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The Salween River is home to many freshwater fish and turtles, many of which are endemic. The Salween River begins high above the tree line in the mountains of Tibet, in China. It flows through valleys that are at first steep and narrow, then increasingly broad, as the river approaches the tropical lowlands. Eventually it enters the Andaman Sea in eastern Myanmar.
Parts of the Qinghai Mountains rise more than 20,000 feet (6,000 m). These extraordinary peaks are covered with snow and glaciers, the meltwater from which is the source of the Salween and other rivers and streams. The Salween runs south for about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through vast forests and deep gorges. Along the way, it occasionally flows over its banks and nourishes valleys with rich sediment. The Salween runs parallel to the mightly Mekong River for much of its course and forms part of the border between Myanmar and Thailand. About 140 fish live in this river, including the Burmese kingfish and small-eyed sucking catfish--one-third of them are endemic. Minnows of all sizes and shapes are very common. This area also has the world’s greatest diversity of turtles with 10-15 genera of turtles represented, many of which are riverine turtles. It is also home of the unusual fishing cat.
Logging and mining in the forests and land around the Salween River causes erosion and pollution. Overfishing also contributes to a decline in the number of fish. Dams pose significant problems for the survival of migratory species, and for the ecology of the rivers.
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