Ban Thach river, Tuy Hoa city, VietNam

Ban Thach River, starting in Hon Du, a branch of Truong Son mountain range at the height of 1,104m, Ban Thach River, 60km long, flows through the communes of Hoa Da, Hoa Dong and then out of Da Nong estuary. Due to flood water from streams in floody season, the river flows swiftly. In dry season, the river bed is shallow with lackluster water-flow, which is merely beneficial to agriculture.

The river section from Hon Gio mountain called Da Den flows between Hon Trong and Hon Chao. By Ngoc Lam area, the river is called Banh Lai. At Hoi Cu area, the river gets a branch from Cuc Kich pass bordering Khanh Hoa named Bau Sac River. From Hoi Cu, the river is called Ban Thach, flowing into the sea at Da Nong estuary. The catchment-area is 590km2.

The river derives from the south of the province, with stream flowing into the North-East, almost perpendicular to the mountain range of Ca pass, next redirecting SouthWest-NorthEast, then towards the NorthEast-SouthWest at Dong My, and down to Da Nong estuary. In the dry season, the flow turns SouthEast-NorthWest, pouring out to sea at Phu Hiep estuary. The river flowing direction is different from the other rivers in the province. The upstream slope is very high, up to 75%; with slope of only 2% in the delta. The river’s basin area is not large but heavy rainfall in the upstream often causes severe floods in the Southern area of Tuy Hoa city. The total amount of flow is 0.8 billion m3, power reserve is about 30,680 kilowatts. Along the river, there are such irrigation projects as Nam Binh pump station, Phu Huu dam, An Sang dam, Dong Khon lake and other planning positions, including Da Den dam, My Lam lake, Phuoc Giang lake ...

As legend has it, Ban Thach River is the mecca of crocodiles. In Minh Mang King's time, mandarinate in Phu Yen reported that lost of people here were attacked by crocodiles as those killing tigers. The residents living along the sides submitted lots of crocodile leathers to receive awards. According to Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi, Ban Thach river may be Phan Dinh river, which was mentioned in Geographic Journal by Nguyen Trai in the 15th century. Warlord Ly Thuong Kiet had to stop his horse beside the river full of truculent crocodiles. To secure the troops’ safety while crossing the river, Ly Thuong Kiet had to demand the King to ordain three crocodile-leaders here three divines of Hieu Thuan. However, according to scholar Hoang Xuan Han in Ly Thuong Kiet work, Phan Dinh river may be Tu Mao river, or Tan An river, which flows down to Quy Nhon estuary.

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