Myanmar is the northwesternmost country of mainland Southeast Asia. It lies along the Indian and Eurasian Plates, to the southeast of the Himalayas. To its west is the Bay of Bengal and to its south is the Andaman Sea. It is strategically located near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes. The neighboring countries are China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos.
The Andaman Sea is a marginal sea of northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from the Bay of Bengal to its west by the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. Its southernmost end is defined by Breueh Island, an island just north of Sumatra, and communicates with the Malacca Strait.
The Mekong, or Mekong River, is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the sixth longest in Asia. Its estimated length is 4,909 km (3,050 mi), and it drains an area of 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi), discharging 475 km3 (114 cu mi) of water annually. From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a major trade route between western China and Southeast Asia.
The Chao Phraya is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
Cymbopogon, also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some species are commonly cultivated as culinary and medicinal herbs because of their scent, resembling that of lemons . The name cymbopogon derives from the Greek words kymbe and pogon "which mean [that] in most species, the hairy spikelets project from boat-shaped spathes."
The Salween is a Southeast Asian river, about 3,289 kilometres (2,044 mi) long, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau south into the Andaman Sea. The Salween flows primarily within southwest China and eastern Myanmar (Burma), with a short section forming the border of Burma and Thailand. Throughout most of its course, it runs swiftly through rugged mountain canyons. Despite the river's great length, only the last 90 km (56 mi) are navigable, where it forms a modest estuary and delta at Mawlamyine. The river is known by various names along its course, including Thanlwin in Burma and Nu River in China. The commonly used spelling "Salween" is an anglicisation of the Burmese name dating from 19th-century British maps.
Kitti's hog-nosed bat, also known as the bumblebee bat, is a near-threatened species of bat and the only extant member of the family Craseonycteridae. It occurs in western Thailand and southeast Myanmar, where it occupies limestone caves along rivers.
Danionella translucida is an extremely small species of cyprinid fish endemic to Myanmar. When described, it was considered to be one of the smallest fish. It was collected from the roots of floating aquatic plants in a slow-flowing, shallow stream in the Pegu Division of Myanmar. It was found alongside Danio, Microrasbora, Erethistes, and Oryzias species. Observed in life, D. translucida is almost perfectly transparent except for its eyes. It has a distinctive pattern of melanophores. There are no melanophores on the dorsal surface except on the head over the posterior part of the brain. On the posterior half of the body, there a few melanophores following the horizontal midline. The sides and underside of the abdomen have melanophores. A double row of melanophores is present on the underside of the fish from the isthmus of the gills to the pelvic fins. Eggs in D. translucida has been found to range in size from about 0.3–0.6 mm (0.012–0.024 in) in diameter, with ripe eggs being at least 0.5 mm (0.020 in) in diameter. Females carried anywhere from 3 to 8 or 10 eggs. Compared to the body of the fish, these eggs are relatively large.
The large Indian civet is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is considered decreasing mainly because of trapping-driven declines in heavily hunted and fragmented areas, notably in China, and the heavy trade as wild meat.
Erethistes is a genus of South Asian river catfishes.
The Burmese peacock softshell turtle is a species of softshell turtle in the Trionychidae family. It is one of five species in the genus Nilssonia.
The big-headed turtle is a species of turtle in the family Platysternidae from Southeast Asia and southern China.
The croslet horseshoe bat is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand.
The Burmese hare is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It is found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Tachileik, is a border town in the Shan State of eastern Myanmar. It is the administrative seat of Tachileik Township and Tachileik District and most populated city in eastern Shan State with 51,553 residents per 2014 census count, ahead of Kyaing Tong, but only 4th statewide.
Hara filamentosa or Erethistes filamentosus is a species of South Asian river catfish found in Myanmar and Thailand. It can be found in the Ataran, Sittang, and Salween River drainages. It occurs in fast-flowing rivers with stony or sandy bottom. This species grows to a length of 5.0 centimetres (2.0 in) SL.
Erethistes pusillus is a species of South Asian river catfish native to India, Bangladesh and Myanmar where it is mostly found in hill streams. This species prefers muddy portions of rivers that are overgrown with vegetation. This species grows to a length of 4.2 centimetres (1.7 in) SL. It is kept in tropical aquaria, but its occurrence in the aquarium trade is very rare.
Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range is the geographical name of a roughly 1,700 km long mountain chain, part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system in Southeast Asia.
The Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtle, also known commonly as the Myanmar narrow-headed softshell turtle and Van Dijk's chitra, is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia.
The Mekong River massacre occurred on the morning of 5 October 2011, when two Chinese cargo ships were attacked on a stretch of the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle region on the borders of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. All 13 crew members on the two ships were killed and dumped in the river. It was the deadliest attack on Chinese nationals abroad in modern times. In response, China temporarily suspended shipping on the Mekong, and reached an agreement with Myanmar, Thailand and Laos to jointly patrol the river. The event was also the impetus for the Naypyidaw Declaration and other anti-drug cooperation efforts in the region.
