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The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
and then into the Gulf of Thailand.


Etymology

On many old European maps, the river is named the ''Mae Nam'' (Thai: แม่น้ำ), the Thai word for "river" (literally, "motherly water"). James McCarthy, F.R.G.S., who served as Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys prior to establishment of the Royal Survey Department, wrote in his account, "''Mae Nam'' is a generic term, ''mae'' signifying "mother" and ''Nam'' "water," and the epithet Chao P'ia signifies that it is the chief river in the kingdom of Siam." H. Warington Smyth, who served as Director of the Department of Mines in Siam from 1891 to 1896, refers to it in his book first published in 1898 as "the Mae Nam Chao Phraya". In the English-language media in Thailand, the name Chao Phraya River is often translated as ''river of kings''.


History

On the basins of Chao Phraya River rose the earliest civilizations in the south east Asia, most notably the ancient Mon kingdom and the civilization of
Dvaravati The Dvaravati ( th, ทวารวดี ; ) was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese pilgrim in the middle of the 7th cen ...
from the 7th century to the 11th century, the river played a crucial role in the Lavo kingdom that existed on its left bank in the Upper Chao Phraya valley, Chao Phraya maintained its role in the kingdoms that succeeded the Lavo kingdom, forming the bases of the Ayodhaya kingdom, that was later incorporated into the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century, which itself was precursor of modern Thailand (known formerly as Siam), the river became very significant after the establishment of Rattanakosin (Bangkok) in 1782 on its east bank, the location of Bangkok on the east bank of Chao Phraya River ensured protection to Siamese kingdom from the Burmese invasions coming from the West.


Geography

The Chao Phraya begins at the confluence of the Ping and Nan rivers at Nakhon Sawan (also called Pak Nam Pho) in Nakhon Sawan province. After this, it flows south for from the central plains to
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
and the Gulf of Thailand. In Chai Nat, the river then splits into the main course and the Tha Chin River, which then flows parallel to the main river and exits in the Gulf of Thailand about west of Bangkok in Samut Sakhon. In the low alluvial plain which begins below the Chao Phraya Dam, there are many small canals ('' khlong'') which split off from the main river. The ''khlongs'' are used for the irrigation of the region's rice paddies. The rough coordinates of the river are 13 N, 100 E. This area has a wet monsoon climate, with over of rainfall per year. Temperatures range from in Bangkok.


River engineering

The lower Chao Phraya underwent several man-made modifications during the Ayutthaya period. Several shortcut canals were constructed to bypass large loops in the river, shortening the trip from the capital city to the sea. The course of the river has since changed to follow many of these canals. * In 1538, Thailand's first
river engineering River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and be ...
of a long canal was dug at the order of King Chairachathirat. It was called "Khlong Lat", and today forms a part of Khlong Bangkok Noi. It shortened the route by 13–14 km for ships from the Gulf of Siam to the then-capital city, Ayutthaya.Steve Van Beek: ''The Chao Phya'', p.39 * In 1542, a two kilometer-long canal, "Khlong Lat Bangkok", was completed. The Chao Phraya then diverted along the new canal, its old course becoming part of Khlong Bangkok Noi and
Khlong Bangkok Yai Khlong Bangkok Yai ( th, คลองบางกอกใหญ่, ; lit: 'Big Bangkok Canal') is a historic ''khlong'' (คลอง; canal) of Bangkok. The current length is 6 km (about 3 mi), through various canals as far as it termi ...
. It is said to have shortened the river route by . * In 1608, a seven kilometer-long "Khlong Bang Phrao" canal was completed and has shortened the Chao Phraya's original route by . * In 1636, the "Khlong Lat Mueang Nonthaburi" was completed. * In 1722, the two kilometre long "Khlong Lat Kret Noi" shortened the Chao Phraya by . This route formed the island of Ko Kret.


River settlements

Cities along the Chao Phraya include, from north to south, Nakhon Sawan Province, Uthai Thani Province, Chai Nat Province, Sing Buri Province, Ang Thong Province, Ayutthaya Province, Pathum Thani Province, Nonthaburi Province,
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
, and Samut Prakan Province. These cities are among the most historically significant and densely populated settlements of Thailand due to their access to the waterway.


Transportation

Major bridges cross the Chao Phraya in Bangkok: the Rama VI railroad bridge; Phra Pin-klao near the Grand Palace;
Rama VIII Ananda Mahidol ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระปรเมนทรมหาอานันทมหิดล; ; 20 September 1925 – 9 June 1946), posthumous reigning title Phra Athamaramathibodin ( th, พระอั� ...
, a single tower asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge;
Rama IX Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...
, a semi-symmetric cable-stayed bridge; and Mega Bridge, on the Industrial Ring Road. In Bangkok, the Chao Phraya is a major transportation artery for a network of river buses, cross-river ferries, and water taxis ("longtails"). More than 15 boat lines operate on the rivers and canals of the city, including commuter lines.


Tributaries

The principal tributaries of the Chao Phraya River are the Pa Sak River, the
Sakae Krang River The Sakae Krang River ( th, แม่น้ำสะแกกรัง, , ) is a tributary of the Chao Phraya River. It originates in Mae Wong National Park, Nakhon Sawan Province. It is long, with most of its length in Uthai Thani Province. It ...
, the Nan River (along with its principal confluent the Yom River), the
Ping River The Ping River ( th, แม่น้ำปิง, , ), along with the Nan River, is one of the two main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. It originates at Doi Thuai in the Daen Lao Range, in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province. After p ...
(with its principal confluent, the
Wang River The Wang River ( th, แม่น้ำวัง, , ) is a river in northern Thailand. Geography The Wang River is long. Its waters flow from north to south. The Wang River has its source in the Phi Pan Nam Range in Wiang Pa Pao District, Chi ...
), and the Tha Chin River. Each of these tributaries (and the Chao Phraya itself) is augmented by minor tributaries referred to as ''khwae''. All of the tributaries, including the lesser khwae, form an extensive tree-like pattern, with branches flowing through nearly every province in central and northern
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
. None of the tributaries of the Chao Phraya extend beyond the nation's borders.Google Earth The Nan and the Yom River flow nearly parallel from Phitsanulok to Chumsaeng in the north of Nakhon Sawan Province. The
Wang River The Wang River ( th, แม่น้ำวัง, , ) is a river in northern Thailand. Geography The Wang River is long. Its waters flow from north to south. The Wang River has its source in the Phi Pan Nam Range in Wiang Pa Pao District, Chi ...
enters the Ping River near Sam Ngao district in
Tak Province Tak ( th, ตาก, , Burmese: တာ့ခ် pronounced ak is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (''changwat'') and lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, ...
.


Length

When measured from the most commonly accepted source, which is the confluence of the Ping and Nan River in Nakhon Sawan, the river measures . However, when measured from the longest source, which is the origin point of the Nan River in the
Luang Prabang Range The Luang Prabang Range ( th, ทิวเขาหลวงพระบาง, ), named after Luang Prabang, is a mountain range straddling northwestern Laos and Northern Thailand. Most of the range is located in Sainyabuli Province (Laos), a ...
, the river measures .


Chao Phraya watershed

Ruins of Ayutthaya_Kingdom,_by_the_Chao_Phraya.html" ;"title="Wat Chaiwatthanaram, built in Ayutthaya Kingdom, by the Chao Phraya">Wat Chaiwatthanaram, built in Ayutthaya Kingdom, by the Chao Phraya The expanse of the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries, i.e., the Chao Phraya river system, together with the land upon which falling rain drains into these bodies of water, form the Chao Phraya
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
.River and Watershed Facts on the Chao Phraya
The Chao Phraya watershed is the largest watershed in Thailand, covering approximately 35 percent of the nation's land, and draining an area of .
/ref> The watershed is divided into the following basins: * Pa Sak Basin * Sakae Krang Basin * Greater Nan Basin (composed of the Nan Basin and the Yom Basin, and usually divided as such in drainage analyses) * Greater Ping Basin (composed of the Ping Basin and the Wang Basin, and usually divided as such in drainage analyses) * Tha Chin Basin (the basin of the Chao Phraya's most significant distributaries) *Finally the Chao Phraya Basin itself is defined as the portion of the Chao Phraya watershed drained by the Chao Phraya River itself, and not by its major tributaries or distributaries. As such, the Chao Phraya Basin drains of land. To the west, the central plain of Thailand is drained by the Mae Klong and the east by the
Bang Pakong River The Bang Pakong ( th, แม่น้ำบางปะกง, , ) is a river in east Thailand. The river originates at the confluence of the Phra Prong River and the Hanuman River near Kabin Buri, Prachinburi Province. It empties after 231 ...
. They are not part of the Chao Praya system. The landscape of the river basins is a very wide, flat, well-watered plain continuously refreshed with soil and sediment brought down by the rivers. The lower central plain from the delta north to Ang Thong Province is a flat, low area with an average of two metres above sea level. Further north and into the plains of the Ping and the Nan the elevation is over 20 m. Then the mountains that are the natural boundary of the Chao Praya watershed form a divide, which has, to some degree, historically isolated Thailand from other Southeast Asian civilisations. In northern Thailand the divide roughly corresponds to a long section of the political border of the country today. Southern portions of the divide's boundary correspond less to the nation's political border, because isolation in this area was prevented by the ease of transportation along the lowlands surrounding the Gulf of Thailand, allowing a unified Thai civilisation to extend beyond the watershed without issue. The slightly higher northern plains have been farmed for centuries and saw a major change from the 13th century during the
Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom ( th, สุโขทัย, , IAST: , ) was a post-classical Thai kingdom ( mandala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. The kingdom was ...
in the 13th and 14th centuries and the Ayutthaya Kingdom that succeeded it when rice growing intensified with the introduction of floating rice, a much faster-growing strain of rice from
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
. The southern swamps meanwhile changed radically from the 18th century when King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke moved the capital of Siam to Bangkok, and a process of canalisation and cultivation began, especially as Thailand began to export rice from 1855.


Delta

The Tha Chin River is the major distributary of the Chao Phraya River. The expanse of the Chao Phraya and Tha Chin Rivers and their distributaries, starting at the point at which the distributaries diverge, together with the land amid the triangle formed by the outermost and innermost distributary, form the Chao Phraya delta. The many distributaries of the Chao Phraya delta are interconnected by canals that serve both for irrigation and for transportation.


Ecology

left, Human settlements along the Chao Phraya in Bang Rak,
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
The lowland areas of the Chao Phraya watershed in central Thailand have been designated as the Chao Phraya freshwater swamp forests, a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
, an area about north to south and wide. The original swamp forests have almost entirely been removed as the plain has been converted to rice paddies, other agriculture, and urban areas like Bangkok. Much of the wildlife that once inhabited these plains has disappeared, including a large number of fish in the river systems, birds such as vultures, the Oriental darter (''Anhinga melanogaster''), white-eyed river martin (''Pseudochelidon sirintarae''), the sarus crane (''Grus antigone'') and animals such as
tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...
s,
Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in t ...
s, Javan rhinoceroses, and the much-hunted Schomburgk's deer. Today we can only guess at the original habitat and wildlife by comparing it with neighbouring countries. It is believed that the area would have consisted of freshwater swamps inland and salty mangroves on the coast and the river estuaries. The swamp would have been covered in ''
Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in L ...
'' marsh grasses. Today there is a small area of this remaining in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, a relic of the original landscape. As so much has been cleared or altered the potential for creating large protected areas to preserve original habitat no longer exists. However much wildlife does remain in the rice fields and steps may be taken to preserve these as urban and industrial development on the plains is ongoing and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand has very little control or planning over this. Particular threats come from the conversion of rice paddies to large-scale production of prawns by pumping in seawater, and the use of pesticides to eliminate the introduced snail,''
Pomacea canaliculata ''Pomacea canaliculata'', commonly known as the golden apple snail or the channeled apple snail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusc in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snail ...
'', which damages rice plants. There are populations of threatened birds, including colonies of breeding water birds such as the world's largest populations of the near-threatened
Asian openbill The Asian openbill or Asian openbill stork (''Anastomus oscitans'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy ...
(''Anastomus oscitans''), and other birds such as the wintering black kite (''Milvus migrans''). Endemic mammals that remain are the
limestone rat The limestone rat (''Niviventer hinpoon'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found only in the limestone karsts of Saraburi, Lopburi, Nakhon Sawan provinces, central Thailand. It is listed as an endangered species An endangered ...
(''Niviventer hinpoon''),
Neill's long-tailed giant rat Neill's long-tailed giant rat (''Leopoldamys neilli'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and possibly Myanmar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and rocky areas. ''L ...
(''Leopoldamys neilli''), and the near-endemic
Thailand roundleaf bat The Thailand roundleaf bat (''Hipposideros halophyllus'') is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is endemic to Thailand. Distribution ''Hipposideros halophyllus'' is found in: * Khao Samor Khon, Lopburi Province (1,000-1,400 indi ...
(''Hipposideros halophyllus''). The Chao Phraya basin is home to about half a dozen endemic dragonflies and
damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings alo ...
. The conservation status of most of these in unclear (they are rated as data deficient by the
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
), but '' Cryptophaea saukra'' is critically endangered and ''
Caliphaea angka ''Caliphaea'' is a genus of broad-winged damselflies in the family Calopterygidae The Calopterygidae are a family of damselflies, in the suborder Zygoptera. They are commonly known as the broad-winged damselflies, demoiselles, or jewelwings. T ...
'' is
endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
.Allen, D.J.; Smith, K.G. & Darwall, W.R.T. (editors)(2008).
The status and distribution of freshwater fishes of Indo-Burma.
''
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
. .
There are few areas of wetland protected as national parks, but these are mostly very small.


Fish

The Chao Phraya basin is home to around 280 species of fish, including about 30
endemics Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
.Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (2013).
Chao Phraya
.'' Retrieved 7 March 2015.
By far the most diverse family is Cyprinidae with 108 species. The mainstream of the Chao Phraya River has about 190 native fish species. In general, the aquatic fauna of Chao Phraya and Mae Klong show clear similarities, and they are sometimes combined in a single
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
with 328 fish species. Despite their similarities, there are also differences between the aquatic fauna of Chao Phraya and Mae Klong; the latter (but not the former) is home to a few taxa otherwise only known in major Burmese rivers: the Irrawaddy, Salween, and Tenasserim. The aquatic fauna in Chao Phraya–Mae Klong also show clear similarities with that of the middle
Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
(the lower Mekong fauna more closely resembles that of the eastern Malay Peninsula). It is believed that the upper Mekong was connected to Chao Phraya (rather than present-day lower Mekong) until the Quaternary, which explains the similarities in their river faunas. This included the Nan River basin, a tributary of the Chao Phraya, which is home to a number of taxa (for example, '' Ambastaia nigrolineata'' and ''
Sectoria ''Sectoria'' is a small genus of stone loaches native to eastern Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares ...
'') otherwise only known from Mekong. Of the fish species known from the Chao Phraya–Mae Klong, only about 50 are absent from the Mekong. There has been extensive habitat destruction (pollution, dams, and drainage for
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
) in the Chao Phraya basin and overfishing also presents a problem. Within mainland Southeast Asia, the only freshwater region with similar high levels of threat is the lower Mekong. It has been estimated that only around 30 native fish species still are able to reproduce in the mainstream of the Chao Phraya River. The catfish '' Platytropius siamensis'' is endemic to Chao Phraya and Bang Pakong, but has not been recorded since the 1970s and is considered
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
. Recent records of the near-endemic cyprinid '' Balantiocheilos ambusticauda'' are also lacking and it is possibly extinct. Three of the largest freshwater fish in the world are native to the river, but these are all seriously threatened: the critically endangered giant barb (wild populations have been extirpated from Chao Phraya, but remain elsewhere), critically endangered giant pangasius, and endangered giant freshwater stingray. The critically endangered
red-tailed black shark The red-tailed black shark (''Epalzeorhynchos bicolor''; syn. ''Labeo bicolor''), also known as the redtail shark and redtail sharkminnow, is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae. Despite its name, it is more closely relate ...
, a small colourful cyprinid that is endemic to Chao Phraya, is commonly seen in the aquarium trade where it is bred in large numbers, but the only remaining wild population is at a single location that covers less than . The endangered
dwarf loach The dwarf loach, ladderback loach, pygmy loach, chain loach or chain botia, (''Ambastaia sidthimunki'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the family Botiidae. Formerly included in the genus ''Yasuhikotakia'', it is frequently seen in the aquariu ...
, another species bred in large numbers for the aquarium trade, has been extirpated from most of its range in Chao Phraya. The critically endangered
Siamese tigerfish The Siamese tigerfish (''Datnioides pulcher''), also known as the Siamese tiger perch, is a critically endangered Asian fish native to the Chao Phraya, Mae Klong and Mekong basins. It has vertical yellow and black stripes running the length of i ...
has been entirely exirpated from Chao Phraya and Mae Klong, but small populations remain in the Mekong basin. Many other species that either are prominent in the aquarium trade or important food fish are native to the Chao Phraya basin, such as the climbing perch, blue panchax, Asian bumblebee catfish,
giant snakehead ''Channa micropeltes'', giant snakehead, giant mudfish or toman harimau, is among the largest species in the family Channidae, capable of growing to in length and a weight of . It is native to the fresh waters of Southeast Asia (South Indian pop ...
, striped snakehead, walking catfish, banded loach, several '' Yasuhikotakia'' loaches, tinfoil barb, Siamese algae eater, silver barb,
pearl danio The pearl danio (''Danio albolineatus'') is a tropical fish belonging to the minnow family Cyprinidae. Originating in Sumatra, Myanmar, and Thailand, this fish is sometimes found in aquariums by fish-keeping hobbyists. It grows to a maximum lengt ...
,
rainbow shark The rainbow shark (''Epalzeorhynchos frenatum'') is a species of Southeast Asian freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae. It is also known as the ruby shark, red-fin shark, red-finned shark, rainbow sharkminnow, green fringelip labeo, whitefin ...
, Hampala barb,
black sharkminnow The black sharkminnow (''Labeo chrysophekadion''), also known as the black shark or black labeo, is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family. It is found in the Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and Bo ...
, '' Leptobarbus rubripinna'', long pectoral-fin minnow, bonylip barb, Jullien's golden carp,
blackline rasbora The blackline rasbora (''Rasbora borapetensis'') is a fish of the family Cyprinidae found in Asia in the Mekong, Chao Phraya, and Mae Klong basins, and also the northern Malay Peninsula. In the aquarium trade, it is known by a variety of other ...
, scissortail rasbora, '' Tor tambroides'', finescale tigerfish, marble goby, Chinese algae eater, giant featherback,
clown featherback The clown featherback, clown knifefish, or spotted knifefish, ''Chitala ornata'', is a nocturnal tropical fish with a long, knife-like body. This knifefish is native to freshwater habitats in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, but it has al ...
, giant gourami, several ''
Trichopodus ''Trichopodus'' (formerly included in ''Trichogaster'') is a genus of tropical freshwater labyrinth fish of the gourami family found in Southeast Asia. Gouramis of the genus ''Trichopodus'' are closely related to those of ''Trichogaster'' (former ...
'' gouramis, iridescent shark, several '' Pangasius'', ''
Belodontichthys ''Belodontichthys'' is a genus of sheatfishes native to Asia. Species There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * '' Belodontichthys dinema'' ( Bleeker, 1851) * '' Belodontichthys truncatus'' Kottelat & Ng, 1999 ''B. dinema' ...
truncatus'', several '' Phalacronotus'' sheatfish, several '' Wallago'' catfish,
largescale archerfish ''Toxotes chatareus'', sometimes known by the common names common archerfish, seven-spot archerfish or largescale archerfish, is a species of perciform fish in the archerfish genus '' Toxotes''.Martin F. Gomon & Dianne J. Bray (2011Sevenspot Arc ...
,
smallscale archerfish The smallscale archerfish (''Toxotes microlepis'') is a perciform fish of genus ''Toxotes''. As its name suggests, the scales of the smallscale archerfish are smaller than those of other archerfish. They reach a maximum length of . Smallscale ar ...
, and wrestling halfbeak.


Pollution

The Thai Pollution Control Department (PCD) reports that the water quality of major rivers flowing into the upper Gulf of Thailand has seriously deteriorated in the past decade. The department found the lower Chao Phraya contains bacteria and nutrient pollution from
phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
s,
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...
, and
nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
. Nutrient pollution causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, harming water quality, food resources for aquatic animals, and marine habitats. It also decreases the oxygen that fish need to survive. PCD rated water quality at the mouth of Chao Phraya at Bangkok's Bang Khun Thian District as "very poor", worse than in 2014, and their findings indicated large amounts of wastewater were discharged into the river from households, industry, and agriculture.In addition, 4,000 metric tons of plastic flows down the river into the Gulf of Thailand every year. To counter this, Thailand's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) signed an agreement with The Ocean Cleanup organization to deploy an Interceptor Original, one of the organization's solar-powered, automated systems, in the river. The system has yet to be deployed as of 2022.


See also

* River Systems of Thailand * Kapuas River


References


Further reading

* ''Bangkok Waterways'', William Warren and R. Ian Lloyd, Asia Books, .


External links


Video Guide to the Chao Phraya River

Chao Phraya River Express

UNESCO World Water Assessment Program on the Chao Phraya



Bangkok Chao Phraya River Boat Trip
a self-guided boat trip on Bangkok's Chao Phraya river. {{Authority control Rivers of Thailand Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of Asia