Beira Lake
| Beira Lake | |
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 Beira Lake
Location in Colombo District
Beira Lake
Location in Colombo District
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| Location | Colombo |
| Coordinates | 6°55′45.9624″N 79°51′15.0552″E / 6.929434000°N 79.854182000°ECoordinates: 6°55′45.9624″N 79°51′15.0552″E / 6.929434000°N 79.854182000°E |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Primary outflows | To the Indian Ocean |
| Basin countries | Sri Lanka |
| Surface area | 65 ha (160 acres) |
Beira Lake is a lake in the center of the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large businesses in the city. It occupied approximately 165 hectares of land 100 years ago and has been reduced to mere 65 hectares today due to various reasons. During the colonial era of the Portuguese, and the English the lake was used for a wide variety of purposes It still retains its Portuguese name. It is connected to many intricate canals providing easy way of transporting goods within the city and suburban cities.
The lake was built by the Portuguese to provide protection to Colombo from enemies mainly local kings. In 1578, Mayadunne of the Kingdom of Sitawaka attempted to cut of supplies to the invaders but failed to drain the lake. His son Rajasingha I succeeded in 1587 to drain the crocodile infested lake by curring off several canals but failed to defeat the Portuguese as they brought reinforcements from India through sea. After the Dutch laid siege and captured the lake it was expanded and created several islands such as the Slave Island some of them were large enough to have a village and a plantation of 600 coconut trees. After the British took control they removed the crocodiles and developed the area surrounding the lake for recreational activities such as rowing and yachting. The area around the lake was popular for parties including a grand ball that was held to celebrate the news of British victory in Waterloo.Ceylon's first botanical garden the Kew Gardens was opened in the slave island in 1810 to cultivate seedlings provided by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London. By the 19th century land reclamation for development began and the land area of the lake was reduced, pollution also began to increase.
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Wikipedia