CHAPTER III
RIVERS
Irrawaddy. The dominant physical feature of Burma is the great river Irrawaddy, formed by the union of two sister streams. The actual source of the Irrawaddy was long regarded as almost the last unsolved geographical mystery. It has, however, been ascertained that the eastern and main branch, the 'Nmaikha[1] issues from the Laguela Glacier,[2] in about 29° N. on the mountain range which separates Putao from Tibet; and traverses the Putao district, in its earliest stage, as the Tarôn stream. The western branch, the Malikha, rises in the hills surrounding the Hkamti-lōng valley, in the Putao district. Both these streams flow southward till, some 30 miles above Myitkyina, boiling and surging over rugged rocks, they join at the Confluence. Above this point, neither of these rivers nor their affluents are navigable, being strewn with rocks, cataracts and rapids. The Kampang falls into the Tarôn with a sheer drop of 400 feet. From the Confluence, the united river pursues its majestic course to the sea for nearly a thousand miles. Above Myitkyina are rapids, mild and innocuous, easily navigated by rafts and shallow boats. Swift and clear as crystal, the Irrawaddy flows past Myitkyina, its course unimpeded till it reaches Sinbo. Between the rapids and Sinbo, the river is navigable by launches and light draught steamers throughout the year. Just below Sinbo, in the wet season, swollen by rains and melted snows, checked by a rampart of rocks, the stream
