The N'Mai River or N'Mai Hka ( my, မေခမြစ်, ) is a river in northern
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).
Course
The N'Mai, runs parallel to the
Mali River
The Mali River (''Mali Hka'') is a river that originates in the hills of Kachin State, in the northern border of Myanmar. It flows approximately 320 km, when it meets with the N'Mai River and forms the Ayeyarwady River.
History
Construction ...
, and has its source in the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
n
glaciers of eastern
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
at about 28° north latitude.
[Kalaya Lu]
"Abstract: Floradiversity of North-eastern Kachin Myanmar Section of Sino-himalaya (N'mai Hka-Than Lwin Water Division)"
Myitkyina University, Faculty of Botanics, 2006. Accessed June 27, 2009. It is not navigable because of strong currents. The N'mai River ends at its
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 ...
(''Myit-son'') with the Mali River in
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 ...
where the two rivers form the start of the
Ayeyarwady 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. Orig ...
.
The confluence is "one of the most significant cultural heritage sites for the Kachin people and an important landmark for all of Burma."
[Burma Rivers Network,]
Irrawaddy/N'Mai/Mali Dams
, 2009" Construction of the
Myitsone Dam
The Myitsone Dam ( my, မြစ်ဆုံ တာတမံ ; 'Confluence Dam') is a large dam and hydroelectric power development project which was planned to be built in northern Myanmar (also known as Burma). The proposed construction site ...
has begun at this confluence.
History
The British forester and ornithologist,
Bertram E. Smythies
Bertram Evelyn (Bill) Smythies (11 July 1912 (Nainital, India) – 27 June 1999 (Redhill, England)) was a British forester and ornithologist.
Life
Bertram 'Bill' Smythies, the elder brother of John Raymond Smythies, was born in India in 1912 ...
studied the area in the 1940s. More recently, Kalaya Lu, Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Botany at Myitkyina University between 2002 and 2006, published a paper on plant diversity in the river watershed, concluding it consists of many different ecosystems, changing in elevation from 800 metres to more than 4,600 metres, and containing among the richest areas of Sino-Himalaya flora diversity in the world.
In 2007, the government of Myanmar signed an agreement with
China Power Investment Corporation
China Power Investment Corporation also known as CPI Group was one of the five largest state-owned electricity producers in mainland China. It was administrated by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the ...
to construct a series of dams on the Ayeyarwady, Mali, and N’Mai rivers. Up to five dams were proposed for the N'Mai, one on the Mali and one at the confluence. This dam, the largest of the seven, would destroy the confluence.
Construction started in 2008 and a local protest about one of the dams at
Chibwe met with government suppression.
[Burma News Network]
"Christian leaders questioned over anti-dam campaign"
July 29, 2008.
See also
*
Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
The Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, which lies between the tree line and snow line in the eastern portion of the Himalaya Range.
Setting
The ...
*
Northern Triangle temperate forests
The Northern Triangle temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of thick forest covering the mountains of northern Myanmar.
Setting
The Northern Triangle temperate forests occupy the southern slopes of the Namkiu Mount ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
* Earth Snapshot
Satellite image
Rivers of Myanmar