Sri Lanka is an island situated in the Indian Ocean to the south of India. It belongs to the continent of Asia, the largest continent in the world. Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow strip of sea. This strip of sea is 32 km in width and it is called the Palk Strait.
Sri Lanka consists of its typical climatic, economic and cultural features due to its separate location in proximity to India. (Map 4.1)
How the location of Sri Lanka influences the climate
Due to its location as an island, Sri Lanka receives rainfall throughout the year and the temperature is moderated as a result of the wind blowing across the Indian Ocean.
Increase in temperature in the northern part of Sri Lanka is due to the influence of the dry winds that blow from the Indian sub-continent.
Occurrence of rainfall due to the influence of monsoons.
How the location of Sri Lanka influences the economy
Development as a centre in the East-West naval route since ancient times.
Importance of the harbours of Sri Lanka in international trade.
Development of the tourist industry due to the location of attractive places.
Emergence of new economic patterns with the arrival of western nations.
How the location of Sri Lanka influences the culture
Presence of various languages, religions and ethnic groups due to the mixture of different groups of people. For example, from India and Arabia.
With the arrival of western nations, various cultural features of them were added to the society.
Relative location of Sri Lanka
Identification of a country in relation to the location of surrounding countries, continents, seas and oceans is called the relative location.
Accordingly, Sri Lanka is located,
to the South of the Asian continent.
towards the North of the Indian ocean.
to the West of South-East Asia and
to the East of the African continent. (refer map 4.2)
Important Places Located in Sri Lanka
At present, Sri Lanka is a rapidly developing country in South Asia. The progress in the social and economic sectors is the reason for this. Some outstanding development projects have contributed towards this progress.
Building new harbours, new airports and expressways
Urban development
The following map indicates a few economically, socially and culturally important places of Sri Lanka.
Other Islands in the World
There are many islands located in the world with various extents of land. Map 4.6 indicates a few such islands and the land area.
