Rangoon River
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
'Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Rangoon River
River of Burma on the left bank of which stands Rangoon city. It rises about 150 miles to the north-west of the city m Prome District, not far from a piece of water known as the Inma Lake, through which it flows, and pursues a south-easterly course down the centre of the narrow strip of lowland in Prome, Tharrawaddy, and Hanthawaddy Districts, which separates the Rangoon-Prome Railway from the channel of the Inawaddy. In the north it is known as the Myitmaka, and is divided from the Irrawaddy by a low but fairly well-defined watershed, The Myitmaka is an important waterway m Tharrawaddy District Fed by the streams from the Pegu Yoma m the east, it is the main outlet for the timber which is extracted from the forests of this range. The most important village on its banks m this area is Sanywe, where there is a forest revenue station. Farther south the river is known as the Hlamg, and on this poition steam traffic of light draught is practicable The Hlamg is connected by various side cieeks with the Irrawaddy, the last of which above Rangoon city is the Panhlaing, which joins it almost opposite the western suburb of Kem- mendme.
From thence onwards the waterway is known as the Rangoon river. The stream, on which ocean steamers can ride at their moorings, separates the city proper and the cantonment of Rangoon from the dockyard suburb of Dala, which lies on the right bank, close to the mouth of the TWANTE CANAL. After skirting the western edge of Rangoon city, the river bends to the east and meets the waters of the Pazundaung creek and the PEGU RIVER to the east of the city, imme- diately above a shoal known as the Hastings. Thence its course is south-easterly, and it flows eventually into the Gulf of Martaban be- tween Elephant Point and the Eastern Grove lighthouse. Ocean steamers can go up the river as far as Rangoon, but no higher. Skilled pilotage is required for the navigation of the 2 1 miles that lie between Rangoon and the sea, but the difficulties of the river are not to be compared with those of the Hooghly.
