Mundel Lake or Mundalama Wewa (Sinhala: මුන්දලම වැව; Tamil: முந்தல் குடா) is a shallow brackish water lagoon located in Puttalam District, Sri Lanka.
Physical, ecological features & Climate
The lagoon covers approximately 3,100 ha of area fringed by mudflats, salt marshes, sand dunes, and mangrove clusters (IUCN & CEA, 2006). It is completely cut off from the sea by a narrow sandbar at Udappuwa and is connected with the Puttalam estuary at the northern end through a long and narrow channel system, the Dutch Canal (IUCN & CEA, 2006; Jayasiri et al., 1998). The length of the Dutch Canal from Puttalam Lagoon to Mundel Lake is 16 km and its width is about 10 m (Jayasiri & Rajapaksha, 2000). Freshwater enters the lagoon through a seasonal river named Battulu Oya (Jayasiri et al., 1998). The surface area of the lake is approx. 30 km² at the local mean sea level and the mean depth is about 0.75 m (IUCN & CEA, 2006; Jayasiri & Rajapaksha, 2000).
The lagoon is located within the dry zone of the country and experiences two rainy (April-June and October-November) and two dry periods per year (IUCN & CEA, 2006). The average annual rainfall is 1,000-1,500 mm and the temperature is uniform at around 30.4-33.6 ℃ (IUCN & CEA, 2006).
The wetland is mainly used for fisheries and prawn farming and as a result of the excessive utilization of the resources beyond the sustainable limit, the wetland system has been disturbed today.
Attribution
References
1) IUCN & CEA, 2006. National Wetland Directory of Sri Lanka. IUCN Sri Lanka and the Central Environmental Authority. Colombo, Sri Lanka. ISBN: 955-8177-54-7. pp.173-177.
2) Jayasiri, H.B., Rajapaksha, J.K., Rydberg, L. and Cederloef, U., 1998. The Mundel Lake estuarine system, Sri Lanka; possible measures to avoid extreme salinity and sea level variations. Ambio, 27(8), pp.745-751.
3) Jayasiri, H.B. and Rajapaksha, J.K., 2000. Salt and water balance in the Mundel Lake: a strongly choked coastal lagoon. The National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency. pp.12-25
2) Jayasiri, H.B., Rajapaksha, J.K., Rydberg, L. and Cederloef, U., 1998. The Mundel Lake estuarine system, Sri Lanka; possible measures to avoid extreme salinity and sea level variations. Ambio, 27(8), pp.745-751.
3) Jayasiri, H.B. and Rajapaksha, J.K., 2000. Salt and water balance in the Mundel Lake: a strongly choked coastal lagoon. The National Aquatic Resources Research & Development Agency. pp.12-25
Location Map
This page was last updated on 14 September 2022
