The following table lists most
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
s of
Sri Lanka. Since Sri Lanka is a trilingual country, some rivers may have a
Sinhala name (i.e.
Kalu Ganga
Kalu Ganga ( si, කළු ගඟ; literally: Black River) is a river in Sri Lanka. Measuring in length, the river originates from Sri Padhaya and reach the sea at Kalutara. The Black River flows through the Ratnapura and the Kalutara District a ...
), while other have an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
name (i.e.
Kelani River
The Kelani River ( si, කැළණි ගඟ) is a river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara ...
). In the Sinhala language, Ganga (ගඟ) translates to "river", where as Oya (ඔය) translates to "smaller river". At , the
Mahaweli River
The Mahaweli River ( si, මහවැලි ගඟ, literally "Great Sandy River"; ta, மகாவலி ஆறு 'mahawali gangai'', is a long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. It has a drainage basin of , the largest in the ...
is the longest river in the island, and has
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
covering more than one-fifth of the island.
List of major rivers (over 100km in length)
List of minor rivers (up to 100km in length)
Malala oya - Hambanthota District
karanda Oya - Potuvil Ampara District
Heda Oya - Arugambay (Arunagamthota), Ampare District
wil oya - Ampara District
Gallery
File:Mahaweli River at sunken city of Teldeniya victoria reservoir sri lanka.JPG, Mahaweli River
The Mahaweli River ( si, මහවැලි ගඟ, literally "Great Sandy River"; ta, மகாவலி ஆறு 'mahawali gangai'', is a long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. It has a drainage basin of , the largest in the ...
, Teldeniya.
File:SL Anuradhapura asv2020-01 img28 Malvathu River.jpg, Malvathu River, Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
.
File:Kelani River.jpg, Kelani River
The Kelani River ( si, කැළණි ගඟ) is a river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara ...
, Kitulgala
Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. The Academy Award-winning ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge. Kitulgala i ...
.
File:CastlereighReservoir-SriLanka-1.jpg, Castlereigh Reservoir on Kehelgamu Oya, a tributary of Kelani River
The Kelani River ( si, කැළණි ගඟ) is a river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara ...
.
File:MaskeliyaOya-SriLanka-1.jpg, Maskeliya Oya, a tributary of Kelani River
The Kelani River ( si, කැළණි ගඟ) is a river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara ...
.
File:DeduruOya-January2012-01.JPG, Deduru Oya, Chilaw
Chilaw ( si, හලාවත, translit=Halāvata, ta, சிலாபம், translit=Cilāpam) is a large town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council. The town is located 80 kilometres away f ...
.
File:UdaWalawe-DamSpillway-SriLanka-May2015 (3).JPG, Walawe River, Udawalawe Dam
The Udawalawe Dam is a large irrigation dam in Udawalawe, in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The dam consists of an embankment section and a gravity section, combining the total dam length to approximately . The dam is also used for hydroelec ...
.
File:HortonPlainsNationalPark-Srilanka-April2011.jpg, Belihul Oya, a tributary of Walawe River.
File:Elephants in water2.jpg, Maha Oya
The Maha Oya is a major stream in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It measures approximately in length. It runs across four provinces and five districts. Maha Oya has 14 Water supply networks to serve the need of water and more than 1 mi ...
, Pinnawala.
File:Kalu River 2.jpg, Kalu Ganga
Kalu Ganga ( si, කළු ගඟ; literally: Black River) is a river in Sri Lanka. Measuring in length, the river originates from Sri Padhaya and reach the sea at Kalutara. The Black River flows through the Ratnapura and the Kalutara District a ...
, Ratnapura
Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located o ...
.
See also
*
List of dams and reservoirs in Sri Lanka
The following page lists most dams in Sri Lanka. Most of these dams are governed by the Mahaweli Authority, while the Ceylon Electricity Board operates dams used for hydroelectric power generation. Hydroelectric dams, including small hydros acco ...
*
List of waterfalls in Sri Lanka
The following is a list of waterfalls in Sri Lanka. Waterfalls less than in height are not included.
See also
* List of rivers in Sri Lanka
* List of waterfalls
Notes
References
*
{{Geography of Sri Lanka
*
Waterfalls
Sri La ...
References
{{Geography of Sri Lanka
*
Sri Lanka
Rivers