Mekong is a river in Vietnam. Geographical position, description and photo of the Mekong River

Mekong is a river, the source of which is in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, specifically on the Tangla Ridge. This is the largest water flow of the Indochina Peninsula, located in the southeast of Asia, and the fourth largest blue artery of this continent.

The total length of this river, which carries its waters across the territories of six states, is 4,500 kilometers (the figure is also 4900). The water here is considered blessed, it's not for nothing that the people named Mekong the Mother of the 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 rankings it ranks 12th in the world in terms of fullness, and 11th in length. For comparison, such data are given: it is longer than our Lena, and Mackenzie, Canada's largest waterway. In many ratings it is on the 8th place, ahead of not only Lena, but Amur, and Congo. Above mentioned the number of states to which this mighty river has relation, but it flows through the territories of only 4 countries - China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. And for Thailand and Myanma (the former Burma), it is the state border with Laos.

Born with glaciers

Mekong is a river, the source of which 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 higher than 6000 meters above sea level. Two high-mountain rivers - Dze-Chu and Dza-Chu, formed from numerous mountain streams, which are born as a result of melting snow at an altitude of 5500 meters, merging, give birth to the largest water artery of Indochina called Mekong. The river in its upper and middle currents, which are located mainly in China, flows through narrow deep canyons. Its waters rush along the gorges of the Sichuan Alps (Sino-Tibetan Mountains) and, crossing the Yunan Highlands, reach the steppe spurs of the Chyungshon Mountains located on the east of the Hindustan Peninsula.

Great river - many names

In the upper reaches there are a lot of rapids, which becomes even greater when the water level in the river drops. In the middle reaches of China, the river is called Lancangjiang.

In general, throughout the river, the inhabitants of the countries to which it relates are giving it different names - in Vietnam it is called Cuu Long (Kyu Long), or "nine dragons". They call her "mother river", that is, "the main, big river".

Khon Waterfall

Already in Cambodia, where the Mekong River in its current reaches the Cambodian (or Kampuchea) plain in the immediate vicinity of the Khon settlement, the rapids of one of the widest, most beautiful and world-famous waterfalls begin, named after the town of Khon. The daily water discharge here is very large - 9 thousand cubic meters per day, and in periods of high water 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 end finally near another settlement, the town of Kratiekh, as a result of which the river level is reduced by 21 meters.

In this town with a population of 20,000 people there is a port through which a river link is established with Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. In general, the Mekong is navigable at a distance of 700 kilometers, and in periods of floods - at 1600 (before Vientiane). Huge ocean liners rise from the mouth to the capital of Vietnam.

The unique delta

Below this city, a mighty water artery is poured into the whole breadth, and, in fact, the Mekong delta begins here, the total area of which is 70 thousand square meters. Km. The delta is mainly located on the territory of Vietnam and represents two large riverbeds of the divided river, between them there are two smaller sleeves and dozens of small streams and a channel.

The entire area of the delta, covered with small bushes, is heavily swamped and is, in effect, a mangrove swamp. Mangroves are deciduous evergreen forests. They grow mainly in the tropics, in the mouths of rivers and tidal parts of the sea coasts. The total length of the delta, in the area 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, flows into the mighty Mekong River. Vietnam, in whose territory the delta is located, owes much to this water flow. Firstly, the Mekong is the breadbasket of Vietnam (one of the world's largest granary of rice). 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 21st century the Mekong delta was named the biological treasure, as hundreds of plant and animal species that were little studied or were considered extinct were found in it.

They name the valley of the river and the Kitchens of the planet. In 2011, a walking catfish, a singing frog, a bat with a "diabolical" face, a blind underground fish and a fish with a mole, a two-legged lizard and many other species were found here. And since 1997, 1710 new species of animals and plants have been discovered and described in the Mekong basin by scientists from different countries.

Tonle Sap and Mekong - communicating vessels

The mouth of the Mekong River is covered by lagoons and is as wide as several dozen miles. The water in it is dull yellow. Mekong food in its upper and middle currents is snow and glacial, while in the lower reaches it is rain. Inflows and lakes play a huge role. 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, whereas during the rainy season it receives as much water through the same channel from the Mekong that this figure increases to 9 meters. This is when the area of the reservoir is 2,7 thousand square meters. Km. In droughty 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 largest population density on the planet. This factor and the tropical climate contribute to the emergence and spread of avian influenza, Dengue fever and other exotic diseases. 17 million people living in the delta, not only fish and grow rice, but also have pets in the same immeasurable quantities.

The pool and the tributaries of the mighty river

The Mekong River Basin is 810,000 square meters. Km. It is home to 250,000,000 people. The cooperation of countries to which this river has a direct relationship, the experts have their name - the spirit of the Mekong. Since 1957, this cooperation has been taking place within the Mekong River Commission.

Numerous tributaries of the Mekong River , the largest of which are Moon (right), Tonle Sap (right) and Banghang (on the territory of Laos), as already noted, play a huge role in her life. The most famous left tributaries are Wu, Than and San, which in turn also have tributaries. So, the largest in the San River are Bla, Grai, Straepok and Shanghai. On Sanaa, flowing only through Vietnam, in the area of its confluence into the Mekong, closer to Cambodia, five dams have been built, which create extensive reservoirs. Bassac, 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 Don, it flows into the Mekong on the territory of Laos.

Filled river

Extremely rich in the flora and fauna of the Mekong. Here, mainly in Cambodia, river dolphins and crocodiles were preserved. In this river there are incredibly many fish - it is caught simply by bamboo traps set at an incline to the current. During the flood, fishermen earn fishing for the whole year. Nature itself has created excellent conditions for the reproduction of dozens of fish species, which along with rice is the main food of a large local population.