Bassac River

The Bassac River (; Tonle Bassac) is a distributary of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, crossing the border into Vietnam near Châu Đốc. The name Bassac comes from the Khmer prefix “pa” (father or male) added to sak (សក្តិ) (power or honor), a Khmer word borrowed from the Sanskrit “sakti” (शक्ति).
In Vietnam it is known as the Hậu River ("Sông Hậu" or "Hậu Giang" in Vietnamese).
The Bassac River is an important transportation corridor between Cambodia and Vietnam, with barges and other craft plying the waters. A city of the same name was once the west-bank capital of the Kingdom of Champasak. Sak (សក្តិ) can also be seen in the Khmer spelling of Champasak; (ចំប៉ាសក្តិ). USS "Satyr" (ARL-23), a recommissioned repair ship originally built for the United States Navy during World War II, served on the Bassac River during the Second Indochina War.
Three bridges span the Bassac: the Monivong and Takhmao bridges in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and the Cần Thơ Bridge in Cần Thơ in Vietnam.
Approximately 8.5 kilometers to prey basak lies an old ancient temple ruins Prasat Prey Basak which was destroyed during the Vietnam war due to heavy bombing from the United States military. Prasat Prey Basak Temple was built during the Funan empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The temple is dated between 1900–2000 years old. It is considered to be the oldest Prasat in Cambodia since it was dated back before Chenla during the Funan era.