The Bassac River ( km, ទន្លេបាសាក់; Tonlé Bassac) is a

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of the

Tonlé Sap Tonlé Sap (; km, ទន្លេសាប, ; or commonly translated as 'Great Lake'; vi, Biển Hồ, Chữ Hán: 湖海/壺海) is a lake in the northwest of Cambodia. It belongs to the Mekong River system. It is the largest freshwater l ...

and

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

. The river starts in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

, and flows southerly, crossing the border into

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

near

Châu Đốc Châu Đốc is a city in An Giang Province, bordering Cambodia, in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2013, the city had a population of 157,298, and cover an area of . The city is located by the Hậu River (a branch of the Mekong Rive ...

. The name Bassac comes from the Khmer prefix “pa” (father or male) added to sak (សក្តិ) (power or honor), a Khmer word borrowed from the Sanskrit “sakti” (शक्ति). In Vietnam it is known as the Hậu River (''Sông Hậu'' or ''Hậu Giang'' in Vietnamese). The Bassac River is an important transportation corridor between Cambodia and Vietnam, with barges and other craft plying the waters. A city of the same name was once the west-bank capital of the

Kingdom of Champasak The Kingdom of Champasak (Lao: ຈຳປາສັກ ɕàmpàːsák or Bassac, (1713–1904) was a Lao kingdom under Nokasad, a grandson of King Sourigna Vongsa, the last king of Lan Xang and son-in-law of the Cambodian King Chey Chet ...

. Sak (សក្តិ) can also be seen in the Khmer spelling of Champasak; (ចំប៉ាសក្តិ). USS ''Satyr'' (ARL-23), a recommissioned

repair ship A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...

originally built for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, served on the Bassac River during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Three bridges span the Bassac: the

Monivong Sisowath Monivong ( km, ស៊ីសុវត្ថិ មុនីវង្ស, ;Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Langua ...

and Takhmao bridges in

and the

Cần Thơ Bridge Cần Thơ Bridge ( vi, Cầu Cần Thơ), is a cable-stayed bridge over the Hậu ( Bassac) River, the largest distributary of the Mekong River, in the city of Cần Thơ in southern Vietnam. The bridge is 2.75 kilometres long (1.68 miles). It ha ...

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ, also written as Can Tho or Cantho (: , : ), is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque r ...

. Approximately 8.5 kilometers to Prey Basak lies a ruined ancient temple called Prasat Prey Basak Temple, which was destroyed during the Vietnam War due to heavy bombing from the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

. Prasat Prey Basak Temple was built by the

Funan Kingdom Funan (; km, ហ៊្វូណន, ; vi, Phù Nam, Chữ Hán: ) was the name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states ''(Mandala)''—located in mainla ...

during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The temple is dated between 1,900 and 2,000 years old. It is considered to be the oldest prasat in Cambodia.

Gallery

File:Aerial_View_of_Bassac_River.jpg, Aerial View of Bassac River at Takhmao File:Basac River at Takhmao.jpg, Aerial View of Takhmao Bridge and Basac River at Takhmao File:Aerial_View_of_National_Highway_2_and_Bassac_River.jpg, National Highway 2 and Bassac River View from Kbal Thnol, Chak Angre File:Aerial_View_of_Kbal_Thnol_Overpass_Area.jpg, Aerial View of Bassac River and Surrounding Area ( Monivong Boulevard, Chbar Ampov etc.) Svay_Tany_Ferry_Dock_over_Bassac_River_(S'ang_District,_Kandal).jpg, Svay Tany Ferry Dock over Bassac River at S'ang District, Kandal Province

References

Distributaries Rivers of Cambodia Tonlé Sap Mekong River Geography of Phnom Penh International rivers of Asia Rivers of An Giang province Rivers of Cần Thơ Rivers of Hậu Giang province Rivers of Sóc Trăng province Rivers of Trà Vinh province Rivers of Vĩnh Long province Rivers of Vietnam {{Vietnam-river-stub