St. Clair's Falls ( si, සාන්ත ක්ලෙයාර් ඇල්ල) is one of the widest waterfalls in Sri Lanka and is commonly known as the "Little Niagara of Sri Lanka". It is one of six waterfalls affected by the Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project.
The falls are situated west of the town of
Talawakele
Talawakelle ( si, තලවාකැලේ, ta, தலவாக்கலை) is a town in Nuwara Eliya District in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. It is the center of Dimbula tea planting district, the largest tea ...
on the
Hatton
Hatton may refer to:
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England
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-Talawakele Highway in
Nuwara Eliya District.
The falls are located along the
Kotmale Oya
The Kotmale River ( si, කොත්මලේ ඔය ) is the longest tributary of Mahaweli River. The river begins as the Agra Oya, in the Horton Plains. The Central Plains have an annual rainfall of between 125 and 200 inches a year. The river ...
, a tributary of 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 ...
, as it cascades over three rock outcrops into a large pool, running through a tea estate, from which the falls derive their name from. The waterfalls consist of two falls called "Maha Ella" (Sinhalese "The Greater Fall"), which is high and wide and "Kuda Ella", (Sinhalese "The Lesser Fall"), which is high and located immediately downstream of the main fall. St Clair's falls are the 20th highest waterfall in Sri Lanka.
Environmentalists' concerns
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/St.ClairsFalls-Srilanka.JPG)
From the inception of the Upper Kotmale Project, the environmentalists protested concerning that the waterfall is threatened by the
Upper Kotmale Dam
The Upper Kotmale Dam (also known as the Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project, or UKHP) is located in Talawakele, within the Nuwara Eliya District, in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. The dam feeds the third largest hydroelectric power station ...
. The falls are located downstream from the dam. The Government however has stated that they will release a limited quantity of water to ensure a continuous flow of water over the falls for 10 hours and 30 minutes daily, between sunrise and sunset.
See also
*
List of waterfalls of 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 of Sri L ...
References
{{Reflist, 2
Landforms of Nuwara Eliya District
Waterfalls in Central Province, Sri Lanka