Pidurutalagala (, pronounced , ''Straw Plateau Rock''), or previously Mount Pedro in English, is 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
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, ...
, at . It is situated North-North-East from the town of
Nuwara Eliya 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) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...
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 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, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
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; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...
and nearly 300 local residents.
See also
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Geography of Sri Lanka
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List of mountains of Sri Lanka
The following page lists the mountain peaks of Sri Lanka. The following list comprises mountains that have been thoroughly explored, with their altitudes measured by expert hikers in Sri Lanka. The classification of a separate mountain is determi ...
*
Extreme points of Sri Lanka
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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 ...
* ''
''
References
{{Highest points of Asia
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