Mekong is a river, the source of which is in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, specifically on the Tangla Range. This is the largest water stream of the Indochina Peninsula, located in southeast Asia, and the fourth largest blue artery of this continent.
The total length of this river, carrying its waters across the territories of six states, is 4500 kilometers (the figure is also given 4900). Water here is considered blessed, not without reason people called the Mekong the Mother of Waters and the Nile of Southeast Asia.
One of the largest in the world.
Mekong is a river that is one of the largest on our planet. In the ratings, it ranks 12th in the world in terms of fullness, and 11th in length. For comparison, the following data are given: it is longer than our Lena and Mackenzie, Canada’s largest waterway. In many ratings, she is in 8th place, ahead of not only Lena, but also Cupid and Congo. The above mentioned number of states to which this mighty river is related, but it flows through the territories of only 4 countries - China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. And for Thailand and Myanmar (formerly Burma), it is the state border with Laos.
Born of 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 snows.
The highest point of the ridge is located at an altitude exceeding the mark of 6000 meters above sea level. Two alpine rivers - Dze-Chu and Dza-Chu, formed from numerous mountain streams that are born as a result of melting snow at an altitude of 5500 meters, merging, give rise to the largest waterway of Indochina called Mekong. The river in its upper and middle reaches, which are mainly located in China, flows through narrow deep canyons. Its waters rush along the gorges of the Sichuan Alps (Sino-Tibetan mountains) and, crossing the Yun'an plateau, reach the stepped spurs of the Chyungshon mountains located in the east of the Hindustan Peninsula.
Big river - many names
In the upper reaches there are a lot of rapids, which become even more when the water level in the river decreases. In the middle reaches in China, the river is called Lanzangjiang.
In general, throughout the river, the inhabitants of the countries to which it relates give it different names - in Vietnam it is called Cuu Long (Kyu Long), or “nine dragons”. They call her "mother river", that is, "main, big river."
Khon Waterfall
Already in Cambodia, where the Mekong River flows in its course to 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 thousand cubic meters per day, and during flood periods, a maximum value of 38,000 cubic meters per day was recorded. The picturesque rapids of the waterfall are stretched for several kilometers, and they finally end near another settlement, the town of Kratieh, as a result of which the river level drops by 21 meters.
This town with a population of 20,000 has a port, thanks to which a river connection has been established with Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. In general, the Mekong is navigable at a distance of 700 kilometers, and during floods - at 1600 (to Vientiane). Huge ocean liners rise from the mouth to the capital of Vietnam.
Unique delta
Below this city, a mighty waterway spreads in full breadth, and, in fact, here begins the Mekong Delta, the total area of which 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 very boggy and is, in essence, a mangrove swamp. Mangroves are deciduous evergreen forests. They grow mainly in the tropics, in estuaries and tidal plots of sea coasts. The total length of the delta, in the region of which 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, on the territory of which the delta is located, owes much to this water stream. First, the Mekong is the granary of Vietnam (one of the largest rice granaries on the planet). Secondly, numerous tourists from all over the world go to admire the extraordinary beauty of the delta.
Pantry of the planet
It should be noted that in the XXI century the Mekong Delta was called the biological treasury, as hundreds of species of plants and animals were discovered in it, poorly understood or considered extinct.
They call the river valley and the Kitchen of the planet. In 2011, a walking catfish, a singing frog, a bat with a “devilish” muzzle, a blind underground fish and a fish with a mole, a two-legged lizard and many other species were discovered here. 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 - interconnected vessels
The mouth of the Mekong River is covered with lagoons and reaches a width of several tens of miles. The water in it is cloudy yellow. The nutrition of the Mekong in its upper and middle currents is snow and ice, while in the lower it is rain. A huge role is played by tributaries and 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 through the same channel from the Mekong that this indicator increases to 9 meters. This is with a pond area of 2.7 thousand square meters. km In dry periods, lake water replenishes the river.
Source of disease
Where the Mekong River is located, especially in the area of its delta, the highest population density on the planet is observed. This factor and 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 quantities.
The basin and tributaries of the mighty river
The Mekong River basin is 810,000 square meters. km It is home to 250 million people. The cooperation of countries to which this river is directly related, has its own name for experts - the spirit of the Mekong. Since 1957, this cooperation has been going on within the framework of the Mekong River Commission.
The numerous tributaries of the Mekong River , the largest of which are Moon (right), Tonle Sap (right) and Bangghiang (in Laos), as already noted, play a huge role in her life. The most famous left tributaries are Wu, Teng and San, which, in turn, also have tributaries. So, the largest at the San River are Blah, Gray, Straepok and Shanghai. On Sana'a, which flows only through the territory of Vietnam, in the area of its confluence with the Mekong, closer to Cambodia, five dams have been built, which create extensive reservoirs. Bassak, one of the arms of the delta, flows from the Mekong and flows into the South China Sea. Among the tributaries there is even a river called Don, it flows into the Mekong in Laos.
Stocked river
The flora and fauna of the Mekong are unusually rich. Here, mainly in Cambodia, river dolphins and crocodiles have been preserved. There are an incredible amount of fish in this river - it is caught simply by bamboo traps set at an angle to the stream. During floods, fishermen earn fishing for the whole year. Here, nature itself created excellent conditions for the breeding of dozens of fish species, which, along with rice, is the main food of a large local population.