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Waterfalls are a rich natural asset in any country. They are beautiful to look at and admired. Some, like the Niagara Falls are world famous and offer breathtaking views.
The Niagara is made up of two waterfalls in West New York, USA on one side and South Ontario in Canada on the other, lying between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, on the international border. American Falls are 55.5metres/182 feet high and 328m/1076 ft wide. Canadian Falls, known as Horseshoe Falls are 54m/177 ft high, 640 m/2100 ft wide. It has been a popular tourist attraction since the early 19th century.
Angel (upper fall) in Venezuela is considered the highest waterfall in the world. Its height is recorded as 975m/3212 ft. Among the ten highest waterfalls in the world, five are in Norway, two in South Africa, and one each in Zimbabwe and USA.
Sri Lanka, in comparison to its size, has perhaps the largest number of waterfalls of any country in the world. Indeed, there are nearly 400 in Sri Lanka. A recent study undertaken by the Lanka Council on Waterfalls (LCWF) - an organization set up to improve public awareness and understanding of water issues to promote the conservation and wise use of nature and natural resources - has recorded 382 waterfalls in Sri Lanka.
The waterfalls in Sri Lanka are well distributed and are not confined to the hill country. Even Colombo District has four waterfalls. Of course they are not very tall - two are just four metres each, another 10m and the fourth is 15m. Kurunegala District has just one - six metres tall. Gampaha and Hambantota districts have two each.
The largest number of waterfalls are in the Ratnapura district (109) followed by Nuwara Eliya (75) and Kegalle (40). Some of the waterfalls have very interesting stories attached to them, mainly folk tales and legends. The most beautiful waterfalls have been selected for stamps and there have been a number of issues featuring waterfalls.
Sunday Times - April 17, 2005
Lanka Council of Waterfalls (LCWF) used to host the web site at www.srilankanwaterfalls.org which lists down 382 waterfalls in Sri Lanka. The information on most of the waterfalls on this site is from the LCWF web site.
In addition to the site the LCWF sells a CD which is supposed to contain all the information regarding to the 382 waterfalls. To know more about this CD, you may contact LCWF at
Lanka Council On Waterfalls (LCWF)
PO BOX 26,
434/3, Sri Jayawardenapura,
Sri Lanka.
