Irrawaddy ဧရာဝတီမြစ် |
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River | |
Bird's eye view of the river
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Country | Myanmar |
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Tributaries | |
- left | Chindwin, Mu |
- right | Myitnge |
Cities | Myitkyina, Mandalay, Bhamo |
Source | Mali River |
- coordinates | 28°22′0″N 97°23′0″E / 28.36667°N 97.38333°E |
Secondary source | N'Mai River |
- coordinates | 28°4′0″N 98°8′0″E / 28.06667°N 98.13333°E |
Source confluence | |
- location | Damphet, Kachin State |
- elevation | 147 m (482 ft) |
- coordinates | 25°42′0″N 97°30′0″E / 25.70000°N 97.50000°E |
Mouth | Andaman Sea |
- location | Ale-ywa, Ayeyarwady Division, Burma |
- elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
- coordinates | 15°51′19″N 95°14′27″E / 15.85528°N 95.24083°ECoordinates: 15°51′19″N 95°14′27″E / 15.85528°N 95.24083°E |
Length | 2,210 km (1,373 mi) |
Basin | 404,200 km2 (156,062 sq mi) |
Discharge | |
- average | 13,000 m3/s (459,091 cu ft/s) |
- max | 32,600 m3/s (1,151,258 cu ft/s) |
- min | 2,300 m3/s (81,224 cu ft/s) |
Course, watershed, cities and major tributaries of the Irrawaddy River
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The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River (Burmese: ဧရာဝတီမြစ်; MLCTS: erawa.ti mrac, pronounced [ʔèjàwədì mjɪʔ], also spelt Ayeyarwaddy) is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar. It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through the Irrawaddy Delta into the Andaman Sea. Its drainage basin of about 404,200 square kilometres (156,100 sq mi) covers a large part of Burma. After Rudyard Kipling's poem, it is sometimes referred to as 'The Road to Mandalay'.
As early as the sixth century the river was used for trade and transport. Having developed an extensive network of irrigation canals, the river became important to the British Empire after it had colonized Burma. The river is still as vital today, as a considerable amount of (export) goods and traffic moves by river. Rice is produced in the Irrawaddy Delta, irrigated by water from the river.
In 2007, Myanmar's military dictatorship signed an agreement for the construction of seven hydroelectric dams, yielding a total 13,360 MW, in the N'mai and Mali Rivers, including the 3,600 MW Myitsone Dam at the confluence of both rivers. Environmental organisations have raised concerns about the ecological impacts on the river's biodiverse ecosystems. Animals potentially impacted include the threatened Irrawaddy dolphin and the Irrawaddy river shark, an endangered species.