Neduntheevu
| Neduntheevu நெடுந்தீவு ඩෙල්ෆ්ට් Delft | |
|---|---|
| Island | |
 | |
  Neduntheevu | |
| Coordinates: 9°31′0″N 79°41′0″E / 9.51667°N 79.68333°E | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Northern |
| District | Jaffna |
| DS Division | Delft |
Neduntheevu or Neduntivu (Tamil: நெடுந்தீவு, Sinhalese: ඩෙල්ෆ්ට්) (also known by its Dutch name Delft) is an island in the Palk Strait, northern Sri Lanka. This island is named as Delft in the Admiralty Chart unlike the other islands in the area which are named with their Tamil names. The island's area is 50 km² and it is roughly oval-shaped. Its length is 8 km and its maximum width about 6 km.
Neduntivu is a flat island surrounded by shallow waters and beaches of coral chunks and sand. There are feral ponies on the island that were abandoned after Dutch period, which is home to a small population of Tamil people, mostly living in quiet compounds close to the northern coast.[1] The vegetation is of a semi-arid tropical type, with palmyra palms, dry shrubs and grasses that grow on the pale Grey porous coralline soil. Papayas and bananas grow close to the local people's homes. In the western coast of the island there are remains of a 1000 year old ancient temple built by the Chola Dynasty, as well as the ruins of a Dutch colonial fort. The water is slightly brackish, and it is taken from shallow wells using buckets made from palmyra palm leaves.[2] A naval battle was fought off the coast of the island in 2008 during the Sri-Lankan Civil War.
The island was named after the Dutch city of Delft by Rijckloff van Goens. He named the eight most important islands after Dutch cities, but the seven others are now named with domestic names.
References
Coordinates: 9°31′N 79°41′E / 9.517°N 79.683°E
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