1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Shwebo

SHWEBO, a town and district in the Sagaing division of Upper Burma. The town is situated in the midst of a rice plain, 53 m. by rail N.E. from Mandalay: pop. (1901) 9626. It is of historic interest as the birthplace and capital of Alompra, the founder of the last Burmese dynasty. After British annexation it became an important military cantonment; but only the wing of a European regiment is now stationed here. The area of the district is 5634 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 286,891, showing an increase of 24% in the decade. It lies between the Katha, Upper and Lower Chindwin and Mandalay districts. The Irrawaddy forms the dividing line on the east. The physical features of the district vary considerably. The Minwun range runs down the whole eastern side, skirting the Irrawaddy. In the north it is a defined range, but at Sheinmaga, in the south, it sinks to an undulation. West of the Mu river, in the centre of the district, there is a gradual ascent to the hills which divide Sagaing from the Upper Chindwin. Between these ranges and on both sides of the Mu is a plain, unbroken except for some isolated hills in the north and north-east and the low Sadaung-gyi range in the south-east. The greater part of this plain is a rice- growing tract, but on the sloping ground maize, millets, sesamum, cotton and peas are raised. A good deal of sugar is also produced from groves of the tari palm. The Mu river is navigable for three months in the year, from June to August, but in the dry season it can be forded almost anywhere. A good deal of salt is produced in a line which closely follows the railway. Coal has been worked at Letkokpin, near the Irrawaddy.

The Ye-u reserved forests are much more valuable than those to the east on the Minwun and the Mudein. Extensive irrigation works existed in Shwebo district, but they fell into disrepair in King Thibaw's time. Chief of these was the Mahananda Lake. The old works have recently been in process of restoration, and in 1906 the main canal was formally opened. The rainfall follows the valleys of the Mu and the Irrawaddy, and leaves the rest of the district comparatively dry. It varies from an average of 29 to 49 in. The average temperature is 90° in the hot season, and falls to 60° or 61° in the cold season, the maximum and minimum readings being 104° and 56°.