Neduntheevu நெடுந்தீவு
—  Island  —
Neduntheevu
Coordinates: 9°31′0″N 79°41′0″E / 9.516667°N 79.683333°E / 9.516667; 79.683333
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Northern
District	Jaffna
DS Division	Delft

Neduntheevu or Neduntivu (Tamil: நெடுந்தீவு), 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 wild horses on the island, 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. The water is slightly brackish. It is taken from shallow wells using buckets made from palmyra leaves. There are also some ancient Buddhist ruins on the island^[2] as well as the ruins of a Dutch colonial fort.^[3] A naval battle was fought off the coast of the island in 2008 during the Sri-Lankan Civil War.

[edit] References

• pictures
• Buddhist ruins

Coordinates: 9°31′N 79°41′E / 9.517°N 79.683°E / 9.517; 79.683

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