An Inland wetland of Semi-Natural origin located in the Dry Zone of the North-Central province. The Minneriya reservoir is a man-made, non-tidal water retention reservoir, built primarily for irrigation purposes. The reservoir falls within the the Mahaweli River Basin , and is of historical importance, having been built in the third century AD with a catchment area of 24,000 ha. The reservoir and surrounding areas have been declared a National Park. Birdlife International has identified Minneriya as an IBA due to its populations of globally threatened bird species. The Minneriya Reservoir is located within Minneriya National Park (8,889 ha). The park comprises low-forested hills that feed the third century reservoir and more recent Giritale reservoir. The vegetation in the area is composed of dry zone forest, scrublands and grasslands. During the dry season, grass along the reservoir edges attracts large numbers of elephants. The reservoir itself is an important water source for large herds of elephants that frequent the park and surrounding forest areas. It is also an important habitat for numerous water birds. The freshwater fish are dominated by exotic forms (i.e. Oreochromis spp., Tilapia rendali, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Labeo rohita, Aristichthys nobilis, Osphronemus goramy). Aquatic reptiles in the tank include Lissemys punctata and Crocodylus palustris. Large water birds include Leptoptilos javanicus, Mycteria leucocephala and Pelecanus philippensis. The tank contribute to sustain a large herd of Elephas maximus in the park. The surrounding habitat is dominated by Terminalia arjuna, Manilkara hexandra, Azadirachta indica, Ficus religiosa and Bauhinia racemosa. This reservoir is of historical importance as it was originally constructed by King Mahasen in the third century AD.

Minneriya Tank Related references