Mogok

For the Singaporean film, see Mogok (film).
Mogok
မိုးကုတ်
Mogoke[1]
Mogok

Location of Mandalay, Burma

Coordinates: 22°55′N 96°30′E / 22.917°N 96.500°E / 22.917; 96.500Coordinates: 22°55′N 96°30′E / 22.917°N 96.500°E / 22.917; 96.500
Country  Burma
Region Mandalay Region
District Pyin Oo Lwin
Township Mogok
Population (2005)
 • Total 150,000
 • Religions Theravada Buddhism
Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)
Large Ruby (corundum) crystal from Mogok. Size: 5.5 x 3.2 x 3 cm.

Mogok (Burmese: မိုးကုတ်, pronounced: [móɡoʊʔ]; Shan: မိူင်းၵုတ်ႈ, pronounced [mɤ́ŋ kut]) is a city in the Pyin Oo Lwin District of the Mandalay Region of Myanmar, located 200 km north of Mandalay and 148 km north-east of Shwebo. Mogok was in Shan State and after British, the town was put in Mandalay Region along with Pyin Oo Lwin.

Geography

At 1170 meters in elevation, the city has a fairly temperate climate year-round, and is home to Bamar, Shan, Lisu, Palaung, and Karen ethnic groups, as well as Chinese, Indians and Gurkhas. The city is composed of two towns, Mogok and Kyat Pyin. Mogok is four miles long and two miles wide. It is situated in a valley surrounded by a large number of mountains. Kyat Pyin lies about 12 miles from Mogok. Tourist travel to the area is not permitted.[2]

Repute for gemstones

Mogok and other villages nearby have been famous since ancient times for its gemstones, especially ruby and sapphire, but semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, garnet, moonstone, peridot and chrysoberyl are also found. The gems are found in alluvial marble gravels by means of panning, tunneling and digging pits by hand. There is little mechanization of the mining. The gravels derive from the metamorphosed limestones (marbles) of the Mogok metamorphic belt.[3][4]

Gems are sold in markets in Mogok; however, foreigners require special permits to visit the town, and purchase/export of gems from Myanmar at non-government licensed dealers is illegal.

90% of the world's rubies come from Myanmar. The red stones from there are prized for their purity and hue. Thailand buys the majority of Myanmar's gems. The "Valley of Rubies", the mountainous Mogok area, 200 km (120 mi) north of Mandalay, is noted as the original source of ruby including the world's finest "pigeon's blood" rubies as well as the world's most beautiful sapphires in "royal" blue.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Pyin Oo Lwin / Mogoke Map" Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
  2. ↑ http://www.myanmartourism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=351&Itemid=289
  3. ↑ Searle, D. L.; Ba Than Haq (1964) "The Mogok belt of Burma and its relationship to the Himalayan orogeny" Proceedings of the 22nd International Geological Conference, Delhi 11: pp. 132–161
  4. ↑ Iyer, Lakshinarayanpuran Anantkrishna Narayana (1953) The geology and gem-stones of the Mogok Stone Tract, Burma Geological Survey of India Memoir 82, Government of India Press, Calcutta, OCLC 6526679 ; reprinted in 2007 by White Lotus, Bangkok, ISBN 978-974-480-123-4
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