The Mekong River is a river in the south-east of Asia. It flows through many countries: China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and finally Vietnam. The Mekong begins in the Lasagongma Spring which is in the plateaus of Tibet, disputed part of China, and flows about 2,703 miles (4,350 km) south-east to the South China Sea. Its watershed covers 307,000 square miles (797,000 square kilometers). Its name comes from the Thai language's Mae Num, or literally, "Mother Water".
|Mae Num Khong, Lancang Jiang, Mae Khaung, Menam Khong, Mekongk, Tonle Thom, Song Cu'u Long|
The Mekong in Laos
|Countries||China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam|
|- location||Mount Guozhongmucha, Qinghai, China|
|- elevation||5,224 m (17,139 ft)|
|- location||South China Sea, Vietnam|
|Length||4,350 km (2,703 mi)|
|Basin||795,000 km² (306,951 sq mi)|
Map of the Mekong River watershed.
The Mekong is one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, with hundreds of types of fish, as well as river dolphins, crocodiles, and otters. Fishing is a very important activity on the river. However, the Mekong River is also used extensively for navigation.
The river has dams:
Dams that are being built in China, are:
Dams that are being built in Laos, are:
Dams that are planned (as of 2017), include:
- "Source of the Mekong River (Langcang Jiang)". Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- "BIodiversity and Fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- Murder on the Mekong: Death by a Thousand Dams
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mekong.|
Government, corporate, environment and technical
- Mekong River Commission
- Thailand National Mekong Committee
- Vietnam National Mekong Committee
- Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
Travel, culture and history
- NYTimes: The Mysterious Mekong Starts to Reveal Itself
- First raft and kayak descents of the Mekong in China, 1994 - 2004