THAP MUOI PLAIN

also called Plain of Reeds, Vietnamese Dong Thap Muoi, French Plaine des Joncs low, basinlike, alluvial swampy region, a northwestern extension of the Mekong delta, in southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia. It is bounded on the southeast by the Tien Giang River, the main channel of the Mekong River, and also drains to a lesser extent into the parallel Vam Co Tay River, on the northeast. The sparsely populated plain is essentially a vast hollow below the level of the Mekong, and it has been partially reclaimed by a levee and drainage system. In the 1950s the plain was chosen for intensive agricultural development with resettlement of refugees from the north, but the subsequent war in Vietnam contributed to postponement of the project. The old Mandarin Road from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to Phnom Penh skirted the swamp on the north as does the more modern highway.