| Khone Falls | |
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Khone Falls rapids |
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| Location | Mekong River Champasak Province Laos |
| Type | Cascade |
| Total height | 21 m (69 ft) |
| Watercourse | Mekong River |
The Khone Falls and Pha Pheng Falls (Lao: ຂກົກນເກະ ຜກະ ຜເກະງ) is a waterfall located in Champasak Province on the Mekong River in southern Laos, near the border with Cambodia. The Khone Falls are the largest in southeast Asia and they are the main reason that the Mekong is not fully navigable into China. The falls are characterised by thousands of islands and countless waterways, giving the area its name Si Phan Don or 'The 4,000 islands'.
The highest falls reach to 21 metres (69 ft); the succession of rapids stretch 9.7 km (6.0 mi) of the river's length. The average discharge of the cataract is nearly 11,000 m3/s (390,000 cu ft/s), though the highest volume on record was reached at over 49,000 m3/s (1,700,000 cu ft/s).
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The Khone Falls are well known as the prime reason why the Mekong river is not fully navigable into China. In the late 19th century French colonialists made repeated attempts to navigate the falls but their efforts failed. This difficulty led to the construction of the Don Det - Don Khon narrow gauge railway on Don Det and Don Khon islands.
The falls are home to the plabuck, an endangered species of catfish said to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. The plabuck is alleged to reach lengths of 3 m (10 ft) and weights of up to 646 pounds (293 kilograms).[1]