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Malwathu Oya

The 883rd longest river in the world

km

The Malwathu Oya (Sinhala: මල්වතු ඔය Malwathu Oya, Aruvi Aru) is the second longest river in Sri Lanka. The river originates in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka and enters the sea on the northwest coast, into the Gulf of Mannar, near Vankalai. It is a seasonal river that spans over 164 km (102 mi) through paddy and forest lands, which are used by the inhabitants to cultivate for their survival. The river basin covers an area of 3,284 km2 (1, 268 sq mi) (with a length of 125 km (78 mi), a maximum width of 40 km (25 mi) at an average height of 85.5 m (281 ft) above sea level). The average annual rainfall in the basin area is 1,223 mm (48.1 in). The Ritigala mountain range, which comprises four main peaks (the highest of which is over 900 m (3, 000 ft) high), in the upper reaches of the river, serves as the main catchment.

Flows through: Sri Lanka.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.

Other major rivers

  1. Amazon6,992 km
  2. Nile6,650 km
  3. Yangtze River6,300 km
  4. Bian River5,806 km
  5. Yellow River5,464 km
  6. Paraná River4,880 km
  7. River Congo4,700 km
  8. Mekong River4,350 km