Irawadi

e-ra-wa'di, the great river of eastern India. It rises in the eastern Himalayas, takes in general a southern course, and empties into the eastern end of the Bay of Bengal. It is navigable for small boats several hundred miles into the confines of China. Its upper course is swift and turbulent. The channel has in several places cut a narrow passage through the mountains. Mandalay, the capital of Burma, is situated at the lowest of these. It is really at the head of deep water navigation. The river has built new land extending for a distance of 140 miles into the Indian Bay of Bengal. There are several mouths. Rangun, the commercial metropolis of this section, one of the great cities of India, is situated on the eastern outlet. The lower portion of the Irawadi resembles the Nile and the Ganges in sluggishness of current and volume of water. The flood plain is enriched by annual overflow, and is one of the great fertile regions of the world. See India; Ganges