St. Clair's Falls | Small Niagara of Sri Lanka

St. Clair's Falls | Small Niagara of Sri Lanka

St. Clair's Falls (Sinhala: සෙන්ට් ක්ලෙයාර්ස් ඇල්ල; Tamil: செயிண்ட் கிளையார் அருவி) is a waterfall cascading in Talawakele in Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka. The fall is also called by some the small Niagara of Sri Lanka since it is considered the widest waterfall in the country (Abeywardana, 2004). The fall can be seen from the Hatton-Talawakele Highway near the 84 km post (Abeywardhana, 2004). The Falls The fall originates from Kotmale Oya , a tributary of the  Mahaweli Ganga River , and occurs 1,076.92 m above sea level (Abeywardhana, 2004). It consists of two falls called Greater and Lesser St. Clair's Falls and cascade 80 m and 50 m respectively (Briggs, 2018). It forms three tiers and the cascading water is filled into a large pond (Abeywardhana, 2004). Upper Kotamale Hydropower Project St. Clair's Falls is one of the waterfalls affected by the Upper Kotamale Hydropower Project [(UKHP) Ranawake, 2011]. The project is located in the south-central mountains of Sri Lanka i…