Where is Sri Lanka?

[Sarah]

• Sri Lanka is located in Asia.

• Sri Lanka is a country off the coast of India. Located in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is officially known by the title of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

• On a map grid, Sri Lanka is located at GPS coordinates of 7.8731° N and 80.7718° E. The country is positioned above the equator, therefore in the northern hemisphere. As part of the eastern hemisphere, Sri Lanka is surrounded by four central bodies of water. To the north, Sri Lanka lies on the coast of the Palk Strait. In the east lies the Bay of Bengal, while the Indian Ocean is towards the southeastern border of Sri Lanka. In the west, Sri Lanka’s coastline is situated along the Gulf of Mannar.

• Sri Lanka is connected to India via something called the Adam’s Bridge. Interestingly enough, this connector has raised many eyebrows since the dawn of existence, as many have described it as a clash between fantasy and reality. This is because the Adam’s Bridge is made up of thousands of shoals, which are fish, that huddle in one area, permitting people to cross from India to Sri Lanka - and vice versa - without the requirement of a boat. The unique bridge stretches for 30 miles, reaching from Rāmeswaram in the southeast of India to Mannar in the northwest of Sri Lanka.

• The most extreme points of a country refer to the exact coordinates of the furthest a country extends in each of the cardinal directions. At its northernmost point, Sri Lanka is located at a latitude of 9°50′8″ N and a longitude of 80°12′44″ E. This point is between two small towns by the names of Point Pedro and Polikandy. The most extreme point of Sri Lanka to the east has GPS coordinates of 7°1′20″ N and 81°52′45″ E. This point is in the village of Sangaman Kanda, within the limits of the Ampara District.

• The southernmost point is Dondra Head. It lies along the southern coastline near the Indian Ocean with a latitude of 5°55′7″ N and a longitude of 80°35′29″ E. There is an island in the west called the Kachchatheevu Island. With a latitude of 9°23′ N and a longitude of 79°31′ E, Kachchatheevu is the westernmost point of Sri Lanka.