Karaitivu ( ta, காரைதீவு, translit=Kāraitīvu; si, කාර දිවයින ''Kãra Divaina'') is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

off the coast of Jaffna peninsula in northern

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, located approximately north-west of the city of

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

Etymology

Present Karaitivu has been identified with ancient Kãra Divaina (the Island of Kãra). This island is referred to in the 12th-century Rameswaram Sinhala inscription of King Nissankamalla (1187-1196 A.D.) as "Kãra Divaina". The Nampota, an ancient Sinhala text written after the 14th century also mentions this island as Kãra Divaina. Karaitivu means "the island of karai shrubs" in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

and is derived from the Tamil words ''karai'' (Webera tetrandra, a thorny shrub from the family

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules ...

) and ''tivu'' (island). The island was known as Amsterdam during Dutch colonial rule.

The island

Extended in an area of , the island is divided into nine

village officer division ''Grama Niladhari'' (''village officers'') ( si, ග්‍රාම නිලධාරී) is a Sri Lankan public official appointed by the central government to carry out administrative duties in a ''grama niladhari'' division, which is a sub-un ...

s whose combined population was 9,576 at the 2012 census. Karaitivu is connected to Jaffna peninsula by a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

and there is a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service from

Kayts Kayts ( ta, ஊர்காவற்துறை, translit=Ūrkāvaṟtuṟai'','' ), is one of the important villages in Velanai Island which is a small island off the coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. There are number of othe ...

on the neighbouring island of

Velanaitivu Velanai Island ( ta, வேலணை), also known as ''Leiden'' in Dutch, is a small island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the North of Sri Lanka. There are number of villages within the island such as Allaipiddy, Mankumpan, Velanai, Sa ...

Karainagar Karainagar ( ta, காரை நகர்) (pronounced Kaarai-Nagar) is located 20 km from Jaffna, Sri Lanka, on the Karaitivu (Island). In Tamil, it means the many karai trees but also means the coast, as derived from the Tamil word 'kad ...

is the main settlement on the island. The popular

Casuarina Beach Casuarina Beach is in Karainagar, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, about from Jaffna. The Casuarina Beach in Karainagar is also called and written as Casoorina, Cashoorina and few other variants. This is considered to be the best beach in the Jaf ...

is located on the island.

References

External links

* Islands of Jaffna District Karainagar DS Division {{NorthernLK-geo-stub