,
, image = Homalin aerial.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Chindwin at
Homalin
Homalin or Hommalinn ( my, ဟုမ္မလင်း မြို့ ) (Shan: ႁုင်းမၢၵ်ႇလၢင်း) is a small town in north-western Burma and capital of the Homalin Township in Hkamti District of the Sagaing Region. The ...
. The smaller, meandering
Uyu River
The Uyu River, also pronounced Uru River (''Uyu Chaung'' in Burmese), is a river in northern Myanmar, formerly Burma. It is a major tributary of the Chindwin River, itself the largest tributary of the country's chief river, the Ayeyarwady. Its s ...
can be seen joining the Chindwin.
, map = Irrawaddyrivermap.jpg
, map_size =
, map_alt =
, map_caption =
, source1_location =
Hukawng Valley
The Hukawng Valley ( my, ဟူးကောင်းချိုင့်ဝှမ်း; also spelt Hukaung Valley) is an isolated valley in Myanmar, roughly in area. It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State ...
,
Kachin State
Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
, subdivision_type1 = Country
, subdivision_name1 =
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, length =
, source1_elevation =
, mouth_location =
Irrawaddy River
The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Origi ...
, mouth_elevation =
, mouth_coordinates =
, discharge1_avg=
The Chindwin River (also called the Ningthi River) is a river flowing entirely in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, and the largest
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the country's main river, the
Ayeyarwady.
Its official name is also spelled Chindwinn.
Sources
The Chindwin originates in the broad
Hukawng Valley
The Hukawng Valley ( my, ဟူးကောင်းချိုင့်ဝှမ်း; also spelt Hukaung Valley) is an isolated valley in Myanmar, roughly in area. It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State ...
of
Kachin State
Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
of Burma, roughly
, where the Tanai, the Tabye, the Tawan, and the Taron (also known as Turong or Towang) rivers meet.
The headwaters of the Tanai are at about
on the Shwedaunggyi peak of the Kumon range, north of
Mogaung
Mogaung ( my, မိုးကောင်း ; ( Shan: မိူင်းၵွင်း) is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.
History
Mogaung or Möngkawng was the name and capital (roya ...
. It flows due north for the first part until it reaches the Hukawng Valley. In 2004, the government established the world's largest tiger preserve in the Hukawng Valley, the
Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in northern Myanmar, covering . It was established in 2004 and extended to its present size in 2010.
It was initially gazetted in 2004 with an area of in Tanaing Township and extended to Kamain ...
, with an area of approximately ; later, the Sanctuary was extended to , making it the largest protected area in mainland Southeast Asia. The river then turns to the west and flows through the middle of the plain,
joined by the Tabye, the Tawan, and the Taron rivers from the right bank. These rivers drain the mountain ranges to the north and northeast of the Hukawng valley.
Course
The Tanai exits the Hukawng valley through the Taron or Turong valley and through a sharp
defile in the river. It then takes on the name of Chindwin, and maintains a general southerly course.
It passes the town of Singkaling
Hkamti on the left bank, then the town of
Homalin
Homalin or Hommalinn ( my, ဟုမ္မလင်း မြို့ ) (Shan: ႁုင်းမၢၵ်ႇလၢင်း) is a small town in north-western Burma and capital of the Homalin Township in Hkamti District of the Sagaing Region. The ...
, also on the left bank.
The river's course is generally southwesterly until the town of
Mingin Mingin may refer to:
*Mingin Township, a township of Kale District, Sagaing Region, Myanmar
**Mingin, Myanmar, its principal town and administrative seat
*Mingin people, an Aboriginal people of Queensland, Australia
**Mingin language or Minkin, an ...
. It then takes a more southeasterly course entering into broad central plain, passing the city of
Monywa on the left bank. Its course at this point forms the boundary between the
Sagaing District
Sagaing District is an administrative district in southern Sagaing Division, Burma (Myanmar). of
Sagaing Region
Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...
and the
Pakokku District
Pakokku District ( my, ပခုက္ကူခရိုင်, ; also Pagukku District) is a district of the Magway Division in central Burma (Myanmar). It is situated in northern part of Magwe Region. The administrative centre is the city of ...
of
Magway Region
Magway Region ( my, မကွေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Magway Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative division in central Myanmar. It is the second largest of Myanmar's seven divisions, ...
.
It enters the
Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy) at about . The extreme outlets into the Ayeyarwady are about apart, the interval forming a succession of long, low, partially populated islands. The lowest
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
of the Chindwin is, according to tradition, an artificial channel, cut by one of the kings of
Bagan
Bagan (, ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that wou ...
(Pagan). It was choked up for centuries until 1824 when it was opened out by an exceptional flood. Satellite pictures show this lowest channel to be the widest one today.
Tributaries
#
Uyu River
The Uyu River, also pronounced Uru River (''Uyu Chaung'' in Burmese), is a river in northern Myanmar, formerly Burma. It is a major tributary of the Chindwin River, itself the largest tributary of the country's chief river, the Ayeyarwady. Its s ...
is the largest tributary joining the Chindwin river just below Homalin on the left. The famous
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
mines at
Hpakant
Hpakant ( my, ဖားကန့်, ; Shan Language: ၽႃၵၢၼ်ႉ, also Hpakan and Phakant) is a town in Hpakant Township, Kachin State of the northernmost part of Myanmar (Burma). It is located on the Uyu River 350 km north of M ...
lie in the headwaters of the Uyu.
#
Myittha River, draining the Kale valley, joins on the right further downstream. The town of
Kalewa
Kalewa is a town at the confluence of the Chindwin River and the Myittha River in Kale District, Sagaing Region of north-western Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Kalewa Township.
Climate
Kalewa has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen ...
is on the left bank of their
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
.
Towns
![Aerial view of lower Chindwin River and Twin Taung (1980)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Aerial_view_of_lower_Chindwin_River_and_Twin_Taung_%281980%29.JPG)
#
Hkamti
#
Htamanthi
Tamanthi, Htamanthi or Tamanthe is a village on the Chindwin River in Homalin Township in Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of northwestern Burma. It is located near the Tamanthi Wildlife Reserve. It is near the planned multi-purpose Tamanthi ...
#
Homalin
Homalin or Hommalinn ( my, ဟုမ္မလင်း မြို့ ) (Shan: ႁုင်းမၢၵ်ႇလၢင်း) is a small town in north-western Burma and capital of the Homalin Township in Hkamti District of the Sagaing Region. The ...
#
Mawlaik
Mawlaik ( my, မော်လိုက် ; shn, မေႃႇလဵၵ်) is a town in Mawlaik District, Sagaing Region in north-west Myanmar, along the Chindwin River.
Etymology
" Mawlaik" derives from the Shan language
The Shan language ...
#
Kalewa
Kalewa is a town at the confluence of the Chindwin River and the Myittha River in Kale District, Sagaing Region of north-western Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Kalewa Township.
Climate
Kalewa has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen ...
#
Kalaymyo
Kalay ( my, ကလေး), also known as Kale, is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located upstream from Mandalay and Monywa on the Myittha River, a tributary of the Chindwin River. The town is the district headquarters of the Ka ...
#
Mingin Mingin may refer to:
*Mingin Township, a township of Kale District, Sagaing Region, Myanmar
**Mingin, Myanmar, its principal town and administrative seat
*Mingin people, an Aboriginal people of Queensland, Australia
**Mingin language or Minkin, an ...
#
Monywa
Environment
Much of Chindwin's course lies within mountain ranges and forests. Due to the difficulty of access, much of it remains unspoilt. The government of Burma recently created a very large (2,500 square mile) sanctuary for the endangered tiger within the Hukawng Valley.
History
The mountain ranges to the west of the Chindwin are formidable, yet not totally impregnable to armies. The Kabaw valley saw many an invasion by the kingdom of
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
to the west, most notably during the reign of King
Garibaniwaj (1709–1748) when his army crossed over the Chindwin and the
Mu, took Myedu, and reached as far as Sagaing opposite the capital
Ava. The tables were turned in 1758 after King
Alaungpaya
Alaungpaya ( my, အလောင်းဘုရား, ; also spelled Alaunghpaya or Alaung-Phra; 11 May 1760) was the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar). By the time of his death from illness during his campaign in Siam, this f ...
ascended the Burmese throne. The Burmese army invaded and occupied
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
and
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
marching across the western mountain ranges, and even encroached upon British India.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
had cut off sea access, the British army and other allied forces under General
Joseph Stilwell
Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking ...
retreated on foot to India across the same mountains, with disastrous results, mainly due to disease and hunger. The
Ledo Road
The Ledo Road (from Ledo, Assam, India to Kunming, Yunnan, China) was an overland connection between India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan. ...
was built across the Hukawng valley to supply China. The Chindwin was a major barrier both for the Japanese trying to invade India and for the Allied forces to reoccupy Burma.
Ethnography and culture
The chindwin river has a great impact on the culture of western Burma.
[Andrew Hsiu which taken from a journal titled
"Morphological Evidence for a Central Branch of Trans-Himalayan (Sino-Tibetan)." by Scott DeLancey which was published on 2015] Central Sino-Tibetan (which includes Meithei) languages originated from valley areas of this river.
Economics
The Chindwin is served by regular river-going vessels up to the town of Homalin.
Teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
forests within its drainage area have been a valuable resource since ancient times. The
Hukawng Valley
The Hukawng Valley ( my, ဟူးကောင်းချိုင့်ဝှမ်း; also spelt Hukaung Valley) is an isolated valley in Myanmar, roughly in area. It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State ...
is known for its abundance of Burmese
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
. Along the river, there are deposits of
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...
, but
Hpakant
Hpakant ( my, ဖားကန့်, ; Shan Language: ၽႃၵၢၼ်ႉ, also Hpakan and Phakant) is a town in Hpakant Township, Kachin State of the northernmost part of Myanmar (Burma). It is located on the Uyu River 350 km north of M ...
in the headwaters of the Uyu river is the only place in the world where the finest jade - known as
jadeite
Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition sodium, Naaluminium, Alsilicon, Si2oxygen, O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, bu ...
or imperial jade - is found, along with an abundance of
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
.
[
]
Notes
Bibliography
*J. G. Scott
Sir James George Scott (pseudonym Shway Yoe, 25 December 1851 – 4 April 1935) was a Scottish journalist and colonial administrator who helped establish British colonial rule in Burma, and in addition introduced football to Burma.
Life
He w ...
, ''Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States''. 5 vols. Rangoon, 1900–1901
External links
Rivers Network - Chindwin Blog
{{Authority control
Rivers of Myanmar