The Knuckles Mountain Range lies in central

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 ...

, in the Districts of Matale and

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

. The range takes its name from a series of recumbent folds and peaks in the west of the massif which resemble the

knuckle The knuckles are the joints of the fingers. The word is cognate to similar words in other Germanic languages, such as the Dutch "knokkel" (knuckle) or German "Knöchel" (ankle), i.e., ''Knöchlein'', the diminutive of the German word for bone ( ...

s of clenched fist when viewed from certain locations in the

Kandy District Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1906.3 km². Administrative divisions Ethnic ...

. Whilst this name was assigned by early British surveyors, the Sinhalese residents have traditionally referred to the area as ''Dumbara Kanduvetiya'' meaning Mist-laden Mountain Range. The higher montane area is often robed in thick layers of cloud. In addition to its aesthetic value, the range is of great scientific interest. It is a climatic microcosm of the rest of Sri Lanka as the conditions of all the climatic zones in the country are exhibited in the

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

. At higher elevations there is a series of isolated

cloud forests A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level clo ...

, harbouring a variety of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

. Although the range constitutes approximately 0.03% of the island's total area, it is home to a significantly higher proportion of the country's

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

. The isolated Knuckles range harbours several relict, endemic flora and fauna that are distinct from central massif. More than 34 percent of Sri Lanka's endemic trees, shrubs, and herbs are only found in these forests. Knuckles Conservation Forest was included in UNESCO natural world heritage list in 2010 as part of Central Highlands of Sri Lanka.

Knuckles Peaks

There are nine peaks over 1200 meters (4000 ft) in Knuckles Range. The highest peak, "Gombaniya" is 1906 meters (6248 Ft). Highest of knuckle shaped five peaks is at 1864m while Knuckles-Kirigalpotta 1647m (not to be confused with Horton Plains Kirigalpotta, 2nd highest peak of Sri Lanka), Aliyawetunaela 1647m, Dumbanagala 1644m, Yakungegala 1586m, Dothalugala 1575m, Wamarapugala 1559m, Koboneelagala 1555m, Kalupahana (Thunthisgala) 1628m, Rilagala 1605m, Telambugala 1331m, Nawanagala (1488m), Lakegala 1310m, Maratuwegala 1190m, Balagiriya 1148m, Velangala 1180m, Lahumanagala 1114m, Kinihirigala 1068m, and Lunumadalla 1060m are among the other peaks.

Threats

Cultivation of

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera '' Elettaria'' and '' Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They ar ...

at large scale in the montane forests is a major threat to the fragile forest ecosystem. Invasive exotic plant species such as Mist Flower (''

Ageratina riparia ''Ageratina riparia'', commonly known as mistflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Mexico. The species is widely adventive and has spread to Cuba, Jamaica, and other parts of the Caribbean. It has also been ...

'') that increasingly spread into montane forest areas and montane grasslands destroy the unique native Sri Lankan flora.Ranwala S., Marambe B.*, Wijesundara S., Silva P., Weerakoon D., Atapattu N., Gunawardena J., Manawadu L. and Gamage G
“Post-entry risk assessment of invasive alien flora of Sri Lanka - present status, gap analysis, and the most troublesome alien invaders”
''Pakistan Journal of Weed Science'' 10/2012; 18:863-871.

References

External links

{{Kandy landmarks Mountain ranges of Sri Lanka Landforms of Central Province, Sri Lanka Geography of Kandy District Geography of Matale District

Knuckles Peaks

Threats

References

Further reading

External links