Mount Popa
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Mount Popa (, ) is a dormant
volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
1518 metres (4981 feet) above sea level, and located in central
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 ...
in the region of
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
about southeast of
Bagan Bagan (, ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that wou ...
(Pagan) in the
Pegu Range The Pegu Range ( my, ပဲခူးရိုးမ; Pegu Yoma or Bago Yoma) is a range of low mountains or hillsSeekins, Donald M. (2006) ''Historical dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)'' Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Marylandpage 357 and uplands between ...
. It can be seen from the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River as far away as in clear weather. Mount Popa is a pilgrimage site, with numerous
Nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National As ...
temples and relic sites atop the mountain.


Name

The name ''Popa'' is believed to come from the
Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
/
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ''puppha'' meaning flower.Htin Aung, Maung "Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism",
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
: London, 1962.


Geology

The main edifice of the volcano is composed of
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
and
basaltic andesite Basaltic andesite is a volcanic rock that is intermediate in composition between basalt and andesite. It is composed predominantly of augite and plagioclase. Basaltic andesite can be found in volcanoes around the world, including in Central Ameri ...
lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or und ...
s, along with
pyroclastic Pyroclastic rocks (derived from the el, πῦρ, links=no, meaning fire; and , meaning broken) are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroc ...
deposits and
scoria Scoria is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock that was ejected from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains or clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) ''G ...
ceous material, originating from strombolian eruptions which are thought to have made up the later stages of the volcano's growth. The volcano also contains a wide and deep
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
that is breached to the northwest and is thought to have formed due to failure of the volcano's slopes. A
debris avalanche Debris flows are geological phenomena in which water-laden masses of soil and fragmented rock rush down mountainsides, funnel into stream channels, entrain objects in their paths, and form thick, muddy deposits on valley floors. They generally ...
can be found to the north of the caldera's breach. It covers an area of .


Ecology


Flora and fauna

Popa Mountain contains five separate forest ecosystems, including dry forest, Than-Dahat forest and
Thorn forest A thorn forest is a dense scrubland with vegetation characteristic of dry subtropical and warm temperate areas with a seasonal rainfall averaging . Regions Africa Is present in the southwest of Africa Africa is the world's second-largest ...
. The
sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...
forest in Burma is not native. It is located approximately two miles away from the resort there is a regrowth of a planted forest that was cut down in the 1970s by poachers. Flora on the mountain includes the yellow, white, and green blooms of the Sagawa tree, as well as shrubs, and bamboo forests. Popa Mountain has known medicinal plants such as
Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial herbaceous plants, but a few grow as ...
, ''
Tinospora cordifolia ''Tinospora cordifolia'' (common names gurjo, heart-leaved moonseed, guduchi or giloy) is a herbaceous vine of the family Menispermaceae indigenous to tropical regions of the Indian subcontinent. It has been used in Ayurveda to treat various diso ...
'', and ''
Withania somnifera ''Withania somnifera'', known commonly as ashwagandha or winter cherry, is an evergreen shrub in the Solanaceae or nightshade family that grows in India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. Several other species in the genus ''Withania'' are m ...
'' bark. The soil around the mountain is rich due to the past volcanic activity. Crops grown include cauliflower,
capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to Americas, the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come f ...
, celery leaf, chili,
coriander Coriander (;
,
citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed throu ...
,
eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mos ...
, kalian,
lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...
, lime, lemon, mint, green mustard, pennywort, radish, roselle, tomato,
jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...
,
papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...
, strawberry, banana, lettuce, broccoli and Thai ginger. The dry season is used for vegetable growing, while the rainy season is used for fruits.


Wildlife

Mount Popa has an assortment of butterflies and birds. A species of lizard, '' Lygosoma popae'', is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to and named after Mount Popa. Bird watchers that visit can observe birds such as the
red-billed blue magpie The red-billed blue magpie (''Urocissa erythroryncha'') is a species of bird in the crow family, Corvidae. It is about the same size as the Eurasian magpie, but has a much longer tail, one of the longest of any corvid. It is long and weighs . T ...
, the chestnut-flanked white-eye, and the blue-throated barbet. Butterflies include the leopard lacewing and the magpie crow. The monkeys may be the most well known species on Popa Mountain, and the mountain is home to the largest population of the newly described and critically endangered
Popa Langur The Popa langur (''Trachypithecus popa'') is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It occurs only in Myanmar and was named after Mount Popa, where a population of 100 of the monkeys live. It is listed as Critically Endangered on th ...
monkey. Macaque monkeys also roam wild creating all sorts of havoc on the mountain.


Features

Southwest of Mount Popa is Taung Kalat (pedestal hill), a sheer-sided
volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged mag ...
, which rises 657 metres (2,156 ft) above the sea level. A
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
is located at the summit of Taung Kalat. At one time, the Buddhist hermit
U Khandi U Khandi (1868 – 14 January 1949) was a Burmese hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. De ...
maintained the stairway of 777 steps to the summit of Taung Kalat. The Taung Kalat pedestal hill is sometimes itself called Mount Popa and given that Mount Popa is the name of the actual volcano that caused the creation of the volcanic plug, to avoid confusion, the volcano (with its
crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...
blown open on one side) is generally called Taung Ma-gyi (mother hill). The volcanic crater itself is a mile in diameter.Fay, Peter Ward "The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence 1942-1945",
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
Press: 1995.
From the top of Taung Kalat one can enjoy a panoramic view. One can see the ancient city of
Bagan Bagan (, ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that wou ...
; behind it to the north, the massive solitary conical peak of Taung Ma-gyi rises like
Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. There is a big
caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
, 610 metres (2,000 ft) wide and 914 metres (3,000 ft) in depth so that from different directions the mountain takes different forms with more than one peak. The surrounding areas are arid, but the Mt Popa area has over 200 springs and streams. It is therefore likened to an
oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
in the desert-like dry central zone of Burma. This means the surrounding landscape is characterized by prickly bushes and stunted trees as opposed to the lush forests and rivers Burma is famous for. Plenty of trees, flowering plants and herbs grow due to the fertile soil from the
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
. Prominent among the
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 ...
are
macaque The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principally ...
monkeys that have become a tourist attraction on Taung Kalat.


History and legend

Many legends are associated with this mountain including its dubious creation from a great earthquake and the mountain erupted out of the ground in 442 BC. It is possible that the legends about Nats represent a heritage of earlier
animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
religions in Burmese countryside, which were syncreticised with
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
religion in the 11th century. Mount Popa is considered the abode of Burma's most powerful
Nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National As ...
s and as such is the most important nat worship center. It has therefore been called Burma's
Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
. One legend tells about brother and sister MinMahagiri (Great Mountain) nats, from the kingdom of Tagaung at the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy, who sought refuge from King Thaylekyaung of Bagan (344-387). Their wish was granted and they were enshrined on Mt Popa. Another legend tells about Popa Medaw (Royal Mother of Popa), who according to legend was a flower-eating
ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...
ss called Me Wunna; she lived at Popa. She fell in love with Byatta, whose royal duty was to gather flowers from Popa for King
Anawrahta Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
of Bagan (1044–1077). Byatta was executed for disobeying the king who disapproved of the liaison, and their sons were later taken away to the palace. Me Wunna died of a broken heart and, like Byatta, became a nat. Their sons also became heroes in the king's service but were later executed for neglecting their duty during the construction of a pagoda at Taungbyone near
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
. They too became powerful nats but they remained in Taungbyone where a major festival is held annually in the month of ''Wagaung'' (August). Although all 37 Nats of the official pantheon are represented at the shrine on Mt Popa, in fact only four of them - the Mahagiri nats, Byatta and Me Wunna - have their abode here.


Tourism

Many Burmese pilgrims visit Mount Popa every year, especially at festival season on the full moon of ''Nayon'' (May/June) and the full moon of ''Nadaw'' (November/December). Local people from the foot of Mount Popa, at
Kyaukpadaung Kyaukpadaung ( my, ကျောက်ပန်းတောင်းမြို့ ) is a town in Mandalay Region in Central Myanmar. It lies just south-west of Mount Popa. It is the administrative seat for Kyaukpadaung Township. History The nam ...
(10-miles), go mass-hiking to the peak during December and also in April when the Myanmar new year called
Thingyan Thingyan (, ; Arakanese: ; from Sanskrit '' saṁkrānti,'' which means "transit f the Sun from Pisces to Aries) is the Burmese New Year Festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan is the first ever water festival celebrated in ...
festival is celebrated. Before King
Anawrahta Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
's time, hundreds of animals were sacrificed to the nats during festivals. Burmese superstition says that on Mount Popa, one should not wear red or black or green or bring meat, especially pork, as it could offend the resident nats. A monkey that is new to science has recently been discovered in the forests of Mount Popa. The
Popa langur The Popa langur (''Trachypithecus popa'') is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It occurs only in Myanmar and was named after Mount Popa, where a population of 100 of the monkeys live. It is listed as Critically Endangered on th ...
, named after its home on Mount Popa, is critically endangered with numbers down to about 200 individuals. Langurs are a group of leaf-eating monkeys that are found across Southeast Asia. The newly described animal is known for its distinctive spectacle-like eye patches and greyish fur.


Development

Mount Popa is now a designated
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
and
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
. The nearby Kyetmauk Taung
Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
provides sufficient water for gardens and orchards producing jackfruit, banana, mango and papaya as well as flowering trees such as ''saga'' (
Champac ''Magnolia champaca'', known in English as champak (), is a large evergreen tree in the family Magnoliaceae.
) and ''gant gaw'' (
Mesua ferrea ''Mesua ferrea'', the Ceylon ironwood, or cobra saffron, is a species in the family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful sha ...
Linn). A
pozzolan Pozzolans are a broad class of Silicon_dioxide, siliceous and aluminium oxide, aluminous materials which, in themselves, possess little or no cementitious value but which will, in finely divided form and in the presence of water, react chemically ...
mill to supply material for the construction of Yeywa
Dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
on
Myitnge River Myitnge River ( my, မြစ်ငယ် or Nam Tu, also known as Dokhtawaddy River (), is a major tributary of Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy) in Myanmar (Burma). The name Myitnge in Burmese and Dokhtawaddy in Pali both mean "little river", by cont ...
near
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
is in operation. There are many Burmese myths about the mountain, including one which says that any man who collected their army on the slopes of the mountain was guaranteed victory. People travel great distances to Mount Popa in the hope of securing good luck, and the mountain hosts an annual festival which takes place in the temple on its summit. The festival involves a transgender medium being possessed by a nat spirit which give him the ability to communicate between the nats and the people.


See also

*
List of mountains in Burma The following is a list of mountains in Myanmar (Burma). The elevations are in metres. For the names of the mountains in the Latin script the most common transcription has been adopted. Note: Many mountains in the country are important not b ...


References

* Burmese Encyclopedia, Vol. 7, p. 61. Printed in 1963. *


Notes


External links


The petrology and mineralogy of Mt. Popa Volcano and the nature of the late-Cenozoic Burma Volcanic Arc
D Stephenson and T R Marshall, ''Journal of the
Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...
'', July 1984
Britannica Article on Mount Popa



Mt Popa
Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
photo pool
Legend of the Mount Popa
Evelina Rioukhina, Magazine ''UN Special'', March 2003



Andrew Sinclair, ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', June 8, 1986 {{DEFAULTSORT:Popa Mountains of Myanmar Volcanoes of Myanmar Tourist attractions in Myanmar Holocene stratovolcanoes Inactive volcanoes Volcanic plugs of Asia Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar Mandalay Region Calderas of Asia Popa