BURMA, he Burmese Union [in Burmese. Myanmar (Bama), Pyidaunzu burmanaingan
B.- a state in the South-East. Asia, on the Indochina Peninsula and the adjacent territory. the mainland. B. also includes islands along its shores. B. borders with India and Pakistan on 3., China on the S.W., with Laos on the W. and Thailand on the Y.-W. On the Y.-Z. and Y. its shores are washed by the waters of the bays of Bengal and Moutama (Martaban) and Andaman m. Pl. 678 thousand km2. Us. 27.6 million people (1970). The capital is Rangoon, equated to adm. unit. (See the maps on the sticker to page 384.) The composition of B.
B.- Federal Republic. After the coup d'etat in March 1962 (see Historical essay), the 1947 Constitution was suspended and the Parliament was dissolved. The Revolution assumed full power. a council consisting of a chairman and 12 members and functioning as the supreme legislator. organ. The head of the state-va - prev. Revolution. of the council, which is also pre. The Council of Ministers, the Minister of Defense and the beginning. General Staff of the Armed Forces. The supreme power is exercised by the Council of Ministers (Revolut. pr-in) as part of the pre. Council of Ministers and Ministers. Both of these bodies are composed of senior Burmese officers. armed forces.
The supreme state councils appointed by the Revolutionaries have been established in the national states. advice.. The local governing bodies are the Administration and Security committees.
Since April 1962 the powers of the court. the power is exercised by the Chief Court; it is also the highest appellate instance. For the consideration of particularly important cases, there are criminal courts, military. tribunals, as well as special ones are being created. courts. Supervision of legality is carried out by the general prosecutor.
State coat of arms and state flag, see the tables for the articles State Coat of Arms and State Flag.
Nature
B.- preim. a mountainous country with a monsoon climate, subtropical and tropical landscapes.
Relief. In the west of B. - the Rakhine Mountains (Arakan-Yoma) are 1500-3000 m high from the Alps. the shapes of the peaks; their northern continuation - the folded-block ridges of Patkai, Kumun, etc. (height up to 5881 m). On the V.- Shan highlands with a wide development of karst and Tenasserim (Tanintai) low and medium-altitude steeply sloping ridges. Between the mountains is the hilly Irrawaddy plain with active erosion processes in the central and accumulative in the southern part. Low blurred meridionally extending ridges (Pegu, etc.) rise on the plain.
Geological structure and minerals. In geostructural terms, on the territory of B. from 3. to V., the following are distinguished: the Alpine anticlinorium of Arakan-Yoma, Paleogene - Pleistocene intermountain trough (Center, depression) and multi-age, preim. Mesozoic structures of the Shan Highlands and Tenasserim (Tanintayi). The cores of the axial ridges of the Arakan-Yoma anticlinorium are formed by Cretaceous limestones, sandstones and clay shales (up to 4000 m thick), the wings are clays and sandstones of the Paleogene (up to 6000 m) with intrusions of gabbro and serpentines to the east. the slope.
The Irrawaddy plain is a depression composed of a thickness of continental, river, lake and marine sediments (up to 11 thousand tons). m), in which in the Eocene and Pleistocene anticlines formed, forming a number of elevations (hr. Pegu). The Shan Highlands are composed of Archean, Proterozoic and Cambrian orthogneis with interlayers of crystals. limestone, shale and quartzite and Devonian, carboniferous and Permian limestones. The protrusions of the Tenasserim structures form shallow large folds with granite cores. The most important minerals in the Shan-Tenasserim region: tin, tungsten, silver, lead-zinc, cobalt and iron ores, precious stones; in the Center, depressions - deposits of oil and combustible gases.
The climate is subequatorial, hot, variably humid. Wed. temp-pa of the hottest month (April) from 30°C to 32 °C, January to Yu. from 20 °C to 25 °C, on C. from 13 ° C to 15 ° C. South-west. the monsoon brings (from May to October) 90-95% of annual precipitation. The maximum number of them falls on the windward slopes of the mountains (6000-6500 mm) and in the primorsky districts. In the inner. in lowland areas, the amount of precipitation is reduced to 500 mm, their amount varies significantly from year to year. There are three climates. seasons: humid hot (June - October), cool dry (November -February), hot dry (March - May).
Internal waters. There is a dense network of small full-flowing rivers in the mountainous districts of B. Inland rivers are dominated by low-water rivers with a pronounced decline in water in dry seasons. The largest rivers are the Irrawaddy (navigable at 1,440 km from the mouth) with a tributary Chinduin, Saluin, Sitaun. The monsoon rainy season accounts for approx. 80% of the annual river flow; the difference between max. and minim. expenses of 100 or more times, fluctuations in water levels in rivers up to 10-15 m. There are floods every year. Hydroelectric. the potential of the rivers of B. is about 30 million ket. There are few lakes (the largest is Lake. Inle on the Shan Highlands).
Soil. In mountainous areas, forest, highly leached, poor soils predominate. substances, yellow-brown, red-brown soils and red soils. The center, districts with a dry climate have a mottled soil cover dominated by heavily eroded red-brown soils, savannas, as well as brown - dry forests, primitive gravelly and dark fused soils with patches of salt and salt marshes.
Vegetation. About 60% of the territory of B. is covered with forests. In the primorsky districts and the mountains of the North. B. up to a height of 900 m - moist tropical. evergreen forests, composed of species of these. madder, myrtle, legumes, palm, milkweed, diptero-cyprinids; bamboos are numerous. At a height of 900-1200 m - mountain evergreen forests with subtropical species (chestnuts, magnolias, cypresses); 1200-2300 m - pine forests; 2300-3000 m - mixed and small-leaved; 3000-3500 m - coniferous forests; 3500-4000 m - rhododendron woodlands; above 4000 m - Alps.
On the leeward ridges and in the foothills of the Center. B.-deciduous forests with teak, yellow wood and other valuable species. In areas with an annual rainfall of less than 900 mm - dry shrub forests and woodlands of dalbergia, acacia. In the driest areas - thickets of tree-like milkweeds. In swampy deltas - mangrove forests. Natures. It grows, the cover is greatly changed, many forests, like the savannah in the Shan Highlands, are secondary.meadows.
The animal world. The fauna of B. is dominated by forest animals with a terrestrial, arboreal and semi-woody lifestyle: tupayas, flying squirrels, loris, wyverns, martens, misty panther, rat hedgehog, porcupine, woolwing, black-tailed tapir. In more open spaces - wild bulls, rhinos, tigers, leopards, elephants. Birds, reptiles, amphibians are richly represented.
In B. there are a number of protected areas - reserves - Padown, Shuezetto, Shuudown, etc. with a rich fauna: ind. elephant, gaur, leopard, tiger, himalayan bear, burm. banteng, deer.
Natural areas: West with mountain evergreen and deciduous forests; North - highlands with a cool humid climate and the dominance of boreal species in forests; Shan Highlands with a warm, moderately humid climate, pine forests and mountain savannah; Tenasserim (Tanintayi) - middle highlands with a hot excessively humid climate, humid tropics. forests; The inner part - dry hilly plains with thorny shrubs and semi-desert formations; the Irrawaddy Delta - a flat swampy lowland, almost completely plowed.
