Pathein River ပုသိမ်မြစ် Ngawun River ငဝန်းမြစ် | |
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Location | |
Country | Myanmar |
Region | Ayeyarwady Region |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Irrawaddy River near Hinthada |
• elevation | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
Mouth | |
• location | Andaman Sea |
• elevation | 0 ft (0 m) |
Length | 183.5 km (114.0 mi) |
Basin features | |
Cities | Lemyethna, Ngathaingchaung, Thabaung, Pathein, Ngapudaw, Hainggyi Island |
The Pathein River ( Burmese: ပုသိမ်မြစ်), formerly called the Bassein River, is the westernmost distributary of the Irrawaddy river in the Irrawaddy delta of Myanmar flowing through Ayeyarwady Region. [1] The river is also interchangeably known as the Ngawun River ( Burmese: ငဝန်းမြစ်). [2]
Seafaring vessels are able to travel about 75 miles (121 km) inland up the Pathein River to the city of Pathein. [3] As far south as Thabaung Township, about 20 miles north of Pathein, the river becomes prone to seasonal flooding in a flood plain environment. [4]
The river also provides fresh water to the city of Pathein through a treatment plant in the village of Mayanchaung. [5]
The river diverges from the Ayeyarwady in southeastern Ingapu Township, close to the city of Hinthada. [6] The Pathein river is part of the tide-dominated Irrawaddy delta system and has several distributaries of its own. [1] The overall Pathein distributary system carries less than 10% of the Ayeyarwady River's total discharge volume. [7] It flows southwards and empties into the Andaman Sea next to Hainggyi Island. [8]
The mouth of the Pathein River is home to nesting beaches for five species of marine turtles, including the rare Hawksbill sea turtle and Leatherback sea turtle species. [9] Thameehla Island at the mouth of the Pathein River is known to be a major nesting ground for Green sea turtle and is the location of a conservation effort by the Department of Fisheries. [10]