The Khwae Noi River (, , ) in northern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

is a tributary of the

Nan River The Nan River (, , ; , ) is a river in Thailand. It is one of the most important tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. Geography The Nan River originates in the Luang Prabang Range, Nan Province. The provinces along the river after Nan Prov ...

. It shares the same name as

another river Another River is a river located within Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, in the United States. "Another River" was so named in 1927 by geologists who had already named many other rivers. See also * ...

in Thailand, the popular tourist attraction also known as "The River Kwai." These are two distinct bodies of water.

Etymology

The first element khwae (Thai: แคว) means tributary. The second element noi (Thai: น้อย) means small.

Geography

The river's source lies in the mountains of Chat Trakan District, Phitsanulok Province, within Namtok Chat Trakan National Park. From there, it flows past the agricultural lands of in the Chat Trakan District, and through the Wat Bot, Wang Thong and Phrom Phiram Districts.Khwae Noi Dam Project According to the Royal Initiative
/ref> Finally, the Khwae Noi River joins the

within Chom Thong, Mueang Phitsanulok District. The Khwae Noi River is part of the Chao Phraya River System which ultimately drains into the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

History

The Khwae Noi River has historically been a main waterway, highly significant to the residents of Phitsanulok Province and surrounding areas.Office of the Royal Developments Project Board-The Royal-Initiated Khwae Noi Dam Project, Wat Bot District, Phitsanulok Province
The Khwae Noi River, along with the larger Nan River brought growth and prosperity and served as a communication route for Phitsanulok, and the two rivers gave rise to riparian ways of life which heavily influenced the simple traditional culture of the Thai people in the region.

Tributaries

The principal tributaries of the Khwae Noi are the Om Sing River and the Fua River.

Khwae Noi Dam Project

In recent times, due to climate change, the river has flooded during rainy seasons and damaging valuable farmland and also carrying too much water into the Nan (of which it is a tributary), thereby causing further damage. During the dry season, the water level has been too low, causing drought and harming the agricultural communities in its proximity. As a result of increasing problems with the flow of the river, the royally-initiated Khwae Noi Dam Project was begun in Wat Bot. Construction of the dam was completed in 2008.

References

{{Coord, 16, 53, 55.25, N, 100, 13, 47.96, E, region:TH-65_type:river_source:dewiki, display=title Rivers of Thailand Nan River