Nam Ngum (, ) is a 354 km long river in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. It is a major tributary of the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

Geography

The Nam Ngum originates from the northern mountainous region of

Xiangkhoang Province Xiangkhouang ( Lao: ຊຽງຂວາງ, meaning 'Horizontal City') is a province of Laos on the Xiangkhoang Plateau, in the nation's northeast. The province has the distinction of being the most heavily-bombed place on Earth. Historically ...

and flows south through Vientiane Province joining the Mekong at the capital of Laos,

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

. The Nam Ngum river basin is home to about one million people in Laos. The current largest

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

on Nam Ngum,

Nam Ngum Dam The Nam Ngum Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Nam Ngum River, a major tributary of the Mekong River in Laos. It was the first hydropower dam built in the Lao PDR. Construction The dam was constructed in three stages, beginning in with stage I in ...

(Nam Ngum 1 Hydropower Project) was originally constructed between 1968 and 1971. There are also four other

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

projects under construction or planned for construction on the Nam Ngum River. Tourism destinations along Nam Ngum include the Nam Ngum Lake, Dansavanh Nam Ngum Resort, and

Vang Vieng Vang Vieng (Lao: ວັງວຽງ, ) is a town in Vientiane Province, northern Laos. Situated along the Nam Song River and surrounded by karst limestone formations, it lies approximately 130 kilometers (81 mi) north of the national capital, V ...

. The Nam Ngum river basin covers 16,906 square kilometers, including 8,297 km² of watershed area. The Nam Ngum river basin covers 2.73 percent of the lower Mekong river basin. The water flow of the Nam Ngum River to the Mekong River is 700 m³/s. Thirty percent of the river basin is covered by forest. Various international organizations and financial institutions assist in watershed management, water resource management, establishment of water regulation, and river basin organizations for optimum use of water resources and watershed protection. One such project, the Nam Ngum River Basin Development Sector Projects, has operated since 2002.

Wildlife

The ''

hemimyzon confluens ''Hemimyzon confluens'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Hemimyzon''. It is known from a single location in the Nam Ngum drainage in Laos, a tributary of the Mekong. The known material suggests a maximum standard length Fish measu ...

'', a type of ray-finned fish, is known to live only in the Nam Ngum drainage area. It is threatened by mining, pollution, and hydro-power development.

References

Tributaries of the Mekong River Rivers of Laos Geography of Xiangkhouang province Geography of Vientiane province {{Laos-river-stub

Geography

Wildlife

See also

References