The Bang Pakong ( th, แม่น้ำบางปะกง, , ) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in east

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 ...

. The river originates at the confluence of the Phra Prong River and the Hanuman River near Kabin Buri,

Prachinburi Province Prachinburi province ( th, ปราจีนบุรี, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (''changwat''), it lies in eastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Nakhon Ratchasima, Sa Kaeo, Chachoengsao, an ...

. It empties after 231 kilometres into the Gulf of Thailand at the northeastern tip of the Bay of Bangkok. The watershed of the Bang Pakong is about . The river powers a power station near its mouth, near Highway 7. To protect the

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, fishermen on the Bang Pakong River have been persuaded by authorities to stop shrimping and 30 to 40 fishing boats have been modified so they can offer dolphin sightseeing tours.

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 cent ...

settlements include Muang Phra Rot, Dong Si Maha Phot, Dong Lakhon, and Ban Khu Muang. Dvaravati coins have been found at U-Tapao.Higham, C., 2014, ''Early Mainland Southeast Asia''. Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd.,

Toponymy

Its name "Bang Pakong" is believed to be distorted from the word "Bang Mangkong" (บางมังกง), refers to "place of Mangkong", for "Mangong" is Thai word meaning long whiskers catfish (''Mystus gulio''), a species of brackish water

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

that used to be found in this river. This name has been mentioned in Sunthorn Phu's poem ''Nirat Mueang Klaeng'' (นิราศเมืองแกลง, "journey to Klaeng") since early Rattanakosin period. Anyway, it is also proposed that the name may have a Khmer origin as a mixture of "Bang" in Thai, meaning "estuary community", and the word "Bongkong" (បង្កង) in Khmer meaning "

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...

". Overall, it means "the river full of prawn". Moreover, this river is known locally in Chachoengsao Province as Jolo River (แม่น้ำโจ้โล้, zh, 左鲈河,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

: ''zuǒ lú hé''), from the Teochew name for the

barramundi The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, Sout ...

(''Lates calcarifer'') because of the abundance of this species of fish. Famous temples along the river include Wat Pak Nam Jolo and

Wat Sothonwararam Wat Sothonwararam is a temple in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand. Located in the Municipality of Mueang Chachoengsao alongside the Bang Pakong River, it was initially named ‘Wat Hong,’ and was built in the late Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or ...

with Wat Saman Rattanaram.

Tributaries

* Nakhon Nayok River

References

Rivers of Thailand Bay of Bangkok {{Thailand-river-stub