Nanu Oya is a long

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

in the Central Province 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, ...

. It originates at an elevation of over on

Pidurutalagala Pidurutalagala (, pronounced , ''Straw Plateau Rock''), or previously Mount Pedro in English, is the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, at . It is situated North-North-East from the town of Nuwara Eliya and is easily visible from most areas of the ...

, the highest

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 t ...

in Sri Lanka, flowing into the

Kotmale Oya The Kotmale River () is the longest tributary of Mahaweli River. The river begins as the Agra Oya, in the Horton Plains National Park, Horton Plains. The Central Plains have an annual rainfall of between 125 and 200 inches a year. The river is ap ...

at an elevation of approximately . The Kotmale Oya is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of 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 ...

, the longest river in Sri Lanka, which finally discharges at

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

after a combined distance of nearly . The river was dammed in 1873 to create the popular Lake Gregory in

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) 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 administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

. The Nanu Oya discharges into the Kotmale Oya upstream of the

Upper Kotmale Dam The Upper Kotmale Dam (also known as the Upper Kotmale Hydropower Project, or UKHP) is located in Talawakele, within the Nuwara Eliya District, in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. The dam feeds the third largest hy ...

References

Rivers of Sri Lanka Geography of Nuwara Eliya District {{NuwaraEliyaDistrict-geo-stub

See also

References