Walawe Ganga River

Walawe Ganga (Sinhala: වලවේ ගඟ; Tamil: வளவை கங்கை) is considered one of the major rivers in Sri Lanka. It originates from the southern slopes of the central hills at an elevation of 2,300 m above mean sea level  and flows from north to south with a total river length of 105 km (Ranjan et al., 2007; Talagala, 2003). It empties into the Indian Ocean at Ambalantota in Hambantota District. History In the 11th and 12th centuries or earlier, the southern part of Rohana had been divided into two major territorial divisions along the Vana-nadi, the present Walawe Ganga river (Nicholas, 1963). River basin Located in the dry zone of the country, the Walawe Ganga river basin is the third largest fluvial system in Sri Lanka and its river watershed encompasses an area of approximately 2442 km 2  (Chandrajith et al., 2001; Ranjan et al., 2007). It receives rainfall from both monsoons ranging from 1000 mm to 2500 mm during an average year (Talagala, 2003). This basin is also one of the three main river bas…