambodia, where the Mekong River in its course falls on the Cambodian (or Kampuchean) plain in the immediate vicinity of the Khon settlement, the rapids of one of the widest, most beautiful and world-famous waterfalls, named after the town of Khon, begin. The daily water consumption here is very high - 9,000 cubic meters per day, and during periods of high water, a maximum value of 38,000 cubic meters per day was recorded. The picturesque rapids of the waterfall stretch for several kilometers, and they finally end near another settlement, the town of Kratie, as a result of which the river level drops by 21 meters.
This town of 20,000 has a port that provides a river connection to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. In general, the Mekong is navigable at a distance of 700 kilometers, and during periods of floods - at 1600 (to Vientiane). Huge ocean liners rise from the mouth to the capital of Vietnam.
Unique delta
Below this city, a mighty water artery spills to its full extent, and, in fact, the Mekong River Delta begins here, the total area of \u200b\u200bwhich is 70 thousand square meters. km. The delta is mainly located on the territory of Vietnam and consists of two large channels of a divided river, between them there are two more smaller branches and dozens of small rivers and channels.
The entire area of the delta, covered with small shrubs, is heavily waterlogged and is, in fact, a mangrove swamp. Mangroves are deciduous evergreen forests. They grow mainly in the tropics, in estuaries and tidal areas of sea coasts. The total length of the delta, where 17 million Vietnamese live, is 600 kilometers. The length of the river also increases due to the fact that it deepens far into the South China Sea, where, in fact, the mighty Mekong River flows. Vietnam, in whose territory the delta is located, owes a lot to this water flow. Firstly, the Mekong is the granary of Vietnam (one of the largest rice granaries on the planet). Secondly, numerous tourists from all over the world come to admire the extraordinary beauty of the delta.
Plantry of the planet
It should be noted that in the 21st century, the Mekong Delta was called a biological treasure trove, as hundreds of species of plants and animals were discovered in it, little studied or considered extinct.
Call the river valley and the Kitchen of the planet. In 2011, a walking catfish, a singing frog, a bat with a "devil" face, a blind underground fish and a fish with a mole, a bipedal lizard and many other species were discovered here. And since 1997, scientists from different countries have discovered and described 1,710 new species of animals and plants in the Mekong basin.
Tonle Sap and Mekong - communicating vessels
The mouth of the Mekong River is covered with lagoons and reaches several tens of miles wide. Its water is cloudy yellow. The supply of the Mekong in its upper and middle reaches is snow and glacial, while in the lower it is rain. tributaries play an important roleand lakes. The largest natural reservoir is Lake Tonle Sap, located in Cambodia. The water level in it is extremely unstable - its depth does not exceed 1 meter, while during the rainy season it receives so much water from the Mekong through the channel of the same name that this figure increases to 9 meters. This is with the area of the reservoir equal to 2.7 thousand square meters. km. During dry periods, the waters of the lake replenish the river.
Source of disease
Where the Mekong River is located, especially in the area of its delta, there is the highest population density on the planet. This factor and the tropical climate contribute to the emergence and spread of bird flu, dengue fever and other exotic diseases. The 17 million people living in the delta not only fish and grow rice, but also have pets in the same immeasurable numbers.
The basin and tributaries of the mighty river
The Mekong River Basin is 810,000 sq. km. It is home to 250,000,000 people. The cooperation of the countries to which this river is directly related, the experts have their own name - the spirit of the Mekong. Since 1957, this cooperation has taken place within the framework of the Mekong River Commission.
Numerous tributaries of the Mekong River, the largest of which are Mun (right), Tonle Sap (right) and Banghiang (on the territory of Laos), as already noted, play a huge role in her life. The most famous left tributaries are Wu, Theng and San, which, in turn, also have tributaries. So, the largest near the San River are Bla, Grai, Straepok and Shanghai. On theSan, which flows only through the territory of Vietnam, in the area of its confluence with the Mekong, closer to Cambodia, built five dams that create extensive reservoirs. Bassak, one of the branches of the delta, flows out of the Mekong and flows into the South China Sea. Among the tributaries there is even a river called the Don, which flows into the Mekong in Laos.
Stocked river
The flora and fauna of the Mekong is unusually rich. Here, mainly in Cambodia, river dolphins and crocodiles have been preserved. There is an incredible amount of fish in this river - they are caught simply with bamboo traps set at an angle to the flow. During the flood period, fishermen earn by fishing for the whole year. Nature itself has created excellent conditions here for the reproduction of dozens of species of fish, which, along with rice, is the main food of the numerous local population.
