Mekong Delta

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Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta ( “Nine Dragon river delta”) is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southeastern Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
of .

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Vietnam

Provinces

sq mi

Square mile

The square mile is an Imperial system and US customary system of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one mile. It should not be confused with miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared....
>

Statistics
No.	Provinces/Municipality	Area		Population (2004)
No.	Provinces/Municipality	(persons/km²)	(persons/sq mi)	Population (2004)
1	Can Tho Can Tho C?n Tho , the name comes from "c?m thi giang" - river of poems, is a city in Vietnam. The city, regarded as "Western capital", with an estimated population of 1,121,000 as of 2004, is the biggest city in the Mekong Delta....		1,139,900
2	An Giang An Giang Province An Giang is a Provinces of Vietnam of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the southwestern part of the country, sharing a border with Cambodia to the northwest....		2,210,400
3	B?c Liêu		820,100
4	Ben Tre Ben Tre Province Ben Tre is a Provinces of Vietnam of Vietnam. It is one of the country's southern provinces, being situated in the Mekong Delta of the Mekong River....		1,353,300
5	Ca Mau Ca Mau Province C? Mau is a Provinces of Vietnam of Vietnam, named after Ca Mau . It is located in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, and is the southernmost of Vietnam's 59 provinces....		1,232,000
6	Dong Thap Dong Thap Province ??ng Th?p Province is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. The eastern part of the province is largely dominated by Dong Thap Muoi marsh....		1,667,800
7	Hau Giang Hau Giang Province H?u Giang Province became Can Tho during/after 1975. C?n Tho was the capital of C?n Tho Province. It is located in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam....		796,900
8	Kien Giang Kien Giang Province Ki?n Giang is a southern Provinces of Vietnam of Vietnam known for fishing and rice farming. The provincial capital city is Rach Gia.Kien Giang's dimension is about 6.299 km? and its population is about 1,634,043, of which 22 percent live in the urban area....		1,684,600
9	Long An Long An Province Long An Province is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam.The province comprises one town and 13 districts:...		1,423,100
10	Soc Trang Soc Trang Province S?c Trang is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, with its capital in Soc Trang. The province occupies an area of 3,223 km?, and has a population of approximately 1,213,400....		1,276,200
11	Tien Giang Tien Giang Province Ti?n Giang Province is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam.The province comprises one city , one town , and seven districts:...		1,717,400
12	Tra Vinh Tra Vinh Province Tr? Vinh,is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The capital is Tra Vinh....		1,036,800
13	Vinh Long Vinh Long Province Vinh Long is a Provinces of Vietnam located in the Mekong River Delta of southern Vietnam. Its capital is Vinh Long. Its population is 1,023,400 and its area is 1,475 km?....		1,057,000

Major cities

The most renowned places in the Mekong Delta are M? Tho and Caí Bè

Cai Be

C?i B? is a river-land mixed town in Vietnam. It is a Districts of Vietnam of Tien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Along the river are docks that handle passengers and goods, and also the floating market....
near Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. Under the name Prey Nokor it was the main port of Cambodia, before being annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century....
, then, more to the heart of the region, Vinh Long

Vinh Long

Vinh Long is a town in Vietnam. It is the capital of the Vinh Long Province in the Mekong Delta.Vinh Long is on the Co Chien river, which branches out from the Mekong River at the narrows of My Thuan about ten km upstream from...
, Sa Ðéc

Sa Dec

Sa Dec is a town in Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam. It is a river port and agricultural, industrial trading center, During the Vietnam War, it was the site of an American Swift Boat base....
, and C?n Tho

Can Tho

C?n Tho , the name comes from "c?m thi giang" - river of poems, is a city in Vietnam. The city, regarded as "Western capital", with an estimated population of 1,121,000 as of 2004, is the biggest city in the Mekong Delta....
, from whence it is possible to reach the remotest confines of the delta, South towards the mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline water coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses: most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used, to refer to all trees and...
s and the South China Sea, North towards Châu Ð?c

Chau Doc

Ch?u ??c is a district and town in An Giang Province, bordering Cambodia, in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The town is located by the Bassac River and Vinh Te canal....
, or West towards the island of Phú Qu?c.

Vietnam War

During French colonialism in Cochinchina

Cochinchina

Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam whose principal city is Saigon. It was a French colony from 1864 to 1948. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam ....
, the first nationalist revolt, in the name of the king, started in that Mekong delta and was followed by the First Indochina War

First Indochina War

The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union?s French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by B?o ??i?s Vietnamese National Army against the Vi?t Minh, led by H? Ch? Minh and V? Nguy?n Gi?p....
fought by the French with their “Dinassaut” on waterways and copied later by the US Navy Mobile Riverine Force.

During the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
, the Delta region saw fighting between Viet Cong (NLF) guerrillas

Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is the Irregular warfare warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile Military tactics to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
and units of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
's swift boats and hovercraft

Hovercraft

A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle , is a craft , designed to travel over any smooth surface supported by a cushion of slowly moving, high-pressure air, ejected downwards against the surface below, and contained within a "skirt." Hovercraft are used throughout the world as a method of specialized transport where ever there is the nee...
s (PACV

PACV

PACV is the term for the United States' Navy's Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle, commonly referred to as "PAC-V's", or Hovercraft.The U.S. Navy's PACV was based on the British SRN.5 / built by Bell as the SK-5, adapted for American military use in 1965....
s).

Economy

The area is home to large numbers of rice

Rice

Rice is a staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, and East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, making it the second-most consumed cereal grain, after maize....
fields. In 2004, in large part thanks to the Mekong Delta, Vietnam was the third largest exporter of rice globally after Thailand and India. In 2003, Vietnam was the world's second largest exporter of rice . Additionally, the region is home to large exports of basa fish

Basa fish

The basa fish, Pangasius bocourti, is a type of catfish in the family Pangasiidae. Basa are native to the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam and Chao Phraya basin in Thailand....
, Tra catfish

Catfish

Catfish are a very diverse group of Actinopterygii fish. Named for their prominent barbel s, which resemble a cat's whiskers , catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest, the Pangasius gigas from Southeast Asia and the longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores , and even to a tiny parasite species commonly called the ca...
and shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, Decapoda crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh water and seawater. Adult shrimp are Filter feeder benthic animals living close to the bottom....
, much of which is exported.

This region has recently been dubbed as a 'biological treasure trove'. Over 1,000 new species have been discovered in previously unexplored areas of Mekong Delta, including a species of rat thought to be extinct.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the Mekong Delta region are largely ethnic Viet

Vietnamese people

The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from what is now northern Vietnam and southern People's Republic of China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other List of ethnic groups in Vietnam....
, with Khmer

Khmer people

The Khmer people; ; are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.2 million people in the country. Part of the larger Mon-Khmer languages ethnolinguistic peoples found throughout Southeast Asia, they speak the Khmer language....
minority populations living primarily in the Trà Vinh

Tra Vinh Province

Tr? Vinh,is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The capital is Tra Vinh....
, Sóc Trang

Soc Trang Province

S?c Trang is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam, with its capital in Soc Trang. The province occupies an area of 3,223 km?, and has a population of approximately 1,213,400....
, and Muslim

Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
Cham

Cham people

The Cham people are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia. They are concentrated between Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia and central Vietnam Phan Rang-Thap Cham, Phan Thiet, Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang areas....
in Tan Chau, by An Giang

An Giang Province

An Giang is a Provinces of Vietnam of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the southwestern part of the country, sharing a border with Cambodia to the northwest....
provinces. There are also sizeable Hoa

Hoa

Hoa refers to a ethnic minority in Vietnam consisting of persons considered to be ethnic chinese or Han Chinese. They are often referred to as either Chinese Vietnamese, Vietnamese Chinese, Sino-Vietnamese, or ethnic Chinese in/from Vietnam by the Vietnamese populace, Overseas Vietnamese, and other ethnic Chinese....
(ethnic Chinese) populations in the Kiên Giang

Kien Giang Province

Ki?n Giang is a southern Provinces of Vietnam of Vietnam known for fishing and rice farming. The provincial capital city is Rach Gia.Kien Giang's dimension is about 6.299 km? and its population is about 1,634,043, of which 22 percent live in the urban area....
and Trà Vinh

Tra Vinh Province

Tr? Vinh,is a Provinces of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The capital is Tra Vinh....
provinces.

Mekong Delta

Provinces

Major cities

Vietnam War

Economy

Demographics

See also

External links