The Gyeongho River is a river in western
Gyeongsangnam-do
South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...
in southern
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. It rises on the eastern slopes of
Jirisan
Jirisan is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island's Hallasan, and the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea.
The 1915m-high mountain is located in Jiri ...
and flows around the edge of
Jirisan National Park
Jirisan National Park ( ko, 지리산국립공원, 智異山國立公園) is a national park in South Korea, located on the boundaries of Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do. It is also located bordering the towns of Namwon, Gurye, a ...
, joining the
Deokcheon River at
Jinyang Lake
Jinyang Lake is a reservoir covering portions of Jinju and Sacheon in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. The water surface covers approximately 29 km². It was formed in 1970, by the construction of a dam where the Gyeongho and Deokcheon ri ...
. Thereafter it drains into the
Nam River, and then into the
Nakdong River
The Nakdonggang River or Nakdonggang () is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Korea's Three Kingdoms Er ...
, which carries its waters into the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
(East Sea).
The Gyeongho River is thus named because it is said its 'water is as clear as a mirror'. The river's clarity and spectacular scenery of the areas through which it passes prompted poets, writers and artists to record the river's beauty in verse and on canvas.
The Gyeongho River also draws adventure-seekers. It is wide, with few boulders, making it a wonderful river for rafting. It has even been touted as the only river with rafting opportunity south of the
Han River.
Numerous rare species can be found in and near the Gyeongho River, including the endangered
European otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...
.
See also
*
List of rivers
This is a comprehensive list of lists of rivers, organized primarily by continent and country.
General lists
* List of drainage basins by area (including rivers, lakes, and endorheic basins)
* List of largest unfragmented rivers
* List of long ...
References
Rivers of South Gyeongsang Province
Rivers of South Korea
{{SouthKorea-river-stub