Southeast Asia: Transition among the Nagas - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 386

Sumatra in Indonesia, and the subsequent tsunami, had a
devastating effect in the region, especially in Aceh in
northern Sumatra (see Chapter 16). Nearly 80,000 people
were killed in Indonesia alone.
Throughout this unstable region, mountains domi-
nate over plains. The hills of Myanmar are cut by the
Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River. The Ayeyarwady Delta is
used extensively for rice cultivation. The highly dissected
Shan Plateau of eastern Myanmar rises over 4,000 feet
(1,200 m) in many places.
T To the south, in Thailand, is the delta of the Chao
Praya. The Chao Praya flows from the Thai highlands to
Bangkok. Since this river is confined in a geological
trough, its delta is elongated rather than fan-shaped.
Alluvial lowlands extend nearly 310 miles (500 km)
upstream from the Gulf of Thailand.
Southeast of the Shan Plateau is the Khorat Plateau of
eastern Thailand. The Khorat, at an elevation of just under
1,000 feet (300 m), is edged by higher escarpments. The
Khorat is thus separated from the rest of the country . South
of the Khorat Plateau lies the lowland of the Cambodian
Basin with Lake T Tonle Sap in the lowest, middle portion. In
the wet season, the Mekong River drainage rolls inward to
fill the lake up to six times its average depth. T Tonle Sap
extends from 1,600 square miles (2,580 km 2 ) in the dry
season to 12,400 square miles (20,000 km 2 ) in the wet.
The Mekong River, called the Mégôngk or T Tonle
Thom (“great river”) in Cambodian, flows to the east of
the Cambodian Basin. The longest river of Southeast
Asia, the Mekong has constructed an expansive delta
starting at Phnom Penh in Cambodia and extending

175 miles (282 km) into the sea. This vast, alluvial delta
has developed as the heartland of southern Vietnam.

The Mekong

The Mekong—“tiger river” or “mother river”—
is the twelfth longest river in the world (Figure 14-2).
Originating in the Tibetan Highlands of China' s
Qinghai Province, the river flows 2,600 miles
(4,184 km) through southwestern China, along the
borders of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand, across
Cambodia, and down through Vietnam, where it
sprawls across the 26,000-square-mile (67,340 km 2 )
Mekong Delta to the South China Sea. One-third of
the population of the latter four countries lives in
the lower Mekong Basin.
The Mekong cultural realm is overwhelmingly
rural. Most of the region is poor, with people
engaging primarily in rice cultivation and fishing.
However, as foreign aid and investment increase
and modern development ensues, both landscapes
and lifestyles are being transformed rapidly .
Increased population pressure and resource
demands, coupled with uncoordinated policies
and regulations, are threatening both human and
physical environments.
Although the river is an artery of human
activity , upstream rapids and waterfalls have

Figure 14-2
I am standing on the Laotian side of the Mekong
looking at Thailand. It is January (dry season)
and the river level is low . At this time it is quite
easy to get across from one country to the other .
The story is different in the wet monsoon when
the water rises to inundate the shores. The current
is fierce and it is dangerous to cross. The building,
where the canoes are docked, floats and rises and
falls with changing water levels. Photograph
courtesy of B. A. Weightman.