CEYLON

ceylon, a large island and british colony in the indian ocean, separated on the n.w. from india by the gulf of manaar and palk strait. it lies between 5 deg. 55' and 9 deg. 51' n. and between 79 deg. 41' and 81 deg. 54' e. its extreme length from north to south is 271-1/2 m.; its greatest width is 137-1/2 m.; and its area amounts to 25,481 sq. m., or about five-sixths of that of ireland. in its general outline the island resembles a pear, the apex of which points towards the north. coast. the coast is beset on the n.w. with numberless sandbanks, rocks and shoals, and may be said to be almost connected with india by the island of rameswaram and adam's bridge, a succession of bold rocks reaching almost across the gulf at its narrowest point. between the island and the opposite coast there exist two open channels of varying depth and width, beset by rocks and shoals. one of these, the manaar passage, is only navigable by very small craft. the other, called the paumben passage, lying between rameswaram and the mainland, has been deepened at considerable outlay, and is used by large vessels in passing from the malabar to the coromandel coast, which were formerly compelled in doing so to make the circuit of the island. the west and south coasts, which are uniformly low, are fringed their entire length by coco-nut trees, which grow to the water's edge in great luxuriance, and give the island a most picturesque appearance. along these shores there are numerous inlets and backwaters of the sea, some of which are available as harbours for small native craft. the east coast from point de galle to trincomalee is of an entirely opposite character, wanting the ample vegetation of the other, and being at the same time of a bold precipitous character. the largest ships may freely approach this side of the island, provided they take care to avoid a few dangerous rocks, whose localities, however, are well known to navigators. seen from a distance at sea this "utmost indian isle" of the old geographers wears a truly beautiful appearance. the remarkable elevation known as "adam's peak," the most prominent, though not the loftiest, of the hilly ranges of the interior, towers like a mountain monarch amongst an assemblage of picturesque hills, and is a sure landmark for the navigator when as yet the colombo lighthouse is hidden from sight amid the green groves of palms that seem to be springing from the waters of the ocean. the low coast-line encircles the mountain zone of the interior on the east, south and west, forming a belt which extends inland to a varying distance of from 30 to 80 m.; but on the north the whole breadth of the island from kalpitiya to batticaloa is an almost unbroken plain, containing magnificent forests of great extent. mountains. the mountain zone is towards the south of the island, and covers an area of about 4212 sq. m. the uplifting force seems to have been exerted from south-west to north-east, and although there is much confusion in many of the intersecting ridges, and spurs of great size and extent are sent off in many directions, the lower ranges manifest a remarkable tendency to run in parallel ridges in a direction from south-east to north-west. towards the north the offsets of the mountain system radiate to short distances and speedily sink to the level of the plain. detached hills are rare; the most celebrated of these are mihintale (anc. _missiaka_), which overlooks the sacred city of anuradhapura, and sigiri. the latter is the only example in ceylon of those solitary acclivities which form so remarkable a feature in the tableland of the deccan--which, starting abruptly from the plain, with scarped and perpendicular sides, are frequently converted into strongholds accessible only by precipitous pathways or by steps hewn in the solid rock. for a long period adam's peak was supposed to be the highest mountain in ceylon, but actual survey makes it only 7353 ft. above sea-level. this elevation is chiefly remarkable as the resort of pilgrims from all parts of the east. the hollow in the lofty rock that crowns the summit is said by the brahmans to be the footstep of siva, by the buddhists of buddha, by the mahommedans of adam, whilst the portuguese christians were divided between the conflicting claims of st thomas and the eunuch of candace, queen of ethiopia. the footstep is covered by a handsome roof, and is guarded by the priests of a rich monastery half-way up the mountain, who maintain a shrine on the summit of the peak. the highest mountains in ceylon are pidurutalagala, 8296 ft. in altitude; kirigalpota, 7836 ft.; and totapelakanda, 7746 ft. the summits of the highest ridges are clothed with verdure, and along their base, in the beautiful valleys which intersect them in every direction, the slopes were formerly covered with forests of gigantic and valuable trees, which, however, have disappeared under the axe of the planter, who felled and burnt the timber on all the finest slopes at an elevation of 2000 to 4500 ft., and converted the hillsides into highly cultivated coffee and afterwards tea estates. the plain of nuwara eliya, the sanatorium of the island, is at an elevation of 6200 ft., and possesses many of the attributes of an alpine country. the climate of the horton plains, at an elevation of 7000 ft., is still finer than that of nuwara eliya, but they are difficult of access, and are but little known to europeans. the town of kandy, in the central province, formerly the capital of the native sovereigns of the interior, is situated 1727 ft. above sea-level. rivers. the island, though completely within the influence of oceanic evaporation, and possessing an elevated tableland of considerable extent, does not boast of any rivers of great volume. the rains which usher in each monsoon or change of season are indeed heavy, and during their fall swell the streams to torrents and impetuous rivers. but when these cease the water-courses fall back to their original state, and there are few of the rivers which cannot generally be passed on horseback. the largest river, the mahaweliganga, has a course of 206 m., draining about one-sixth of the area of the island before it reaches the sea at trincomalee on the east coast. there are twelve other considerable rivers, running to the west, east and south, but none of these exceeds 90 m. in length. the rivers are not favourable for navigation, except near the sea, where they expand into backwaters, which were used by the dutch for the construction of their system of canals all round the western and southern coasts. steamers ply between colombo and negombo along this narrow canal and lake. a similar service on the kaluganga did not prove a success. there are no inland lakes except the remains of magnificent artificial lakes in the north and east of the island, and the backwaters on the coast. the lakes which add to the beauty of colombo, kandy, lake gregory, nuwara eliya and kurunegala are artificial or partly so. giant's tank is said to have an area of 6380 acres, and minneri and kalawewa each exceed 4000 acres. the magnificent basin of trincomalee, situated on the east coast of ceylon, is perhaps unsurpassed in extent, security and beauty by any haven in the world. the admiralty had a dockyard here which was closed in 1905. _geology._--ceylon may be said to have been for ages slowly rising from the sea, as appears from the terraces abounding in marine shells, which occur in situations far above high-water mark, and at some miles distance from the sea. a great portion of the north of the island may be regarded as the joint production of the coral polyps and the currents, which for the greater part of the year set impetuously towards the south; coming laden with alluvial matter collected along the coast of coromandel, and meeting with obstacles south of point calimere, they have deposited their burdens on the coral reefs round point pedro; and these, raised above the sea-level and covered deeply by sand drifts, have formed the peninsula of jaffna, and the plains that trend westward till they unite with the narrow causeway of adam's bridge. tertiary rocks are almost unknown. the great geological feature of the island is the profusion of gneiss, overlaid in many places in the interior by extensive beds of dolomitic limestone. this formation appears to be of great thickness; and when, as is not often the case, the under-surface of the gneiss series is exposed, it is invariably found resting on granite. veins of pure quartz and felspar of considerable extent have been frequently met with in the gneiss; while in the elevated lands of the interior in the galle districts may be seen copious deposits of disintegrated felspar, or _kaolin_, commonly known as porcelain clay. at various elevations the gneiss may be found intersected by veins of trap rock, upheaved whilst in a state of fusion subsequent to the consolidation of the former. in some localities on the seashore these veins assume the character of pitch-stone porphyry highly impregnated with iron. hornblende and primitive greenstone are found in the vicinity of adam's peak and in the pussellava district. laterite, known in ceylon as _kabuk_, a product of disintegrated gneiss, exists in vast quantities in many parts, and is quarried for building purposes. _climate._--the seasons in ceylon differ very slightly from those prevailing along the coasts of the indian peninsula. the two distinctive monsoons of the year are called, from the winds which accompany them, the south-west and the north-east. the former is very regular in its approach, and may be looked for along the south-west coast between the 10th and 20th of may; the latter reaches the north-east coast between the end of october and the middle of november. there is a striking contrast in the influence which the south-west monsoon exerts on the one side of the island and on the other. the clouds are driven against the lofty mountains that overhang the western and southern coasts, and their condensed vapours descend there in copious showers. but the rains do not reach the opposite side of the island: while the south-west is deluged, the east and north are sometimes exhausted with dryness; and it not unfrequently happens that different sides of the same mountain present at the same moment the opposite extreme of droughts and moisture. the influence of the north-east monsoon is more general. the mountains which face the north-east are lower and more remote from the sea than those on the south-west; the clouds are carried farther inland, and it rains simultaneously on both sides of the island. the length of the day, owing to the proximity of the island to the equator, does not vary more than an hour at any season. the mean time of the rising of the sun's centre at colombo on february 1st is 6^h 23^m