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Thayetmyo

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a town and district in the Minbu division of Upper Burma. The town is situated on the right bank of the Irrawaddy, opposite Allanmyo. Pop. (1901) 15,824. The cantonment contains the wing of a British battalion and a native regiment. It enjoys a high reputation for healthiness. There is a special industry of silver work.

The district has an area of 4750 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 239,706, showing a decrease of 4 per cent. in the decade. The total rainfall in 1905 was 41.30 in. On the west is the Arakan Yoma range, and on the east the Pegu Yomas; and the face of the country, where it does not rise into mountains, is everywhere broken ty low ranges of hills, many of which are barren and destitute of all vegetation. The greater part of the district is wooded, and the Yomas east and west are covered with forests, now mostly preserved. The chief river is the Irrawaddy, which traverses Thayetmyo from north to south. The drainage finds its way to the Irrawaddy by three main streams (the Pwon, Ma-htun and Ma-de) on the west, and by two (the Kye-ni and Hput) on the east. Several salt and hot springs occur in many localities; petroleum is also found, and extensive lime quarries exist a few miles south of Thayetmyo. The principal wild animals are elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, leopards, black bears and wild hog. Silver pheasants and partridges are found in large numbers, especially in the mountains. The chief products are rice, cotton, oil-seeds and tobacco; cutch is also very abundant, and the manufacture of the dye-stuff is carried on extensively. Coal has been found in the district, and earth oil-wells exist, but neither coal nor oil has yet been extracted in any quantity. There are 403 sq. m. of reserved forest. Three oil-wells were sunk in 1883 at Pedaukpin, but they were found unprofitable and abandoned.

On the annexation of Pegu by the British in 1852-53, Thayetmyo was formed into a subdivision of Prome district; and in 1870 it was erected into a separate jurisdiction and placed under a deputy-commissioner. It was formerly in the Irrawaddy division of Lower Burma, but was transferred to Upper Burma for administrative purposes in 1896.