View source for Mu River

{{Short description|River in Myanmar}}
{{For|the Mu River in Hokkaidō, Japan|Mu River (Hokkaidō)}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Mu River
| name_native        = {{native name|my|Mu Myit}}
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| nickname           = Mu Chaung
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| image_caption      = Mu River
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<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[Burma]]
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| length             = {{convert|275|km|mi|abbr=on}}
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| discharge1_location= Near mouth
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| discharge1_avg     = {{cvt|375.5|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Middle Irrawaddy">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/MAPS/SOUTH%20ASIA/IRRAWADDY_MIDDLE/index.html|title=Middle Irrawaddy}}</ref>
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<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = [[Kabaw Valley]]
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| mouth              = [[Ayeyarwady River]]
| mouth_location     = Myinmu, [[Myanmar]]
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|21|56|N|95|38|E|display=inline,title}}
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| basin_size         = {{convert|12,355|km2|abbr=on}} to {{cvt|19,739.7|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Middle Irrawaddy">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/MAPS/SOUTH%20ASIA/IRRAWADDY_MIDDLE/index.html|title=Middle Irrawaddy}}</ref>
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'''Mu River''' ({{MYname|MY=မူးမြစ်|MLCTS=mu: mrac}}; {{IPA-my|mú mjɪʔ|IPA}}) is a river in upper central Myanmar (Burma), and a tributary of the country's chief river, the [[Irrawaddy River|Irrawaddy]]. It drains the Kabaw valley and part of the Dry Zone between the Ayeyarwady to the east and its largest tributary the [[Chindwin River]] to the west. It flows directly north to south for about {{convert|275|km|mi|abbr=on}} and enters the Ayeyarwady west of [[Sagaing]] near [[Myinmu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/395715/Mu-River|title=Mu River|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] online|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>
Its catchment area above the Kabo [[weir]] is {{convert|12,355|km2}}. River flow and rainfall are both seasonal and erratic, at its lowest from January to April, rising sharply during May and June, and high from August to October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irncid.org/DWNLoad.aspx?FN=945256ed-f221-43d1-9993-627ee2c2ce0b.PDF|title=Study on Reuse Water in Shwebo Irrigation Scheme in Myanmar|author=Hla Baw|publisher=International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, 1st Asian Regional Conference, [[Seoul]] 2001|access-date=2008-10-12}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}</ref> Because the Mu lies within the Dry Zone in the [[rain shadow]] of the [[Arakan Mountains]], it receives scanty summer [[monsoon]] rainfall with a total [[streamflow]] of {{convert|350|mm}}.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6K6cg480ePwC&q=%22mu+river%22&pg=PA59|title=Hydrology and Water Management in the Humid Tropics| author=Michael Bonell|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]], 1993|pages=59|accessdate=2008-10-12 | isbn=978-0-521-45268-7|display-authors=etal}}</ref> An old popular expression in [[Burmese language|Burmese]] goes thus: ''Ma myinbu, Mu myit htin'' ({{lang|my|မမြင်ဖူး မူးမြစ်ထင်}}) - If you haven't seen a river before, you'd think the Mu is it. It may also be called ''Mu Chaung'' (creek) rather than ''Mu Myit'' (river) by some.
The wooded upper Mu valley is populated by the [[Kadu people|Kadu]] and [[Ganan language|Ganan]] [[List of ethnic groups in Myanmar|minorities]], whereas the fertile lower valley constitutes part of the heartlands of the ethnic majority [[Bamar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yadanabon.com/sagaing.htm |title=Myanmar States & Divisions - Sagaing |publisher=Yadanabon.com |accessdate=2008-10-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827231518/http://www.yadanabon.com/sagaing.htm |archivedate=August 27, 2008 }}</ref>
==History==
In 1503, the [[Mongyang State]] attacked and took the northern garrison town of [[Myedu]] that guarded the irrigated Mu Valley, an important granary to the Bamar [[Kingdom of Ava]]. These attacks culminated in a full-scale invasion in 1524 and the establishment of [[Shan people|Shan]] rule (1527–1555).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3.2files/02Mingyinyo2.pdf|title=Min-gyi-nyo, the Shan Invasions of Ava (1524-27), and the Beginnings of Expansionary Warfare in Toungoo Burma: 1486-1539|first=Jon|last=Fernquest|publisher=[[SOAS]], Autumn 2005|accessdate=2008-10-12|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010162645/http://web.soas.ac.uk/burma/3.2files/02Mingyinyo2.pdf|archivedate=2008-10-10}}</ref> The [[Kabaw Valley]] saw many an invasion by [[Manipur (princely state)|Manipur State]] to the west, most notably during the reign of [[Gharib Nawaz (Manipur)|Gharib Nawaz]] (1709–1748), when his army crossed over the Chindwin and the Mu, took Myedu, and reached as far as Sagaing opposite the capital [[Inwa|Ava]]. The tables were turned in 1758 after King [[Alaungpaya]] ascended the Burmese throne and invaded Manipur.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FsUJ0E3BXkMC&q=%22Mu+River%22&pg=PA112|title=Bleeding Manipur|author=Phanjoubam Tarapot|year=2003|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|pages=112–3 | isbn=978-81-241-0902-1}}</ref>
Descendants from [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] captives, the [[Bayingyi people|Bayingyi]], were taken by King [[Anaukpetlun]] after defeating the adventurer [[Filipe de Brito e Nicote]] and settled in the area in the 17th century, still keep their [[Roman Catholic]] faith. To this day, their ancestry is discernible from their features.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/the_bayingyi.htm|title=Portuguese Descendants of Bhurma's Mu Valley - The Bayingyi|publisher=Arscives.com|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>
The railroad bridge over the Mu was destroyed by the retreating [[Imperial Japanese Armed Forces|Imperial Japanese forces]] during [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/SUK14012|title=Burma C 1945-04 photo|publisher=Australian War Memorial|accessdate=2008-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226074153/http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/SUK14012|archive-date=2012-02-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> During April and July 1943, [[USAF]] [[North American B-25 Mitchell|B-25]]s attacked the bridge between [[Ywataung]] and [[Monywa]] with little success, but accidentally hit upon a method of successful bombing on New Year's Day 1944. The [[490th Missile Squadron|490th squadron]] became so proficient that they won the accolade "Burma Bridge Busters".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDWtdzMt9AEC&q=%22Mu+River%22&pg=PA491|title=The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume Four: The Pacific, Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944|publisher=DIANE Publishing|pages=491–2|accessdate=2008-10-12 | isbn=978-1-4289-1589-3}}</ref>
An eyewitness report states that, at the time of the [[Depayin massacre]] in May 2003, most of the victims killed were burnt and the remains dumped in the Mu river.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/images/stories/Justice%20Disappeared%20Final%20layout-s.pdf|title=Justice Disappeared: Exploring the Links of Arms Trade, Impunity and Political Disappearances in Asia|author=Amreen Choudhury and Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan|publisher=Nonviolence International Southeast Asia, 2007|accessdate=2008-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726052220/http://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/images/stories/Justice%20Disappeared%20Final%20layout-s.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Flora and fauna==
Large-leaved [[deciduous]] [[hardwood]]  of the [[Dipterocarpus]] spp., mainly D. tuberculatus, dominates in the forests mixed with some ''ingyin'' (''Pentacme suavis'' and ''[[Shorea oblongifolia]]''), ''taukkyan'' (''[[Terminalia elliptica]]''), ''thitsi'' (''[[Gluta usitata]]''),  bamboo, and ''kaing'' tall grass (''[[Saccharum]]'' spp.) around water holes.<ref name="JEM">{{cite web|url=http://si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/6002/1/0daaf6e7-e619-4c05-bd9c-5149611d4b7c.pdf|title=The environmental history of Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary, a protected area in Myanmar (Burma)|author=Myint Aung|publisher=Journal of Environmental Management, April 2004|accessdate=2008-10-11|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arcbc.org.ph/wetlands/myanmar/mmr_kyawilsan.htm|title=Kyatthin Wildlife Sanctuary|publisher=ARCBC (ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation)|accessdate=2008-10-12|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828194208/http://www.arcbc.org.ph/wetlands/myanmar/mmr_kyawilsan.htm|archivedate=2008-08-28}}</ref>
[[Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary]], with the Mu next to its eastern boundary, was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1941 for the conservation of [[Eld's deer]] (''Cervus eldi thamin''). There has been a decline in the population of large mammals since the end of World War II into the 1980s, and these include tiger, bear, leopard, [[gaur]], [[banteng]], [[dhole]], [[muntjac]] and [[hog deer]].<ref name="JEM"/>
The [[white-winged duck]] (''Cairina scutulata''), an [[endangered species]] of forest duck, is native to the Mu.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://birdbase.hokkaido-ies.go.jp/rdb/rdb_en/cairscut.pdf|title=White-Winged Duck|publisher=Birdbase|accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>
==Development==
The Mu valley is fertile and the government's efforts to develop the region can be seen in the Mu River Valley Project. Mu River Bridge was finished in April 2000, a rail-and-road bridge that links [[Monywa]], [[Budalin]], [[Dabayin]], [[Ye-U]] and [[Kin-U]]. From Kin-U it links with the [[Mandalay]] - [[Myitkyina]] railway line, and from Monywa with the Sagaing-Monywa line.<ref name="nlm">{{cite news|url=http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Article/Article2003/apr/apr14b.html|title=The current of Union Spirit with sources from three rivers-2|publisher=[[The New Light of Myanmar]], April 14, 2003|accessdate=2008-10-10}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.myanmargeneva.org/02nlm/n021202.htm#Senior_General_Than_Shwe_urges_officials|title=Sr Gen Than Shwe urges officials to collectively strive for turning Sagaing Division into granary of Upper Myanmar Assistance assured to upgrade Monywa-Budalin-Dabayin-YeU-KhinU Road|publisher=[[The New Light of Myanmar]], December 3, 2002|accessdate=2008-10-10|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228214721/http://www.myanmargeneva.org/02nlm/n021202.htm#Senior_General_Than_Shwe_urges_officials|archivedate=February 28, 2009}}</ref>
Kabo Weir was constructed on the Mu between 1901-1907 by the [[Great Britain|British]] colonial administration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irrigation.gov.mm/works/Irrigationworksundermyanmarking.html|title=Irrigation Works in Myanmar|publisher=Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, 2004|accessdate=2008-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120185026/http://www.irrigation.gov.mm/works/Irrigationworksundermyanmarking.html|archive-date=2008-11-20|url-status=dead}}</ref> The largest dam and reservoir in the region at Thaphanseik for irrigation and [[hydroelectric power]] (30 MW) was also completed in May 2002 with [[People's Republic of China|Chinese]] aid.<ref name="nlm"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earthrights.org/files/Reports/China%20in%20Burma%20-%20BACKGROUNDER%20-%202008%20Update%20-%20FINAL.pdf |title=China in Burma |publisher=EarthRights International |accessdate=2008-10-10 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010085046/http://www.earthrights.org/files/Reports/China%20in%20Burma%20-%20BACKGROUNDER%20-%202008%20Update%20-%20FINAL.pdf |archivedate=October 10, 2008 }}</ref> The $20 million project was financed by the [[China Import and Export Bank]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=818|title=Hydropower Plant Put Into Service|date=June 2002|work=The Irrawaddy|accessdate=2 November 2012}}</ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Rivers of Myanmar]]