The Mergui Archipelago (also Myeik Archipelago or ''Myeik Kyunzu''; my, မြိတ်ကျွန်းစု) is located in far southern
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 ...
(Burma) and is part of the
Tanintharyi Region
Tanintharyi Region ( my, တနင်္သာရီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; Mon: or ; ms, Tanah Sari; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, th, ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: ''Tanao Si'', ...
. It consists of more than 800
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
s, varying in size from very small to hundreds of square kilometres, all lying in the
Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from ...
off the western shore of the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
near its landward (northern) end where it joins the rest of
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
. They are occasionally referred to as the Pashu Islands because the Malay inhabitants are locally called ''Pashu''.
Environment
![Mergui Port](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Mergui_Port.JPG)
Geologically, the islands are characterized mainly by
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
. They are generally covered with thick tropical growth, including
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
, and their shorelines are punctuated by
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
es, rocky headlands, and in some places,
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
swamps. Offshore are extensive
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
s.
The archipelago's virtual isolation from most of mankind's influence on the natural environment has given the islands and the surrounding waters of the
Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from ...
a great diversity of
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
and
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
, contributing to the region's growing popularity as a diving destination, representing endangered
megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...
s such as
whale shark
The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, D ...
s and
dugong
The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...
s.
The area is also important for migrating
cetaceans and the "Whale Bay" in the east of
Kanmaw Kyun was named historical presences of large number of whales. Such variety includes resident population of
Bryde's whale
Bryde's whale ( Brooder's), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research ...
s, occasional
blue whale
The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...
s,
longman's beaked whale
The tropical bottlenose whale (''Indopacetus pacificus''), also known as the Indo-Pacific beaked whale or Longman's beaked whale, was considered to be the world's rarest cetacean until recently, but the spade-toothed whale now holds that positio ...
s,
strap-toothed whale
The strap-toothed beaked whale (''Mesoplodon layardii''), also known as Layard's beaked whale, is one of the largest members of the mesoplodont genus, growing to in length and reaching up to .
The common and scientific name was given in honor o ...
s, and
killer whale
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...
s,
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s,
finless porpoise
''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. ...
s, and
Irrawaddy dolphin
The Irrawaddy dolphin (''Orcaella brevirostris'') is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in scattered subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. It closely resembles the ...
s.
On the islands themselves, various animals thrive, including
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
,
monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
s, tropical birds including
hornbills
Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandibl ...
, and
wild swine
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...
. There are even unconfirmed reports of
Sumatran rhinoceros
The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis''), also known as the Sumatran rhino, hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros, is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is the o ...
on
Lanbi, one of the bigger islands, but this has been widely discredited.
![Lampis Island River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Lampis_Island_River.JPG)
Environmental threats to the region include
overfishing
Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...
and also
blast fishing
Blast fishing, fish bombing, dynamite fishing or grenade fishing is a destructive fishing practice using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. This often illegal practice is extremely destructive to the surrounding e ...
. Myanmar's current
military government, the "
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council ( my, နိုင်ငံတော် အေးချမ်းသာယာရေး နှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေး ကောင်စီ ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the offi ...
", has not done much to deal with these problems.
Geography
The largest and highest island is
Kadan Kyun at 767 metres across the inland channel from
Myeik.
Other important islands are:
*
Auriol Island
*
Bentinck Kyun
*
Christie Island, the southernmost island of the group
*
Daung Kyun
*
Kabosa Island
Kabosa Island''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 India & Bay of Bengal Enroute'' By National Geospatial-intelligence Agency is an island in the Mergui Archipelago, Burma (Myanmar). It is a 7 km long and roughly square-shaped island located at th ...
*
Kadan Kyun
*
Kanmaw Kyun
*Lamin Island
*
Lanbi Kyun
*
Letsok-aw Kyun
*
Mali Kyun
Mali Kyun (Tavoy Island)''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 India & Bay of Bengal Enroute'' By National Geospatial-intelligence Agency is an island in the Mergui Archipelago, Burma (Myanmar). This long and narrow island at the northern end of the arc ...
, the northernmost island of the group
*
Money Island
*
Sabi Island
Sabi Island (Sabi Kyun or Trotter Island"Trotter Island (Variant)" , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) is an island in the Mergui Archipelago of Taninthayi Region, Burma (Myanmar). It lies between Money Island to the south a ...
*
Saganthit Kyun
*
Tenasserim Island
Tenasserim Island''Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 India & Bay of Bengal Enroute'' By National Geospatial-intelligence Agency is an island in the Mergui Archipelago, Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wiki ...
*
Thahtay Kyun
*
Than Kyun
Than Kyun or Davis Island is an island at the southern end of the Mergui Archipelago, Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although ...
*
Thayawthadangyi
*
Zadetkyi
History
The archipelago was likely first settled by Malay sailors who arrived from the south. However, it remained largely uninhabited until the 20th century. Malays and Chinese traders used the inner waters to escape the southwest monsoon, while larger ships avoided the complicated maritime geography. Pirates and slavers also used it as a refuge, because it was almost impossible to control. For this reason, the Moken people found refuge here until the modern world intervened.
The islands began to be accurately charted only after British occupation in 1824. First, Captain Ross surveyed the outer islands in the late 1820s, followed by Captain Lloyd in the inner islands in the late 1830s. Also at that time, between 1838 and 1840, Dr. Johann W. Helfer explored all aspects of the archipelago on behalf of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. A transcription of his journal, along with interactive maps showing his routes, is listed below in the external links.
Population
The local people are an ethnic minority called the
Moken
The Moken (also ''Mawken or'' ''Morgan''; ; th, ชาวเล, lit=sea people, translit=chao le) are an Austronesian people of the Mergui Archipelago, a group of approximately 800 islands claimed by both Myanmar and Thailand. Most of the 2,0 ...
, sometimes known as Sea Gypsies, although this term actually covers several groups in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. They are a sea-dwelling people and they follow a traditional way of life, doing things such as fishing and building boats very much the way they have done for centuries. They can be found living on their traditional boats during the dry season, but usually keep to land in the rainy season. The Moken claim that the islands were detached from the mainland after a
great mythological flood.
Violence by the military regime in the archipelago
The Mergui Archipelago is located in
Tanintharyi Region
Tanintharyi Region ( my, တနင်္သာရီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; Mon: or ; ms, Tanah Sari; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, th, ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: ''Tanao Si'', ...
, one of the regions heavily impacted by violence during the
Burmese Civil War. Violence in the Mergui archipelago has often targeted civilians including the massacres of fishermen and the entire population of the picturesque
Christie Island.
Tourism
The area was only opened up to foreign tourism in 1997 after negotiations between Myanmar and dive operators from
Phuket
Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...
in Thailand.
The archipelago's isolation is such that much of it has not even yet been thoroughly explored. The best diving conditions exist from December to April, with whale sharks and
manta ray
Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular Pectoral fin#AnchPect ...
s visiting from February to May. A five-star casino and golf resort, the
Andaman Club Andaman Club is a five-star island casino and golf resort in Burma. It is located on 730 ha (1,800 acres) of Thahtay Kyun Island within the Mergui Archipelago in the Andaman Sea. Directly adjacent to Ranong, in the south of Thailand and to King ...
now operates on
Thahtay Kyun.
In popular culture
*In the 1965 James Bond film ''
Thunderball'',
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and villain from the James Bond series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agen ...
demands that
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
pay the international criminal organization
SPECTRE
Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to:
Religion and spirituality
* Vision (spirituality)
* Apparitional experience
* Ghost
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...
a ransom of white flawless diamonds worth £100 million to be deposited in the Mergui Archipelago off the coast of Myanmar.
*The Mergui Archipelago has appeared in several of
W.E. Johns's "
Biggles
James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance ...
" books: ''Biggles – Air Commodore'' (1937), ''Biggles Delivers the Goods'' (1946), and ''Biggles and the Lost Sovereigns'' (1964).
References
External links
Reading list of books on the Mergui Archipelago and the Moken peopleHelfer in the Islands - a web-app based on the journal of Dr. Johann W. Helfer in the Mergui Archipelago, 1838-40
{{Coord, 12, 00, N, 98, 00, E, display=title, region:MM_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki
Underwater diving sites in Myanmar
Tourism in Myanmar