The Landscape of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, an island country lying in
the Indian Ocean and separated from peninsular India by the Palk Strait.
It is located between latitudes 5°55′ and 9°51′ N and longitudes 79°41′
and 81°53′ E and has a maximum length of 432 km (from Point Pedro to
Dondra head) and a maximum width of 224 km(from Colombo to Point
Sangamankanda) with a land area about 65610km2
Landscape of the Hilly Region
The central mountain zone in above 300m
Mountain ranges and plateaus, rivers flowing through valleys, waterfalls
and gaps are the main physical features in this region
Mountain Ranges
Physically the hill country is in shape of an anchor. It consist of four
major mountain ranges
The stem of the anchor
is Pidurutalagala
mountain range. East of
the base is Haputale and
Namunukula mountain
ranges. Samanala peak is
in the West and
Knuckeles range are
situated to the North of
Pidurutalagala mountain
range
Activity
1. Trace an outline map of central hills in Sri Lanka. Mark and name the
major mountain ranges on it
Plateaus
Another special feature of these highlands is the plateaus.
A plateau is a relatively flat land at a higher level with sloping boundaries
Activity
1. Trace an outline map of central hills
2. Draw the mountain ranges in Brown and name them
3. Identify the plateaus from above map and mark and name them
4. Shade the plateaus in Yellow
Major rivers and waterfalls starting from the central hills
Major rivers like Mahawali, Kelani, Kalu, Walawe originate from the
central hills
When these rivers flow through deep slopes they create water falls
Below map shows waterfalls in the upcountry. Diyaluma, Dunhinda,
Lakshapana, Aberdeen are some of those beautiful waterfalls in the hill
country
These waterfalls which enrich the beauty of the hill country have become
tourist attractions. These are used for generating electricity
Activity
1. Name the waterfalls in the hill country
2. With the aid of an atlas prepare a table of waterfalls shoeing their
heights
Human Activities
Tea Plantation
Tea plantation is the most suitable form of
agriculture in the hill country.
Although, tea can be grown in other areas,
better and tasty tea produced in the hill
country because of the presence of better
physical conditions such as well distributed
rainfall and low temperatures
Highest land area under tea plantation is in
the Nuwara Eliya. Tea Research Institute
at Talawakale also in this district.
Activity
1. Take an outline map of Sri Lanka
a) Shade in Dark Green the district of Nuwara Eliya where Tea is
mostly grown
b) Shade in Light Green the other tea growing districts of Kandy,
Matale, Badulla
c) Mark and name the Tea Research Institute
Commercial vegetable and livestock farming
The landscapes of the hill country shows tea plantation on one side and
commercial vegetable cultivation on the other side
A large number quantity of commercial vegetables are grown in the
upcountry particularly in Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Bandarawela and
Walimada areas
Most important varieties grown are Carrot, Beat, Leeks, Cabbage,
potatoes, Beans and Salad leaves
In addition fruit and flower cultivation done on a commercial basis and
livestock farms associated with grasslands are found
Both local and foreign tourists like to visit the hill country. Hence tourist
industry and features connected to it such as hotels, tourist bungalows
are prominent features of this landscape
Activity
1. Name significant physical features of the Hill country with three
examples
2. List out human activities found in the region with a hilly landscape
3. Draw a landscape of hill country