Ayeyarwady River

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Ayeyarwaddy (ဧရာဝတီမြစ်)
Irrawaddy
Temporary farming settlements on islands of Ayeyarwady River
Country	Burma
Major cities	Mandalay, Bagan, Bhamo
Length	2,170 km (1,348 mi)
Watershed	411,000 km² (158,688 sq mi)
Primary source	Mali River
Other source	N'Mai
Mouth	Indian Ocean

The Ayeyarwady River or Irrawaddy River (Burmese: ဧရာဝတီမြစ်; MLCTS: ei: ra wa. ti mrac) is a river that flows from north to south of Burma (Myanmar). It is the country's largest river (about 1350 miles or 2170 km long) and its most important commercial waterway, with a drainage area of about 158,700 square miles (411,000 km²).

[edit] Etymology

The names Irrawaddy and Ayeyarwady are believed to have derived either from the Sanskrit name Iravati, a sacred river and minor goddess in Indian mythology, or from her son Airavata, the elephant mount of Indra.

The Irrawaddy gives its name to a dolphin, the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), which is found in the upper reaches of the river and known to help fishermen who practise cast-net fishing. Though sometimes called the Irrawaddy River Dolphin, it is not a true river dolphin, since it is also found at sea.^[1][2]

[edit] Source

The Ayeyarwaddy starts in the north of Kachin State, at the confluence of the Mali Hka and N'Mai Hka rivers. The western Mali Hka branch arises from the end of the southern Himalayas, north of Putao, and (like the main river) is called Nam Kiu in the Shan language.

[edit] Course

The Ayeyarwaddy River bisects the country from north to south and empties through a nine-armed Irrawaddy Delta into the Indian Ocean. In colonial times, before railways and automobiles, the river was known as the "Road to Mandalay". Although navigable by large vessels to Myitkyina for a distance over 1600 km from the ocean, the river is also full of sandbanks and islands, making such navigation difficult.

[edit] Defiles

The upper reaches of the Ayeyarwady is well known for its three narrow gorges between Myitkyina and Mandalay.

1. The first defile lies 65 km (40 miles) downstream from Myitkyina.
2. The second defile, after it leaves Bhamo and makes a sharp turn west to cut through limestone rocks. It is about 90 m (300 ft) wide at its narrowest, and flanked by vertical cliffs from 60 to 90 m (200-300 ft) high.
3. The third defile lies about 100 km (60 miles) north of Mandalay near Mogok.^[3]

[edit] Tributaries

1. Shweli River
2. Myitnge River
3. Mu River
4. Chindwin River

[edit] Economy and Politics

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[edit] Major cities and towns

Ayeyarwady River from Sagaing Hill, Sagaing

The river flows through the following cities:

• Putao
• Myitkyina
• Bhamo
• Katha
• Kyaukmyaung
• Mandalay
• Sagaing
• Chauk
• Bagan
• Nyaung-U
• Magway
• Pyay
• Hinthada
• Pantanaw

[edit] Bridges

Built in 1934, the Ava Bridge near Sagaing was the only bridge over the Ayeyarwady until 1998.

The Ava (Innwa) Bridge, a 16 span rail and road cantilever bridge built by the British colonial government in 1934, was the only bridge to span the Ayeyarwady until recent times when a spate of bridge construction has been carried out by the government.^[4][5]

1. Ayeyarwady Bridge (Yadanabon) just upstream from the old Ava Bridge at Sagaing
2. Bala Min Htin Bridge over the N'Mai Hka at Myitkyina, November 1998
3. Anawrahta Bridge at Chauk, April 2001 ^[6]
4. Ayeyarwady-Magway Bridge at Magway
5. Bo Myat Tun Bridge at Nyaungdon, November 1999
6. Nawaday Bridge at Pyay, September 1997
7. Maubin Bridge at Maubin, February 1998
8. Ayeyarwady-Dedaye Bridge at Dedaye^[7]

[edit] Gallery

The new Ayeyarwady Bridge (Yadanabon) at Sagaing, Ava Bridge behind	River Irrawaddy with Mandalay Hill on the east bank	Travelling on the great river	Traditional rivercraft on the Irrawaddy
An island village on the Irrawaddy stays above water on stilts during the monsoons	Bamboo rafts by the Irrawaddy	Market on the west bank at Mingun	Buffalo pulling logs from the Irrawaddy at Mandalay
The great river at Mingun	Bamboo raft sailing down the Irrawaddy	Woman sailing in small boat along the west bank at Mingun

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Pandaw Irrawaddy River Cruises
• NASA Earth Observatory
• Google image search
• Earth from Space NASA image

Coordinates: 15°50′N 95°06′E / 15.833, 95.1