showers which fall
scarcely more than replace the moisture drawn by the sun from the
parched and thirsty soil.

Hence in the plains there are comparatively few rivulets or running
streams; the rivers there flow in almost solitary lines to the sea; and
the beds of their minor affluents serve only to conduct to them the
torrents which descend at the change of each monsoon, their channels at
other times being exhausted and dry. But in their course through the
hills, and the broken ground at their base, they are supplied by
numerous feeders, which convey to them the frequent showers that fall in
high altitudes. Hence their tracks are through some of the noblest
scenery in the world; rushing through ravines and glens, and falling
over precipitous rocks in the depths of wooded valleys, they exhibit a
succession of rapids, cataracts, and torrents, unsurpassed in
magnificence and beauty. On reaching the plains, the boldness of their
march and the graceful outline of their sweep are indicative of the
little obstruction opposed by the sandy and porous soil through which
they flow. Throughout their entire course dense forests shade their
banks, and, as they approach the sea, tamarisks and over-arching
mangroves mark where their waters mingle with the tide.

Of all the Ceylon rivers, the most important by far is the
Mahawelli-ganga--the Ganges of Ptolemy--which, rising in the south near
Adam's Peak, traverses more than one-third of the mountain zone[1],
drains upwards of four thousand square miles, and flows into the sea by
a number of branches, near the noble harbour of Trincomalie. The
following table gives a comparative view of the magnitude of the rivers
that rise in the hills, and of the extent of the low country traversed
by each of them:--

Square Miles Square Miles Length of
Embouchure. drained in drained in the Course of
Mountain low Country, the main
Zone. about Stream.

Mahawelii-ganga near Trincomalie 1782 2300 134
Kirinde at Mahagan 34 300 62
Wellawey near Hambangtotte 263 500 69
Neivalle at Matura 64 200 42
(Three Rivers) near Tangalle 56 200
Gindura near Galle 180 200