The longest river in Sri Lanka is the Mahaweli River, but there are over a hundred rivers on the island. There are four biosphere reserves in Sri Lanka that provide protected habitats for its many endemic species. Sri Lanka has one of the highest biodiversity density in the world, and the highest overall in Asia. The coastal regions are mostly arid and feature mangrove forests, which are home to a variety of endemic species. Sri Lanka's terrain is primarily hilly coastal plains and a central mountain range, with Pidurutalagala as its highest point, 2,524 meters (8,281 feet) above sea level. Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, separated from the south of India by the Gulf of Mannar and Pak Strait. Sri Lanka is an island nation, its nearest neighbor is India, and it shares maritime borders with the Maldives. The Sri Lankan War continued, lasting 26 years, and Sri Lanka has been quickly developing ever since. In 1972, the island changed its name to Sri Lanka, and rioting and unrest continued between the two major ethnic groups. The Indian Tamil people were disenfranchised and lost their citizenship, and many were killed in the violent outbreaks that followed as the ethnic tensions continued. In 1833, the island fell under British administration, which lasted until 1948 when Ceylon gained independence.Īfter gaining independence, the Tamil and Sinhala communities faced much conflict. The British occupied Sri Lanka, calling it Ceylon in 1796, and by 1815, the Kingdom of Kandy was conquered by Britain. The Dutch won the battles, and Colombo became a Dutch colony. Dutch explorers followed and the native kingdom of Kandy agreed to a treaty with their Dutch East India Company, sparking a Dutch-Portuguese War. They expanded their colony over time and warred with the native kingdom, which began to move inland to escape the colonist's attacks. The Portuguese gave the island the name Sri Lanka. Invasions from neighboring South Asian nations marked the 3rd century BC, including overthrows of the government by the Chola, Pandya, Chera, Pallava, and Kalinga people.Įuropean explorers arrived with the Portuguese in 1505, soon followed by the establishment of a fort in Colombo in 1517. A later wave of migration around 300 BC brought the Tamils from India's Tamil region. The migration from India also brought Buddhism, drastically transforming the culture of Sri Lanka. The 5th century BC brought migrants who traveled from India and settled on Sri Lanka, and the Sinhalese soon dominated the population of the island.
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