Ayeyarwady River

Please help improve this article or sectionby expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk pageor at requests for expansion. (May 2008)

Ayeyarwaddy (ဧရာဝတီမ္ရစ) Irrawaddy Temporary farming settlements on islands of Ayeyarwady River Country BurmaMajor cities Mandalay, Bagan, BhamoLength 2,170 km(1,348 mi) Watershed 411,000 km² (158,688 sq mi) Primary source Mali RiverOther source N'Mai Mouth Indian Ocean

The Ayeyarwady River or Irrawaddy River (Burmese: ဧရာဝတီမ္ရစ္; MLCTS: ei: ra wa. ti mrac) is a river that flows from North to South of Burma (Myanmar). It is the country's largest river (about 1350 miles or 2170 km long) and its most important commercial waterway, with a drainage area of about 158,700 square miles (411,000 km²).

The Ayeyarwaddy River starts in the North of Kachin State, at the confluence of the Mali Hka and N'Mai Hka rivers. The western Mali Hka branch arises from the end of the southern Himalayas, north of Putao, and (like the main river) is called Nam Kiu in the Shan language.

Built in 1934, the Ava Bridge near Sagaing, Burma, was the only bridge over the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River until 1998.

The Ayeyarwaddy River bisects the country from north to south and empties through a nine-armed Irrawaddy Delta into the Indian Ocean. In colonial times, before railways and automobiles, the river was known as the "Road to Mandalay". Although navigable by large vessels to Myitkyina for a distance over 1600 km from the ocean, the river is also full of sandbanks and islands, making such navigation difficult. For many years, the only bridge built to cross the Ayeyarwady River was the Inwa Bridge.

1 Etymology
2 Economy and Politics
3 Major Cities and Town
4 External links

Etymology

The names Irrawaddy and Ayeyarwady are believed to have derived either from the Sanskrit name Iravati, a sacred river and minor goddess in Indian mythology, or from her son Airavata, the elephant mount of Indra.

The Irrawaddy gives its name to a dolphin, the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), which is found in the river. Though sometimes called the Irrawaddy River Dolphin, it is not a true river dolphin, since it is also found at sea.