Large Island South of India: Sri Lanka

The large island directly south of India is **Sri Lanka** (formerly Ceylon).

• Location: Indian Ocean, separated from India by the **Palk Strait** (narrowest point ~50 km / 31 mi) and Gulf of Mannar.
• Size: 65,610 km² (25,330 sq mi) — about the size of West Virginia or Ireland.
• Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative), Colombo (commercial).
• Geology: Continental fragment (Gondwana), not volcanic. Central highlands (Pidurutalagala 2,524 m).
• Biodiversity: Hotspot — leopards, elephants, blue whales, 33 endemic birds.
• History: 3,000+ years documented; Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Kandy kingdoms. Portuguese/Dutch/British colonial rule. Independence 1948.

Adam's Bridge (Rama Setu) — chain of limestone shoals — nearly connects it to India's Rameswaram.