Sri Lanka’s gem industry has a very long and colorful history. Sri Lanka was affectionately known as Ratna-Dweepa which means Gem Island. The name is a reflection of its natural wealth. Marco Polo wrote that the island had the best sapphires, topazes, amethysts, and other gems in the world. Ptolemy, the 2nd century astronomer recorded that beryl and sapphire were the mainstay of Sri Lanka’s gem industry. Records from sailors that visited the island states that they brought back “jewels of Sere dib”. Sere dib was the ancient name given to the island by middle – eastern and Persian traders that crossed the Indian Ocean to trade gems from Sri Lanka to the East during the 4th and 5th century.

Sri Lanka, geologically speaking is an extremely old country. Ninety percent of the rocks of the island are of Precambrianage, 560 million to 2,400 million years ago. The gems form in sedimentary residual gem deposits, deposits, metamorphic deposits, skarn and calcium-rich rocks. Other gems are of magmatic origin.

Residual deposits are mainly found in flood plains of rivers and streams. The metamorphic types of gems constitute 90% of the gem deposits in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has the highest density of gem deposits compared to its landmass. Ratnapura contains the most gem deposits and derived its name from the gem industry. Ratnapura means “city of gems”.

The blue sapphires from Sri Lanka are known as Ceylon Sapphire. Ceylon Sapphires are reportedly unique in color, clarity and luster compared to the blue sapphires from other countries.

The Horton plain is situated in the highlands of the Central Province, 32 Km from NuwaraEliya. This is the highest plateau in the country. It is at a height of about 2300 meters. This was discovered by Sir Robert Horton. The park which is 3160 hectares was declared a national park in 1998.

                          The average temperature of Horton Plains is 15®c-22®c with frequently occurring mists and clouds. The Horton plain is fed from both the north-east and south-west monsoons as well as intermonsoonal rains. It gets about 5000mm rainfall annually. Horton Plains is the most important catchment area of the country. Three major rivers of the country start from this area, namely: Kenlani, Walawe and the Mahaweli. Due to the high altitude the area is cold.

                                                           The park consists of forests and grasslands with a rich biodiversity. It is home to a wide variety of endemic fauna and flora. Among the 24 species of mammals, elk, deer, giant squirrel, wild boar, otter, porcupine and leopard are considered special. The bird diversity is also high with 87 species of birds including migratory birds.

                                                           The park is also famous for beautiful flower. Nelli, Bovitiya, Binara, dwarf bamboo and some orchid species are endemic species are extinct due to poaching and carelessness of visitors.

                                         Horton plains also feature many interesting attractions such as the ‘Baker’sfall’,‘Chumming pool‘and the famous ‘Word’s End’. The ‘Words ‘End’ is a sheer drop of 3700 feet that offers a fabulous view all the way out to the distant southern coastline. We must take necessary steps to protect this treasure for the future generations.

Dear friend, we have Tropical rain forests in our country. We call them “tropical” because Sri Lanka is a country close to the equator. We call it “Rain forests” because we get a lot of rain from these forests.

    This is a thick jungle. There are four layers of trees according to their heights. The tallest - big trees -tall trees-medium and small ground layer trees. There is a world famous rain forest “The Sinharaja rain forest” in my country. It was named as a world heritage in 1989 by UNESCO. There are specific animals, birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles and trees in this forest. The climate inside it is very cool. So many mosses on the ground.

       There are many varieties of animals and trees in this forest. 147species of birds, 45 varieties of reptiles. Some reptiles are very poisonous and some are harmless. The people in my country try to protect this world heritage. They do not destroy it. We can learn a lot of things from our Sinharaja Rain Forest.                

Fruits in our rain forest.

            There are many fruits in it. They are very colorful and very tasty. A lot of animals eat fruits from the jungle. Many butterflies drink nectar from beautiful flowers. Birds too fly and eat fruits. Normally people don’t go to pluck flowers and fruits in our Sinharaja rain forest. There are no man planted vegetables in this forest. Men are not allowed to plant any vegetables or trees in this forest. That’s how we protect it.     Animals in our rain forest

Purple faced monkeys, Wild pig, Sam bur, Mouse deer,

Barking deer, Leopard, Rusty spotted cat, fishing cat

Birds

Blue magpie, White headed starling

Reptiles

Snakes, Lizards, Tortoises, Viper, Cobra

I am Sahan Viduranga.I am in grade 8-A. My father is Mr. M.A. Karunathilaka. He is a good farmer. My mother is Mrs. T.M. Sarala priyadarshani. She is a good house wife. . I have a sister and no brother. My school is Rambuka Maha Vidyalaya. Ramuka is situated near by Sinharaja rain forest in Kalawana. It's famous world heritage in Sri Lanka.My best friend is S.A. Gayan Kavishka. He is good boy. I like to be an ICT teacher. My hobby reading a book. My favorite subjects are English, Mathematical and science. My favorite food is rice. It’s very taste.

My favorite drink is water. My favorite teacher is Mr.Wijevardana. He is kind person. He is an ICT teacher. I like so much.I like to computer so mush. My ICT teacher has more knowledge. I learn from him about ICT so mush. My dance teacher is Mr. Ranga sir. My class teacher is Anoma thero.Our science class is Miss Amali teacher. My Aunt is Miss Nalani. She is good Aunt and my uncle is Mr. Gamini. He is good uncle. My school is Rabuka Maha Vidayalaya. It's very beautiful ever I see. I have learned more subjects from school.

There is more class in my school. My country is Sri Lanka. It's very beautiful. There are famous palaces in my country. It is Sigiriya and Sinharaja forest in my country. Our National flower is Blue Lotus. Our National tree is Na tree. Our National Animal is chipmunk. Our National flag is SriLanka flag. Our National Gem is Blue gem. Our School Art teacher is Malan teacher. Our Music teacher is Ariyakperuma. I think I can get some computer to me.Our school principal is Mr.Kesvaththa sir. My class color is blue.The subject is in grade what I'm following 8.

I wish you all the best.