The following table lists most

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s of Sri Lanka. Since Sri Lanka is a trilingual country, some rivers may have a Sinhala name (i.e.

Kalu Ganga Kalu Ganga ( si, කළු ගඟ; literally: Black River) is a river in Sri Lanka. Measuring in length, the river originates from Sri Padhaya and reach the sea at Kalutara. The Black River flows through the Ratnapura and the Kalutara District a ...

), while other have an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

name (i.e.

Kelani River The Kelani River ( si, කැළණි ගඟ) is a river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara ...

). In the Sinhala language, Ganga (ගඟ) translates to "river", where as Oya (ඔය) translates to "smaller river". At , 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 ...

is the longest river in the island, and has

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

covering more than one-fifth of the island.

List of major rivers (over 100km in length)

List of minor rivers (up to 100km in length)

Malala oya - Hambanthota District karanda Oya - Potuvil Ampara District Heda Oya - Arugambay (Arunagamthota), Ampare District wil oya - Ampara District

Gallery

File:Mahaweli River at sunken city of Teldeniya victoria reservoir sri lanka.JPG,

, Teldeniya. File:SL Anuradhapura asv2020-01 img28 Malvathu River.jpg, Malvathu River,

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

. File:Kelani River.jpg,

Kitulgala Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. The Academy Award-winning ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge. Kitulgala i ...

. File:CastlereighReservoir-SriLanka-1.jpg, Castlereigh Reservoir on Kehelgamu Oya, a tributary of

. File:MaskeliyaOya-SriLanka-1.jpg, Maskeliya Oya, a tributary of

. File:DeduruOya-January2012-01.JPG, Deduru Oya,

Chilaw Chilaw ( si, හලාවත, translit=Halāvata, ta, சிலாபம், translit=Cilāpam) is a large town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council. The town is located 80 kilometres away f ...

. File:UdaWalawe-DamSpillway-SriLanka-May2015 (3).JPG, Walawe River,

Udawalawe Dam The Udawalawe Dam is a large irrigation dam in Udawalawe, in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The dam consists of an embankment section and a gravity section, combining the total dam length to approximately . The dam is also used for hydroelec ...

. File:HortonPlainsNationalPark-Srilanka-April2011.jpg, Belihul Oya, a tributary of Walawe River. File:Elephants in water2.jpg,

Maha Oya The Maha Oya is a major stream in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It measures approximately in length. It runs across four provinces and five districts. Maha Oya has 14 Water supply networks to serve the need of water and more than 1 mi ...

, Pinnawala. File:Kalu River 2.jpg,

Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located o ...

References

{{Geography of Sri Lanka * Sri Lanka Rivers

List of major rivers (over 100km in length)

List of minor rivers (up to 100km in length)

Gallery

See also

References