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: Places Canada * Hatton, Saskatchewan England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire * Hatton, Lincolnshire * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow * Hatton, Shropshire, a ...

-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

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.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Landforms of Nuwara Eliya District Waterfalls in Central Province, Sri Lanka

Environmentalists' concerns

See also

References