Pidurutalagala ( si, පිදුරුතලාගල, pronounced , ''Straw Plateau Rock''), or Mount Pedro in English, is an
ultra prominent peak
An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500.
The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or ...
and the tallest
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, at . It is situated North-North-East from the town of
Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...
and is easily visible from most areas of the
Central Province. Its summit is home to the central communications array of the
Government of Sri Lanka
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the isl ...
and armed forces and serves as an important point in the country's radar system. The peak is currently designated as an "Ultra-high security zone", and is protected by a large military base; the peak is strictly off-limits to the general public.
On 1 March 2010, a small
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
broke out over the mountain's forest cover. The fire destroyed of forest, before being doused by the
Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
and nearly 300 local residents.
See also
*
Geography of Sri Lanka
*
List of mountains of Sri Lanka
*
Extreme points of Sri Lanka
*
List of elevation extremes by country
The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory.
Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gr ...
* ''
''
References
Mountains of Sri Lanka
Landforms of Central Province, Sri Lanka
Nuwara Eliya
Two-thousanders of Asia
Highest points of countries
Geography of Nuwara Eliya District
{{NuwaraEliyaDistrict-geo-stub