Sri Lanka (/sriːˈlɑːŋkə, -ˈlæŋkə/ or ⁱ/ʃriː-/;Sinhalese - ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, Tamil Ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon (/sᵻˈlɒnˌ seɪ-ˌ siː-/), is an island country in South Asia near south-east India.

Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest. Its documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II.

A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, and languages. In addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist council in 29 BC. The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.

North Western Province (Sinhalese: වයඹ පළාත Wayamba Palata, Tamil: வட மேல் மாகாணம் Vada Mael Maakaanam) is a province of Sri Lanka. The districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam formulate Wayamba. Its capital is Kurunegala, which has a population of 28,571. The province is known mainly for its numerous coconut plantations. Other main towns in this province are Chilaw (24,712) and Puttalam (45,661), which are both small fishing towns. The majority of the population of Wayamba province is of Sinhalese ethnicity. There is also a substantial Sri Lankan Moor minority around Puttalam and Sri Lankan Tamils in Udappu and Munneswaram. Fishing, prawn farming and rubber tree plantations are other prominent industries of the region. The province has an area of 7,888 km², and a population of 2,370,075 (2011 census).

Geography

Climate

The climate of Wayamba is tropical, with a marked dry season, and temperatures averaging between 20 °C in January to 25 °C in March.The south of the province is wetter,with almost 2000 mm of rainfall per year, but the north of the province is one of the driest regions in Sri Lanka,averaging under1100 mm of rain in parts.

The Western Province (Sinhalese: බස්නාහිර පළාත Basnahira Palata; Tamil: மேல் மாகாணம் Mael Maakaanam) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. The province is the most densely populated province in the country and is home to the legislative capital Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte as well to Colombo, the nation's administrative and business center.

History

Parts of present day Western Province were part of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Kotte. The province then came under Portuguese, Dutch and British control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of Ceylon. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. The Western Province was part of the Low Country Sinhalese administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces. The districts of Chilaw, Colombo, Kalutara, Puttalam, Seven Korales (present day Kurunegala District), Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama (present day Kegalle District) formed the new Western Province. Chilaw District, Puttalam District and Seven Korales were transferred to the newly created North Western Province in 1845. Three Korales, Four Korales and Lower Bulatgama were transferred to the newly created Sabaragamuwa Province in 1889.

Northwestern Province or Northwest Province or North-Western Province may refer to:

North Western Province (or North-Western Province) was a former electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia), created in 1856 and was abolished in 2006.

Victoria was a British colony in Australia when North-Western Province was created, it became a state of Australia on Federation on 1 January 1901.

Coordinates: 36°0′S 143°0′E / 36.000°S 143.000°E / -36.000; 143.000

North Western was one of the six original upper house Provinces of the bi-cameral Victorian Parliament created in November 1856, each Province initially having five members.

Located in the far north-west of Victoria, "North-Western Province" was defined in the Victoria Constitution Act 1855, as "Including the Counties of Talbot and Dalhousie, and the Pastoral District of the Wimmera and of the Loddon, except the proposed County of Rodney."

Members for North Western Province

Five members were elected initially, three after the redistribution of 1882 when Northern and North Central provinces were split off. Four from the enlargement of the Council in 1889, two from 1904.

North-Western Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces. It covers an area of 125,826 km² and has a population of 583,350 (2000 census). It is the most sparsely populated province in the country. The provincial capital is Solwezi.

National Parks and wildlife areas

Districts

North-Western Province is divided into 9 districts:

Coordinates: 13°00′S 25°00′E / 13.000°S 25.000°E / -13.000; 25.000

External links