DONG NAI RIVER

also called Donnai River, Vietnamese Song Dong Nai river rising in the central highlands (Annamese Cordillera) of southern Vietnam, northwest of Da Lat. Near its source the river has rapids and is known as the Da Dung River. It flows west and southwest for about 300 miles (480 km), joining the Saigon River southwest of Bien Hoa. At the rapids of Tri An, west of Dinh Quan, it is joined by the Be River. The Nhim, an important upper tributary, rises northeast of Da Lat on the Lam Vien Plateau and has three sets of rapids and falls. Two of the cascades, Lien Khuong and Gu Gau, are below Phi Mum; the third, Pongour, just west of the Nhim's junction with the Dong Nai, has been harnessed for hydroelectric power. The Dong Nai, or Donnai, gave its name to the Upper Donnai (Haute Donnai) province and plateau region of French colonial Vietnam.