Galle District

Coordinates: 6°15′N 80°15′E / 6.25°N 80.25°E / 6.25; 80.25
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the district in Sri Lanka. For the city, see Galle.
Galle District
Largest City
Galle
Divisions
List
  • Divisional Secretariats
    : 19
  • Grama Niladhari: 896
Government
 • District SecretarySomarathna Vidanapathirana
 • Local
List
  • Municipal Councils: 3
  • Urban Councils: 1
  • Pradeishiya Sabhas: 17
Area
 • Total1,652 km2 (638 sq mi)
 • Land1,617 km2 (624 sq mi)
 • Water35 km2 (14 sq mi)
Elevation
28 m (92 ft)
Population
 (2012)[1]
 • Total1,058,771
 • Density640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
ISO 3166 codeLK-31
Websiteeapps.galle.dist.gov.lk

Galle (Sinhala: ගාල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික්කය gālla distrikkaya; Tamil: காலி மாவட்டம் Kāli māvattam) is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka.

Geological background

Its area is 1,652 km2 (638 sq mi): 35 km2 (14 sq mi) is water and 1,617 km2 (624 sq mi) is land. Galle District is bounded on the north by the Benthara River, south and west by the Indian Ocean and east by Matara and Ratnapura districts. The topography of the Galle District is very diverse. The climatic condition of Hiniduma Patthuwa is very similar to the central hill country of Sri Lanka. This area consists of rainforests, which is the water catchment area for most of the rivers and lakes that flow across the Galle District. Sinharaja Forest Reserve is one of them. Galle district lies in a temperate climatic zone.

Annual rainfall is between 2000–2500mm. The river

Gin River ("Gin Ganga") starts from Gongala Hill of Hiniduma Patthuwa and in its long journey of 113 km (70 mi). It passes Neluwa, Thawalama, Nagoda Baddegama and Thelikada areas. The river nourishes the land to the extent of 922 km2 (356 sq mi). It flows to the Indian Ocean in the Ginthota area of Galle District. The river Madu Ganga
starts from Polathu Kanda and flows to the sea from Balapitiya and helps to maintain ecological balance in the Galle district.

Historical background

In ancient Sri Lanka, Galle District secured an important place in the battles against enemies as the capital city of Southern Province. Ancient legends reveal that in 1072 A.C. king

Maha Parakramabahu
and it very much helped the Dutch, Portuguese and English establish their kingdoms.

Galle was called "Gimhathitha." The Sinhalese pronunciation "Gaala" is derived from the word "gala" (stone). Gala implies the meeting place of bullock carts. Later it was pronounced as "Gaala" as there were large rocks and hills in the district.

Cultural background

A number of individuals from the Galle district have made significant contributions to

Gunadasa Amarasekera, D. J. Wimalasurendra, Senarath Paranavithana, A. T. Ariyaratne, Sirimal Ranawella
and Ariyapala Gurunnanse are a number of notable residents of Galle.

The Galle Literary Festival is run each January.

Demographics

Religion

Religions in Galle District (2011)[1]

  Buddhism (94%)
  Islam (3.7%)
  Hinduism (1.5%)
  Christianity (0.9%)

94% of the population are

Hindu and 0.9% Christian.[1]

Major cities

Galle, the main city in Galle district

Suburbs of Galle

Urban Councils

Main Towns

World Heritage Sites

Main article:
World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka

Forest reserves

  • Hiyare Forest Reserve
  • Kanneliya Forest Reserve

Maps

References

  1. ^ a b c Department of Census and Statistics,The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011
  2. Rulers of Sri Lanka

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galle District.
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