Salutes

	Saluen; Thanlwin, Nag-Tschu
	Course of the Saluen
	Data
location	Tibet , Yunnan ( PRC ), ; Myanmar , Thailand
River system	Salutes
source	in the highlands of Tibet ; 32 ° 43 ′ 15 ″ N , 92 ° 13 ′ 33 ″ E
Source height	5450 m
muzzle	Andaman Sea Coordinates: 16 ° 31 ′ 45 " N , 97 ° 37 ′ 17" E 16 ° 31 ′ 45 " N , 97 ° 37 ′ 17" E;
Mouth height	0 m
Height difference	5450 m
Bottom slope	1.9 ‰
length	2820 km (according to other information 2980 km)
Catchment area	325,000 km²
Left tributaries	Gyaing , Moei , Pai , Yuam
Right tributaries	Nam Pang , Yunzalin , Pāng
Big cities	Mawlamyaing
	The Saluen at Liuku , Nujiang District, Yunnan Province , China
	Salawin

The Saluen (also Thanlwin ) is a 2980 km long river or stream in Southeast Asia that can be described almost exclusively as a mountain river .

Names

In China, the river is called 怒江 in Chinese , in Pinyin Nù Jiāng (outdated after WG Nu Chiang , Stange Nu Kiang ), and in Tibetan in the upper reaches Nag Qu in the official transcription , Nag Chu in Wylie transliteration ; German spelling: Nag Tschu , in the middle course Gyalmo Nygul Chu .

In Burmese , the flow is Thanlwin Myit (in phonetics : [ θãl.wĩ.mjiˀ ]), comes the English name Salween . In the Shan language it is called Nam Kong.

In Thailand it is called Maenam Salawin ( แม่น้ำ สาละ วิน ), in German the spelling Salween , Saluen and Salwin are common.

course

The Salween rises in the highlands of Tibet ( China ) as the Nag Qu. There lies its source in 5450 m above sea level. NN height in a (variable) Gletschertor between the northern ( 5881 m above sea level. NN ) and the southern Chrebet peak ( 5722 m above sea level. NN ) in the eastern Tanggula Mountains (34 km south-east of the northern Tanggula Pass , 5231 m above sea level. NN ). The glacier is melting back sharply. The Nag Qu runs in a southeastern direction through the Chinese province of Yunnan . In Myanmar (formerly Burma ) it cuts through the Shan highlands where it forms the border between China and Myanmar. In this area, just a little further east, the Mekong and the Yangtze River flow in deep valleys. In its lower reaches it forms the border between Myanmar and Thailand for a distance of about 120 kilometers and finally flows into the Andaman Sea , part of the Indian Ocean, at the port of Mawlamyine on the coast of Myanmar .

Due to its numerous rapids, the Saluen is only navigable for about 120 km above the mouth, but smaller motor boats and barges operate upstream. The river is still relatively natural until 2005.

The Saluen is exposed to considerable dangers for landslides ( mudslides ) due to human deforestation . As a result, the sediment load has increased significantly.

Water data

Through the discovery of the source of the Saluen in 1989/1990 by the German geologist and glaciologist Dieter Ortlam (Bremen) and its connection via the Amdo-Donak Lake to the Tibet Highway Bridge at Megschen (southwest of the city of Nagchu), the river length could meanwhile can be determined with 2980 km.

Given the catchment area of 325,000 km², the water flow of probably around 6,700 m³ / s is quite high for the tropical edge of the river and can be explained by the predominantly mountainous relief. The resulting area discharge of around 21 l / s.km² lies between the values of the neighboring rivers Irawaddy (around 31 l / s.km²) and Mekong (around 19 l / s.km²). When leaving the low-precipitation high valley on Chinese territory, the Saluen already drains around half of its catchment area, but still carries less than 2000 m³ / s of water here (the Rhine in front of the junction: 2330 m³ / s).

ecology

The river rightly bears the name “Nu”, anger in Chinese. The roaring water breaks its way from the Tibetan plateau through the mountains to the Indian Ocean. The river is one of the most water-rich drains in the Himalayas. Mountains rise above the swirling masses of water, the slopes of which extend over six climate zones: from 760 meters to 6740 meters above sea level. Researchers have counted 173 mammal species, 417 bird and 59 reptile species in the Nu Canyon, including 79 endangered animal species. This is one of the reasons why its western slopes, the Gaoligong Mountains , were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2003 (protection zones in the Three Parallel Rivers National Park in Yunnan).

Dam planning

The governments of China, Myanmar and Thailand are planning to build more than 14 dams on the Saluen to generate electricity. If the projects were implemented, approx. 50,000 people would be affected by resettlement. In addition to the negative effects on the natural balance, the earthquake hazard in the region represents an additional risk. In the area of its upper reaches, the Nag-Tschu, there is already the Datang reservoir (4300 m above sea level). In 2006, the CPC was still in the decision-making process. In 2007 the construction of the first of the planned dams, the Tasang Dam , began.

In response to protests, the Yunnan Provincial Government reduced the number of dams planned from 13 to four in the course of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015). However, in view of further resistance, only small construction measures were carried out to achieve them. Li Jiheng , the head of the CPC in Yunnan, said in March 2016 that all projects to build small hydropower plants along the river would be stopped. He made no statements about the future of the major projects. According to him, the river is to be developed into a tourist destination within the next five to ten years.

literature

Mad project in paradise . In: taz , July 20, 2006; across the Nu River or Saluen

Web links

Commons : Saluen - collection of images, videos and audio files

Hydrometeorological data for the entire Upper Salween River Basin (USRB) on Chinese territory. salween.unibe.ch, Geographical Institute of the University of Bern and Kunming Institute of Botany

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Article Saluen in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
↑ ^a ^b Note: The information on the mean flow rate of the Saluen near its mouth is extremely wide. They range from 3000 m³ / s to 10,000 m³ / s (the value of 1659 m³ / s is incorrectly assigned and relates to the lowest Chinese station). The values focus on 3200 m³ / s, 4400 m³ / s and 6700 m³ / s. In comparison with the area runoff from the neighboring Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers, a rounded value of around 6700 m³ / s appears most plausible.
^ Salween . [river] . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 24 : Sainte-Claire Deville - Shuttle . London 1911 (English).
↑ Dieter Ortlam: The source of the Saluen . (with map and photos)
^ Wu Gang: Experts remain cautios about Yunnan halt of hydro stations . In: Global Times , March 8, 2016, p. 1. Major Nujiang River projects 'could still move forward'. In: Global Times , March 8, 2016, p. 2

[gse-1] Article Saluen in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)

[MQ-2] Note: The information on the mean flow rate of the Saluen near its mouth is extremely wide. They range from 3000 m³ / s to 10,000 m³ / s (the value of 1659 m³ / s is incorrectly assigned and relates to the lowest Chinese station). The values focus on 3200 m³ / s, 4400 m³ / s and 6700 m³ / s. In comparison with the area runoff from the neighboring Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers, a rounded value of around 6700 m³ / s appears most plausible.

[3] Salween . [river] . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 24 : Sainte-Claire Deville - Shuttle . London 1911 (English).

[4] Dieter Ortlam: The source of the Saluen . (with map and photos)

[5] Wu Gang: Experts remain cautios about Yunnan halt of hydro stations . In: Global Times , March 8, 2016, p. 1. Major Nujiang River projects 'could still move forward'. In: Global Times , March 8, 2016, p. 2