Somawathiya National Park

Somawathiya National Park
Map showing the location of Somawathiya National Park
Map showing the location of Somawathiya National Park
Location of Somawathiya National Park
LocationNorth Central and Eastern Provinces, Sri Lanka
Nearest cityPolonnaruwa
Coordinates8°07′15″N 81°10′08″E / 8.12083°N 81.16889°E / 8.12083; 81.16889
Area37,645.5 hectares (145.350 sq mi)[1]
Established1966 (Sanctuary)
1986 (National park)
Governing bodyDepartment of Wildlife Conservation
Somawathiya National Park

Somawathiya National Park is one of the four national parks designated under the Mahaweli River development project.[2] Somawathiya Chaitya, a stupa said to be containing a relic of the tooth of the Buddha, is situated within the park.[3] The park was created on 2 September 1986, having been originally designated a wildlife sanctuary on 9 August 1966.[4] The park is home to many megaherbivores.[1] The national park is located 266 kilometres (165 mi) north-east of Colombo.

  1. ^ a b The national Atlas of Sri Lanka. Department of Survey. 2007. p. 88. ISBN 978-955-9059-04-2.
  2. ^ Senarathna 2004: p. 166
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Senarathna was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Green, Michael J. B. (1990). IUCN directory of South Asian protected areas. IUCN. pp. 256–258. ISBN 978-2-8317-0030-4.