The Kok River ( th, น้ำแม่กก, , ) is a

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 ...

river of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

that flows in

Chiang Rai Chiang Rai ( th, เชียงราย, ; nod, , เจียงฮาย, ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai ...

and

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

provinces in

northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is geographically characterised by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them. Though like most of Thailand ...

Source

The river originates in the

Daen Lao Range The Daen Lao Range ( th, ทิวเขาแดนลาว,
; my, Loi La) is a mountain range of t ...

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...

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 ...

. It flows eastwards across the

Myanmar–Thailand border The Myanmar–Thailand border is the international border between the territory of Myanmar (formerly ''Burma'') and Thailand. The border is 2,416 km (1,501 m) in length and runs from the tripoint with Laos in the north to Andaman Sea coast in ...

, crossing at the Thai border town of

Tha Ton Tha Ton, also spelled Thaton ( th, ท่าตอน), is a sub-district (''tambon'') of Mae Ai District in the far north of Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. In 2014 it had a population of 19,902. The sub-district is on the Kok River near the borde ...

( th, ท่าตอน, also spelled "Thaton" ). It flows to Mae Ai District,

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...

. Most of its length in Thailand is in Chiang Rai Province where it passes Mueang Chiang Rai District after which it bends northeastwards and flows through Mae Chan, Wiang Chai and

Chiang Saen Chiang Saen may refer to: * Chiang Saen District, in Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand * Chiang Saen, a capital of the ancient Lanna The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้� ...

districts. It is a wide, shallow, and slow-moving river. There is about of small-scale

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

halfway between the towns of Tha Ton and Chiang Rai. For several kilometres downriver from Chiang Rai, the river becomes a lake, until it reaches the irrigation dam near Wiang Chai. The Kok River is a

of the

River, with its mouth at Sop Kok in Chiang Saen District, opposite the Lao border.

Phahonyothin Road Phahonyothin Road ( th, ถนนพหลโยธิน, , ) or Highway 1 is a main road in Bangkok and one of the four primary highways in Thailand, which include Mittraphap Road (Highway 2), Sukhumvit Road (Highway 3), and Phet Kasem Road (Hi ...

crosses this river near Chiang Rai City. Altogether, there are five bridges crossing the Kok River near Chiang Rai city.

Tributaries

The main tributaries of the Kok River are the

Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...

and the Lao River, the latter having its source in the

Phi Pan Nam Range The Phi Pan Nam Range, also Pee Pan Nam, ( th, ทิวเขาผีปันน้ำ) is a long system of mountain ranges in the eastern half of the Thai highlands. It is mostly in Thailand, although a small section in the northeast is w ...

Dams

There is a small dam with 11 gates which provides irrigation for rice fields east of Chiang Rai. The dam is east of the Hwy 1 bridge. It turns the river into a lake, several miles long, for eight months of the year. Additionally, there is a dam planned on the Burmese side of where the river flows into Thailand, about upstream from the border.

''Top Gear''

In October 2013 the cast and crew of the British television show ''Top Gear'' constructed a bridge over the Kok as part of their Burma Special. The bridge was originally planned to be built over the River Kwai, but the River Fang which flows into the Kok was chosen "accidentally". The show aired in two parts on 9 March 2014 and 16 March 2014. Following production of the episode, the bridge was taken down, despite the producers and crew wanting it to stay in use for the locals.

References

External links

Kok and Northern Mekong RBCThailand: flooding hit several northern and northeastern provincesSome Selected Wetlands in the Mekong River Basin of ThailandKok River Basin in Thailand
{{Clear Kok Rivers of Myanmar International rivers of Asia Tributaries of the Mekong River Geography of Chiang Rai province