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Province
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North west
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Total Area
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4,816 km2
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Total Population
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1,460,215
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Density
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316/km2
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Ethnic
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Ethnicity
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Population
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% Of Total
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Sinhalese
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1,341,237
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91.9%
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Sri Lankan Tamils
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17,585
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1.2%
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Sri Lankan Moors
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94,544
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6.5%
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Indian Tamils
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2,972
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0.2%
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Other (including Burgher, Malay)
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3877
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0.2%
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Total
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1,460,215
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100.0%
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Kurunegala is the capital of the Wayamba Province, Sri Lanka and the Kurunegala
District. Kurunegala was also an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end
of the 13th century to the start of the 13th century. The town itself is a busy
commercial and a transport hub. Kurunegala is located at the junction of several
main roads linking to other important parts of the country. It is situated about
94 km from Colombo, and 42 km from Kandy.
Located at an altitude of 116 meters above sea level, Kurunegala is surrounded by
coconut plantations and rubber estates. There are eight very noticeable large rocks
that encircle and dominate the city. Kurunegala's rocks rise from the plain below
and have characteristic names, six of which come from the animals that they are
imagined to represent. The largest among them is Ethagala or the "Elephant Rock"
(though the translation is actually Tusker), reaches 325 meters. The shape of Ethagala
resembles an Elephant.
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