COLOMBO, the capital and principal seaport of Ceylon, situated on the west coast. (Pop., 1921, 244,163.) Situated near the mouth of the Kelani river, the environs of the town are low lying, and wide areas are liable to inundations against which con siderable protective works have of late years been constructed. As a port it ranks eleventh among the ports of the world and sixth among the ports of the British empire. The large artificial harbour, enclosed by breakwaters, has an area of 643ac. at low water. Until the construction of these works was undertaken in 1875, Galle, 8om. S., was the principal port of call. An area of iioac. has been dredged to a low-water depth of 36ft. and over; 152ac. to a depth varying between 36ft. and 33ft; 138ac. to between 33ft. and 3of t. ; the remaining 243ac. having a depth of less than 3o feet. The western channel is 63oft. wide ; the north ern 58o feet. Coaling is done from lighters, each of which is i9oft. long. The main oil-bunkering jetty can accommodate vessels 5ooft. long.
The business part of Colombo is known as the Fort, and occupies the site of the old fortified area the defences of which were demolished by Lord Rosmead (then Sir Hercules Robinson) in 1869. Here are also situated Queen's House, the official resi dence of the governor, and the main block of Government offices. The law courts are built on a site in the suburb known as Hultsdorf, which, during the Dutch period, formed with Wolfen dahl the principal European quarter. The main railway station is situated at Maradana, but there are stations in the Fort and at Kulupitiya (Colpetty) . The hotel at Mt. Lavinia, a few miles to the south of Colombo, originally built as a residence for the governor without Colonial Office authorization and promptly sold, is a favourite sea-bathing and pleasure resort. The Pettah, or Asiatic bazaar, is gradually being improved, but still shows many of the characteristic and insanitary features usual in such locali ties. Since the first outbreak of bubonic plague in 1912, large rat-proof rice granaries have been erected and very effective meas ures have been taken to control the spread of the disease.
Cotta, a suburb distant some 5m. from the port, was the original capital of the Sinhalese kings in this neighbourhood. The Kelani river is spanned by the Victoria bridge, from the head of which roads lead northward to Negombo and Chilaw and east by north to Kandy. South of the Kelani river, main roads lead southward along the coast to Hambantota and up the Kelani valley to Avisawella. From these points main roads branch off to every part of the island. Colombo has singularly few buildings of any architectural interest or value, but mention may be made of the Dutch church at Wolfendahl and the Buddhist temple at Kota hena. The Colombo lake, which lies north-east of the Fort, has been enclosed where necessary by quay-walls and has been con nected by a canal and locks with the harbour, while the shallower portions of it have been reclaimed. The principal open spaces are the Victoria park situated in the suburb that still bears the name of the Cinnamon Gardens, the Galle Face esplanade, the Havelock racecourse, Havelock park and the Ridgeway golf-links. There are numerous cricket-fields several of which are of excep tional quality. The principal recreation grounds are the Garden club, the Lawn club and the Burghers' Recreation club. The prin cipal colleges are the University and the Royal colleges, both Government institutions ; St. Joseph's college (Roman Catholic) ; St. Thomas' college (Church of England) ; Wesley college; and Ananda college (Buddhist) .
Colombo is not only the administrative capital, but is by far the greatest business centre of Ceylon. All the principal firms doing business in the island have here their offices, and by means of visiting agents attached to some of these firms the management of most of the tea and rubber plantations of Ceylon is controlled. It is also the political and intellectual centre of the island. The climate is warm and humid, but the town is healthy and has always been singularly free from malaria, in spite of its somewhat low-lying and water-logged situation. Mean temperature 80.8° F. Mean annual rainfall 85.25 inches.