The following table lists most

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

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

Kalu Ganga Kalu Ganga (; literally: Black River) is a river in Sri Lanka. The river originates from Sri Pada Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, reaching the sea at Kalutara after a journey. The Black River flows through the Ratnapura and the Kalutara District an ...

), while other have an English name (i.e. Kelani River). There are two words meaning "river" in the Sinhala language, namely Ganga (ගඟ) and Oya (ඔය), of which the usage of both terms is arbitrary. At , the

Mahaweli River The Mahaweli River (, literally "Great Sandy River"; 'mahawali gangai'', is a long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. It has a drainage basin of , the largest in the country, which covers almost one-fifth of the total area of the ...

is the longest river on the island, its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which 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. It is estimated that there are 103 rivers in Sri Lanka.

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 (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

File:Kelani River.jpg, Kelani River, Kitulgala File:CastlereighReservoir-SriLanka-1.jpg, Castlereigh Reservoir on

Kehelgamu Oya The Kehelgamu Oya (translated into Kehelgamu River from Sinhala language, Sinhala) is a major upstream tributary of the Kelani River. The tributary measures in length, originating in the hills of the Horton Plains National Park, before passing th ...

, a tributary of Kelani River File:MaskeliyaOya-SriLanka-1.jpg, Maskeliya Oya, a tributary of Kelani River File:DeduruOya-January2012-01.JPG, Deduru Oya,

Chilaw Chilaw (, ) is a city in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council, whereas the outskirts are governed by a pradeshiya sabha of the same name. The town is located 80 kilometers away from Colombo via ...

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

Walawe River The Walawe (, ) is a long river in Sri Lanka which originates on Adam's Peak. It discharges into the Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water are ...

, Udawalawe Dam File:HortonPlainsNationalPark-Srilanka-April2011.jpg, Belihul Oya, a tributary of

File:Elephants in water2.jpg, Maha Oya, 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 loca ...

References

{{Geography of Sri Lanka *

Rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

List of major rivers (over 100km in length)

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

Gallery

See also

References