Knuckles Mountain Range
| Knuckles conservation forest | |
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A view of the Knuckles mountain range
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 Location of the conservation forest
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| Location | Central Province, Sri Lanka |
| Nearest city | Matale |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Governing body | Department of Forest Conservation |
| World Heritage Site | 2010 (within the site Central Highlands of Sri Lanka)[1] |
| Knuckles Conservation Forest | |
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| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | ix, x |
| Reference | 1203 |
| UNESCO region | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2010 (34th Session) |
The Knuckles Mountain Range lies in central Sri Lanka, in the Districts of Matale and Kandy. The range takes its name from a series of recumbent folds and peaks in the west of the massif which resemble the knuckles of clenched fist when viewed from certain locations in the Kandy District. Whilst this name was assigned by early British surveyors, the Sinhalese residents have traditionally referred to the area as Dumbara Kanduvetiya meaning mist-laden mountain range (Cooray, 1984).
The entire area is characterised by is often robed in thick layers of cloud. In addition to its aesthetic value the range is of great scientific interest. It is a climatic microcosm of the rest of Sri Lanka as the conditions of all the climatic zones in the country are exhibited in the massif. At higher elevations there is a series of isolated cloud forests, harbouring a variety of flora and fauna, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.[citation needed] Although the range constitutes approximately 0.03% of the island’s total area it is home to a significantly higher proportion of the country’s biodiversity.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Knuckles Mountain Range. |
Further reading
- Goonewardene, S., J. Drake, and A. De Silva. 2006. The Herpetofauna of the Knuckles Range. Project Knuckles 2004 and 2005: University of Edinburgh Research Expedition. Amphibia and Reptile Research Organisation of Sri Lanka (ARROS).
- Cooray, P.G.,1984. An introduction to the geology of Sri Lanka. Department of Geology. Government printing Press, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
