The Gyeongho River () is a river in western

South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple tha ...

in southern South Korea. It rises on the eastern slopes of

Jirisan Jirisan () is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island's Hallasan, and is the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea. The 1915m-high mountain is located in ...

and flows around the edge of

Jirisan National Park Jirisan National Park () is a national park in South Korea, located on the boundaries of Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do. It is also located bordering the towns of Namwon, Gurye, and Hamyang. Jirisan was the first park to be d ...

, joining the Deokcheon River at

Jinyang Lake Jinyang Lake () is a reservoir covering portions of Jinju and Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The water surface covers 29.4 km². It was formed in 1970, by the construction of a dam where the Gyeongho and Deokcheon rivers joi ...

. Thereafter it drains into the Nam River, and then into the

Nakdong River The Nakdong River or Nakdonggang (, ) is the longest river in South Korea, which passes through the major cities of Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Three Kingdoms of Korea, Kor ...

, which carries its waters into the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

(East Sea). The Gyeongho River is thus named because it is said its 'water is as clear as a mirror'. The river's clarity and spectacular scenery of the areas through which it passes prompted poets, writers and artists to record the river's beauty in verse and on canvas. The Gyeongho River also draws adventure-seekers. It is wide, with few boulders, making it a wonderful river for rafting. It has even been touted as the only river with rafting opportunity south of the Han River. Numerous rare species can be found in and near the Gyeongho River, including the endangered

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, European river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia and the Maghreb. The most widely distributed member o ...

References

Rivers of South Gyeongsang Province Rivers of South Korea {{SouthKorea-river-stub

See also

References