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    Bangladesh
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    Tucked away in this Middle Eastern country, the famed city of Petra (pictured) links the past to the present culture. Explore Jordan!

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    The mountains, including the Tian Shan Mountains (pictured), give Kyrgyzstan a unique culture, partially formed from this isolation from the mountains. Go Now!

Geography, Weather, & Wildlife of Sri Lanka

Geography

Sri Lankan Geography - Beach
Beach

Sri Lanka is an island nation that sits between the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. It has no land borders, but is located just off of India's southeastern coast.

Most of Sri Lanka is mountainous, but not uniformly mountainous as these highlights move from peaks to plateaus and valleys without much warning. From this landscape, the elevation declines moving west until it reaches the coast. In addition to the coasts, there are numerous plateaus and valleys throughout the island that are very hospitable.

Weather

Sri Lanka's weather is fairly regular throughout the year with average temperatures of about 80-85° F (27-28° C) throughout the island as days and nights vary little. In the mountains, that average is nearly 60° F (16° C) in the coldest times at the highest altitudes, while the hottest coasts average about 90° F (32° C). What does change though is the rain throughout the year. The rains come from about May to October and again from about December to March.

Wildlife

Sri Lankan Geography - Valley
Valley

Sri Lanka has decent wildlife variation, which begins with a decent number of mammals. The island is home to sloths, leopards, elephants, and bats among others. The pinnacle is the sea life though as the rivers, lakes, and surrounding waters a home to thousands of animals. This includes mammals, like whales and dolphins, fish like tilapia, shellfish like lobsters and drabs, and mollusks like snails.

The bird life in Sri Lanka is also impressive as many birds migrate to and from here. These birds include all types of birds, but water fowls are perhaps the most common, including heron, frigate birds, and moorhens. There is also a huge variety of reptiles on the island, including snakes and crocodiles. The amphibian life here is one of the most diverse (for its size) and densely populated anywhere in the world.

This page was last updated: November, 2013