Sri Lanka, meaning "magnificent island," is located in the Indian Ocean 33 miles (53 km) southeast of the tip of India.
Sri Lanka's climate is tropical, but it is cooled by ocean breezes. The heaviest rains fall in the southwestern part of the island, which contains plantations where crops, such as coconuts and rubber, are grown for export. Another major crop is tea which comes mainly from the higher slopes of the island's mountains. Sri Lanka produces about one-eighth of the world's tea.
Sri Lanka was once covered with a thick rain forest. Today, almost two-thirds of that forest is gone, cut down for farming and development. Scientists think that this deforestation may have helped change the island's weather and caused droughts. Restoring the rain forest is a major government challenge.
