Mogok မိုးကုတ် Mogoke[1] | |
|---|---|
City | |
 | |
  Mogok Location of Mandalay, Burma | |
| Coordinates:22°55′N96°30′E / 22.917°N 96.500°E /22.917; 96.500 | |
| Country |  Myanmar |
| Region |  Mandalay Region |
| District | Thabeikkyin |
| Township | Mogok |
| Area | |
• Total | 12.48 sq mi (32.3 km2) |
| Population (2019)[2] | |
• Total | 89,855 |
| • Density | 7,200/sq mi (2,780/km2) |
| • Religions | Buddhism |
| Time zone | UTC+6.30 (MMT) |
Mogok (Burmese:မိုးကုတ်မြို့,MLCTS:mui: kut mrui.,[móɡoʊʔ];Shan:မိူင်းၵုတ်ႈ,Möng Kut[mɤ́ŋkut]) is a Mandalay Region major city of around 90,000 people[2] in theThabeikkyin District[3] ofMandalay Region ofMyanmar, located 200 kilometres (120 mi) north ofMandalay and 148 kilometres (92 mi) north-east ofShwebo.
Mogok is derived from theShan language name "Möng Kut" (Shan:မိူင်းၵုတ်ႈ), meaning "winding valley".[4][5]
Mogok is believed to be founded in 1217 by three lost Shan hunters who discovered rubies at the base of a collapsed mountain later known as Kyee Arr Taung.[6] According to the oral history, the hunters returned to their home inMomeik and offered the precious stones to the localsaopha who established a village in what would become modern-day Mogok.[6]
Following the 1885Third Anglo-Burmese War when the British conquered and annexed the hither to independentUpper Burma, in 1886 the British launched a military expedition to "open up" the ruby mines at Mogok and make them available to British merchants. George Skelton Streeter, a gem expert and son of Edmund Streeter of the Streeters & Co Ltd jewellery company in London, accompanied the expedition and stayed there to work as a government valuer in British-run mines.[7]
In 2018, the Mogok commemorated the 800th anniversary of the city's founding.[8]
During theMyanmar civil war, the town was the site of large-scale fighting between theTa'ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar's military, with large eastern portions of the town falling under rebel control.[9] The town fell to armed ethnic rebel forces on 24 July 2024.[10][11] The TNLA withdrew from Mogok after a China-brokered ceasefire on 29 October 2025.[12]
At 1,170 metres (3,840 ft) in elevation, the city has a fairlytemperate climate year-round, and is home toBamar,Shan,Lisu,Palaung, andKarenethnic groups, as well asChinese,Indians andGurkhas.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.Taung Min Taung mountain is the highest mountain in the region and is at an elevation of more than 7000 feet. Kyatpyin lies about 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Mogok. Tourists that travel to this area need a special authorization and a guide person.[13]
In contrast to the hot to sweltering,semi-arid Dry Zone, Mogok has a borderlinehumid subtropical climate (KöppenCwa) and asubtropical highland climate (Cwb) characterised by a warmdry season with cold mornings from mid-November to mid-April, and a very warm and extremely rainywet season akin to that ofKachin State, only less extreme in heat discomfort, from mid-April to mid-November. The annual rainfall of around 2,700 millimetres or 106 inches is comparable to that ofYangon and three times that of Mandalay.
| Climate data for Mogok, elevation 1,176 m (3,858 ft), (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.2 (73.8) | 25.5 (77.9) | 28.5 (83.3) | 29.4 (84.9) | 27.8 (82.0) | 25.8 (78.4) | 24.9 (76.8) | 25.3 (77.5) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.5 (79.7) | 25.6 (78.1) | 23.3 (73.9) | 26.0 (78.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 14.4 (57.9) | 16.5 (61.7) | 20.0 (68.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 23.1 (73.6) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.8 (73.0) | 21.5 (70.7) | 18.6 (65.5) | 15.4 (59.7) | 20.2 (68.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.7 (42.3) | 7.6 (45.7) | 11.4 (52.5) | 15.4 (59.7) | 18.3 (64.9) | 19.9 (67.8) | 19.9 (67.8) | 19.7 (67.5) | 19.0 (66.2) | 16.4 (61.5) | 11.7 (53.1) | 7.4 (45.3) | 14.4 (57.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 12.9 (0.51) | 10.7 (0.42) | 19.5 (0.77) | 76.1 (3.00) | 352.7 (13.89) | 510.4 (20.09) | 475.1 (18.70) | 482.2 (18.98) | 349.7 (13.77) | 287.5 (11.32) | 69.8 (2.75) | 14.7 (0.58) | 2,661.4 (104.78) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 7.7 | 18.9 | 25.7 | 27.4 | 28.0 | 23.0 | 16.8 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 158.9 |
| Source:World Meteorological Organization[14] | |||||||||||||
Mogok and other villages nearby, especiallyKyatpyin have been famous since ancient times for its gemstones, especiallyruby andsapphire, butsemi-precious stones such asspinel,lapis lazuli,garnet,moonstone,peridot andchrysoberyl are also found. The gems are found inalluvialmarblegravels by means ofpanning,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.[15][16]
Gems are sold inmarkets in Mogok; however, foreigners require special permits to visit the town, and it is illegal to purchase/export gems from Myanmar other than from government licensed dealers.
90% of a certain version of the world'srubies come from Myanmar (Burma). There are many other ruby sources in the world such as Sri Lanka and various places in Africa. Only in terms of quality Mogok rubies are best. The red stones from there are prized for their purity andhue.Thailand buys the majority of Myanmar'sgems. The "Valley of Rubies", the mountainous Mogok area, 200 km (120 mi) north ofMandalay, is noted as the original source of ruby including the world's finest "pigeon's blood" rubies as well as one of the world's most beautiful sapphires in "royal" blue, only second to the now extinct Kashmir blue.
