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| map = Mekong River watershed.png | map_size = | map_caption = |map1=Mekongbasin.jpg |map1_caption=Tributaries of the Mekong }} The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the world's 12th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is ,〔 and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually. From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through China's Yunnan province, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. In 1995, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam established the Mekong River Commission to assist in the management and coordinated use of the Mekong's resources. In 1996 China and Burma (Burma) became "dialogue partners" of the MRC and the six countries now work together within a cooperative framework. 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. ==Names== In English the river is called the "Mekong River", derived from "Mae Nam Khong", a term of both Thai and Lao origin. In the Lao-Thai toponymy, "rivers" translates to "mother of water", signalled by the prefix "mae", meaning "mother", and "nam" for water. In the Mekong's case, Mae Nam Khong means "Khong, The mother of water". Many Northern Thai and Laos locals refer to it as the "River Khong". Such is the case with the ''Mae Nam Ping'' in Chiang Mai which is known as the "Ping River". The ''Tonle Sap'' in Cambodia is a similar example – where ''Tonle'' translates as "great lake" or "great river", making the ''Tonle Sap River'' an unnecessary repetition of what is in fact the "Sap River". In Khmer language, Mékôngk means "Mother of water" translated as Mé "Mother" and kôngk for ''kôngkea'' "water". Since the river flows through a number of countries, it has many different names in local languages: * (ビルマ語:မဲခေါင်မြစ်), * Riverhead: , and ''Zā Qū'', upper reaches: 澜沧江, ''Láncāng Jiāng'' , middle and lower reaches: ''Méigōng hé''. * (クメール語: មេគង្គ) ''Mékôngk'' (:meekoŋ), ទន្លេមេគង្គ ''Tônlé Mékôngk'' (:tʊənlee meekoŋ), ទន្លេធំ ''Tônlé Thum'' (:tʊənlee tʰom) ("Great River"). * (ラーオ語:ແມ່ນ້ຳຂອງ), (:mɛː nâːm kʰɔ̌ːŋ), ນ້ຳຂອງ (:nâːm kʰɔ̌ːŋ). * (タイ語:แม่น้ำโขง), (:mɛ̂ː náːm kʰǒːŋ). * * (ベトナム語:Sông Mê Kông) (), Sông Lớn ("Great River", (:soŋm lə̌ːn)), Sông Cửu Long ("Nine Dragons River", (:soŋm kɨ̃w lɔŋ)). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mekong」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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