https://www.facebook.com/Geological-Survey-158601477840716/ Geological Survey :မႏေး ငလးတ ငး ေ ေ ာငး လ းမးာငာၿ တ ယ ငတယ ငး လ ာငေ း ေဒသ— at Mount Popa.

ဘမးး း ႏ း ငႏရႏ လေဒသလာာရ း း ငာငေဖငရ ာစးဌာန (DGSE)မရ မႏေး ငလးတ ငး ေ ေ ာငး လ းမးာငာၿ တ ယ ငး လ ာငေ း ေဒသမ ငလ မ ဏေ င ငး ႏ ႏာေဒသခႏမရလလမင

ေ င ငး ႏ ႏာေဒသခႏး ာ မ င- - တယ ငး လ -း လ ာဖး လ -း လ း ာ ေး လ -း ေ ေ ာငး လ ငး လ - ေႀေဖငော - ၾေေး မ ေး လ ခ

တယ ငး လ ာငေ း ေဒသမ ငရး ေဒသလာာျ ေ ာငႏးတ မ မတေမမ ငေးတ ဖငႏးတ မ ရး High sulphidation Gold-Silver Deposit ျ ေး ေဒသ Yanacocha Gold Mine (Newmont Gold Corp)ႏရ ႏ မေ ဖေးတ ႏးတမ ရး High sulphidation Epithermal Deposit ျ ေး ေဒသ Mexico Gold Mine လးတ႔၏ မတေမမ ငႏရႏ ႏ းငၿရ း ႏ ႏးတ ႏာ ေဒသခခပါသည။

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mount-Popa/132334570136409?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Popa

Mount Popa

Mount Popa

ပပပားတ ပင

Mount Popa

Highest point

Elevation 1,518 m (4,980 ft)

Prominence 1,150 m (3,770 ft)

Coordinates 20°55′27″N 95°15′02″E

Geography

Location Burma

Geology

Mountain type Stratovolcano[1]

Last eruption 442 BCE[2]

Climbing

Easiest route Hike

Mount Popa (Burmese: ပပပားတ ပင; MLCTS: puppa: taung, IPA: [pòpá tàʊɴ]) is avolcano 1518

metres (4981 feet) above sea level, and located in central Burma(Myanmar) about 50 km (31 mi) southeast of Bagan (Pagan) in the Pegu Range. It can be seen from the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River as far away as 60 km (37 mi) in clear weather.[3] Mount Popa is perhaps best known as a pilgrimage site, with numerous Nattemples and relic sites atop the mountain.

Name

The name Popa is believed to come from the Pali/Sanskrit word puppa meaning flower.[4]

Geology

The main edifice of the volcano is composed of basalt and basaltic andesite lava flows, along with pyroclastic deposits and scoriaceousmaterial, originating from strombolian eruptions which are thought to have made up the later stages of the volcano's growth. The volcano also contains a 1.6 km (0.99 mi) wide and 0.85 km (0.53 mi) deep caldera that is breached to the northwest and is thought to have formed due to failure of the volcano's slopes. A 3 km3 (0.72 cu mi) debris avalanche can be found to the north of the caldera's breach. It covers an area of 27 km2 (10 sq mi).[1]

Features[edit]

Taung Kalat

Southwest of Mount Popa is Taung Kalat (pedestal hill), sheer-sided volcanic plug, which rises 657 metres (2,156 ft) above the sea level. A Buddhist monastery is located at the summit of Taung Kalat. At one time, the Buddhist hermit U Khandi maintained the stairway of 777 steps to the summit of Taung Kalat.[3] The Taung Kalat pedestal hill is sometimes itself called Mount Popa and given that Mount Popa is the name of the actual volcano that caused the creation of the volcanic plug, to avoid confusion, the volcano (with its crater blown open on one side) is generally called Taung Ma-gyi (mother hill). The volcanic crater itself is a mile in diameter.[5]

From the top of Taung Kalat one can enjoy a panoramic view. One can see the ancient city of Bagan; behind it to the north, the massive solitary conical peak of Taung Ma-gyi rises like Mount Fuji in Japan. There is a big caldera, 610 metres (2,000 ft) wide and 914 metres (3,000 ft) in depth so that from different directions the mountain takes different forms with more than one peak. The surrounding areas are arid, but the Mt Popa area has over 200 springs and streams. It is therefore likened to an oasis in the desert-like dry central zone of Burma. This means the surrounding landscape is characterized by prickly bushes and stunted trees as opposed to the lush forests and rivers Burma is famous for.[5] Plenty of trees, flowering plants and herbs grow due to the fertile soil from the volcanic ash. Prominent among the fauna are macaque monkeys that have become a tourist attraction on Taung Kalat.[3]

Mount Popa from Kyaukpadaung road, Taung Kalat to left of picture

History and legendMain article: Nat (spirit)

Many legends are associated with this mountain including its dubious creation from a great earthquake and the mountain erupted out of the ground in 442 BC.[4] It is possible that the legends about Nats represent a heritage of earlieranimist religions in Burmese countryside, which were syncreticised with Buddhistreligion in the 11th century. There are legends that before the reign of Bagan king Anawrahta (1044 - 1077) hundreds of animals were sacrificed here as a part of nat worship rituals.[6]

Mount Popa is considered the abode of Burma's most powerful Nats and as such is the most important nat worship center. It has therefore been called Burma's Mount Olympus.

One legend tells about brother and sister Mahagiri (Great Mountain) nats, from the kingdom of Tagaung at the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy, who sought refuge from King Thinligyaung of Bagan (344-387). Their wish was granted and they were enshrined on Mt Popa.

Another legend tells about Popa Medaw (Royal Mother of Popa), who according to legend was a flower-eating ogress called Me Wunna, she lived at Popa. She fell in love with Byatta, whose royal duty was to gather flowers from Popa for King Anawrahta of Bagan (1044–1077). Byatta was executed for disobeying the king who disapproved of the liaison, and their sons were later taken away to the palace. Me Wunna died of a broken heart and, like Byatta, became a nat. Their sons also became heroes in the king's service but were later executed for neglecting their duty during the construction of a pagoda at Taungbyone near Mandalay. They too became powerful nats but they remained in Taungbyone where a major festival is held annually in the month of Wagaung (August).

Although all 37 Nats of the official pantheon are represented at the shrine on Mt Popa, in fact only four of them - the Mahagiri nats, Byatta and Me Wunna - have their abode here.[3][7]

Popular destination

Me Wunna with her sons Min Gyi and Min Lay at Mt Popa

Many Burmese pilgrims visit Mt Popa every year, especially at festival season on the full moon of Nayon(May/June) and the full moon of Nadaw (November/December). Local people from the foot

of Mt Popa, at Kyaukpadaung (10-miles), go mass-hiking to the peak during December and also in April when the Myanmar new year called Thingyan festival is celebrated. Before King Anawrahta's time, hundreds of animals were sacrificed to the nats during festivals.

Burmese superstition says that on Mt Popa, one should not wear red or black or green or bring meat, especially pork, as it could offend the resident nats, although Byatta and his brother Byatwi were the only Muslims who had shipwrecked and landed in Burma.[7][8]

It is now a designated nature reserve and national park. Nearby lies Kyetmauk Taung Reservoir that provides sufficient water for gardens and orchards producing jackfruit, banana, mango and papaya as well as flowering trees such assaga (Champac) and gant gaw (Mesua ferrea Linn).[3] A pozzolan mill to supply material for the construction of Yeywa Dam on Myitnge River near Mandalay is in operation.[9]

There are many Burmese myths about the mountain, especially the one that said victory for any man who collected their army on the slopes of the mountain was guaranteed.[4] The belief that victory can be guaranteed by visiting Mount Popa is interesting because it shows the cultural identification of life and prosperity with the mountain. The still current popularity of Mount Popa exemplifies the fact that Burmese people still rely heavily on ancient traditions in daily life. It is these ancient traditions that characterize the culture of the surrounding area and beyond. People travel great distances to assure their good luck into the coming years to Mount Popa, host to an immense annual festival which actually takes place in the temple atop the mountain.[4]

The festival involves a transgender medium being possessed by a nat spirit which give him the ability to communicate between the nats and the people.[10] It is these types of festivals, the type that are unique to the region but also incredibly important to the participants, that attracts tourists to Burma.

Gallery

Buddhist monastery on Taung Kalat

View from Mount Popa to Taung Kalat

Mount Popa

mosaic tile pillars with bells at the top of Mount Popa

Macaque mother and child on Taung Kalat

Monkeys are abundant near the temple

References

Burmese Encyclopedia, Vol. 7, p. 61. Printed in 1963.

"Popa". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.

Notes[edit]

1. Jump up to:a b "Popa: Summary". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian

Institution. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "gvp" defined multiple

times with different content (see the help page). 2. Jump up^ "Popa: Eruptive History". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian

Institution.

3. Jump up to:a b c d e "Sacred Mount Popa". MRTV3. Retrieved 2008-09-14.

4. Jump up to:a b c d Htin Aung, Maung "Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism", Oxford University Press: London, 1962.

5. Jump up to:a b Fay, Peter Ward "The Forgotten Army: India's Armed Struggle for Independence 1942-1945", University of Michigan Press: 1995.

6. Jump up^ "Popa Taung Kalat". Wondermondo.

7. Jump up to:a b Spiro, Melford E (1996). Burmese Spiritualism. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56000-882-8. Retrieved 2008-09-14.

8. Jump up^ Marshall, Andrew (4 July 2005). "Mount Popa Burma". TIMEasia. Retrieved 2008-09-14.

9. Jump up^ U Win Kyaw; et al. "Yeywa Hydropwer Project, an Overview" (PDF). Vietnam National Commission on Large Dams. Retrieved 2008-09-14.

10. Jump up^ "Mount Popa". Time Asia Inc. 2006. Retrieved 2009-02-09.

The petrology and mineralogy of Mt. Popa Volcano and the nature of the late-Cenozoic Burma Volcanic Arc D Stephenson and T R Marshall, Journal of the Geological Society, July 1984

Britannica Article on Mount Popa

Myanmar's Ministry of Ecotourism page

Mt Popa Flickr photo pool

Legend of the Mount Popa Evelina Rioukhina, Magazine UN Special, March 2003

Ancient Burmese Fable from Mount Popa: Tiger in the Jungle

Spiritual Land of Prayers and Pagodas Andrew Sinclair, New York Times, June 8, 1986

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/01/25/macaque-on-a-hot-tin-roof-mount-popa-myanmar/

Macaque on a Hot Tin Roof: Mount Popa, Myanmar

Posted by Amy Klegarth on January 25, 2014

Popa Taungkalat monastery at sunset. This mountain temple boasts 777 steps full of Rhesus

macaques, on the way to the golden stupas at the top. Photo – Amy Klegarth

Mount Popa, sanskrit for flower, is an extinct volcano in the Bagan region of

Myanamar. Mount Popa’s Popa Taungkalat monastery is situated atop the nearby volcano

plug, jutting 737 m out of the ground. The impressive monastery is home to the nats spirits,

a belief dating back to the 9th century and predating Burmese Buddhism, which has since

melded with the religion. In addition to the monastery being home to resident spirits, nearly

2000 Rhesus macaques have also taken up residency there. In Burmese culture there is a

recognized pantheon of 37 nats and when travelers and pilgrims visit the monastery it is

considered bad luck to wear red, black, or green, colors which offend the nats (though the

monkeys likely won’t mind). The nats are spirits of those who died tragically and remain

unsettled, roaming the earth. Pilgrims scale 777 steps on their way up the mountain to the

monastery to pay tribute to these spirits with offerings of incense and flowers. Seeing as the

monkeys need to be placated as well, offerings of food are made to them. Since Myanamar,

formerly Burma, opened its borders to tourists, visits to the monastery by tourists have

certainly increased the amount of offerings to the monkeys specifically and have served as

the economic backing for the town at the base of Popa Taungkalat. With the local currency,

the kyat, translating 1000:1 to the USD, daily sales averaging between $5-10 USD per

vendor represent a substantial amount of money within the community surrounding the

monastery.

At the base of Mount Popa’s Popa Taungkalat one of the several hundred Rhesus macaques

digs in to some raided snacks. Photo – Amy Klegarth

Upon arriving at the base of Popa Taungkalat a handful of monkeys were already making

their rounds through town, nicking goodies where they were accessible and enjoying their

spoils on the tops of parked cars. As is often the case, I had been warned of the monkeys

mischief ahead of time, and the monkeys did not disappoint. Does this monkey mischief

lead to the usual human-wildlife conflict? Of course! But as is often the case, conflict is all

about perception. In the case of Popa Taungkalat, the conflict seems largely to be perceived

as greater by pilgrims focused on their religious pilgrimage and tourists who perhaps

expected the monkeys to be tamer, than by residents. This is quite the opposite of my

research site in Singapore, where the primary conflict arises between residents and

monkeys. The residents of Popa Taungkalat make a living from tourists eager to feed

monkeys, thereby making them more tolerant of what is otherwise very heavy interface with

the monkeys, involving the monkeys frequently snatching food from vendors (in addition to

from the tourists and pilgrims ascending the 777 steps).

A rhesus macaque at Popa Taungkalat is unphased by the barbed wire meant to keep him

from the staircase. Photo – Amy Klegarth

In my first photo, you can see the winding marble staircase and it’s tin roof covering that is

laced with barbed razor wire (presumably) in an effort to keep the stairs monkey free. As you

can see above, the monkeys pay no mind to this razor wire and effortlessly weave in and out

of it, easily navigating it as part of their landscape. This means that as one ascends the steps

to the monastery, you do so with the company of several hundred Rhesus macaques at any

given time. On my way up, the interactions I witnessed were mostly tame, and in fact, the

monkeys seemed quite shy – though I’m sure this differs according to time of day and how

hungry they are at any given moment.

Residents of Popa Taungkalat. Photo – Amy Klegarth

Staircases are often a prime space highlighted as conflict zones in regions with human-

monkey conflict. The fact is, confined spaces (temple stairways or bridges and canopy walks

at nature reserves) + humans + monkeys is a recipe for high tension interactions when not

every human is comfortable around the animals and where the animals feel their territory is

being encroached on. When you add a mutually desired resource (how about that can of

soda or the bag of sweets) into the mix, the monkeys often are very effective at coming out

on top, much to the chagrin of humans. It also helps add to the byproduct of monkey poop

prevalent on the steps of the monastery. Granted, a litany of cleaners make their living

diligently cleaning up after the monkeys, the fact remains that pilgrims and visitors alike climb

the stairs barefoot. This makes numerous blogs posts and mixed feedback from visitors to

Popa Taungkalat completely understandable.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/files/2014/01/IMG_4664.jpg

Enjoying a local delicacy, the monkey joint – filled with corn, legumes, or peanuts. Photo –

Amy Klegarth

Still, it is important to emphasize that even with thousands of resident monkeys and

hundreds-thousands of visitors a day, the vast majority of interactions between the two are

neutral or positive. The monkey above is enjoying the ‘monkey joints’ given to him. It

illustrates a positive, though problematic interaction common with temple monkeys across

the globe. A vendor has profited monetarily, a tourist has presumably had a positive

experience feeding the monkey, and the monkey is enjoying a snack (though perhaps the

monkey snatched the joints, thus making the interaction negative for all but the monkey).

This is problematic because hand feeding wild monkeys increases their boldness and

aggressive interactions with humans as they come to expect to be fed by all those who pass

by them. By marking humans as a reliable food source, it often leads to the monkeys trying

to intimidate any passerby holding food. In this sense, it is important that where monkey

tourism exists, it move away from hand feeding to promote safer, more sustainable

interactions.

A Burmese child poses with one of the resident macaques at Popa Taungkalat. Photo – Amy

Klegarth

Just minutes before snapping this shot, this particular monkey had given me a clear warning

to stay away from his space. The monkey is raising his eyebrows as a warning to the child

whose parents have posed him next to the monkey. It is interactions such as these that can

escalate quickly and become very problematic. While I’m glad to say that nothing happened

to this boy and the monkey went back to enjoying his ‘joints’, it still highlights the need to

enact proactive measures to reduce conflict, especially a location like Popa Taungkalat

where tourism is a relatively new emerging industry.

Perched on a railing overlooking the Bagan region of Myanmar at Mount Popa. Photo – Amy

Klegarth

I’ll leave you all with this lovely snap of a juvenile Rhesus macaque overlooking the

expansive Irrawaddy river valley below Mount Popa. It is a truly inspiring scene, with the

impressive golden stupas of the monastery above you, macaques on every side, and the

lush river valley below. As I made my descent down the same 777 steps, the monkeys

descended with me. It seems sunset brings the macaques down from the monastery,

creating a cacophony of tin noise as they bound over the stairway roof and down into town.

While very peaceful during the ascent, I saw tensions heighten as I went down, with

monkeys making some last ditch efforts to land some goodies at the end of the day (I can’t

blame them for trying). By the time I reached the bottom, it was a full blown monkey party in

town. I very much hope I will find my way back to Myanmar in the coming years and will be

keen to see how the region has developed, in particular Popa Taungkalat.

Remember, Keep Calm And Love Macaques,

Amy

At the end of the day the macaques make their way down into town at the base of Mount Popa. Photo – Amy Klegarth