Puttalam is a district

Districts of Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, districts are the second-level administrative divisions, and are included in a province. There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces. Each district is administered under a District Secretary, who is appointed by the central government...

 situated near to the west coast of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. It has an area of 2976 square kilometre. Along with the Kurunegala District

Kurunegala District

Kurunegala is a district in North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 4,771 km²....

, it formulates the North Western Province

North Western Province, Sri Lanka

North Western Province is a province of Sri Lanka. The districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam formulate Wayamba. Its capital is Kurunegala, which has a population of 28,571. The province is known mainly for its numerous coconut plantations. Other main towns in this province are Chilaw and Puttalam...

 of Sri Lanka. The district capital is Puttalam

Puttalam

Puttalam is the capital city of the Puttalam District in North Western Province, Sri Lanka.-History:The history of this dry zone dates back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya, nearly 2500 years ago, when his vessel washed ashore. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of the Tamil word Uppuththalam...

, which borders the Kala Oya and Modaragam Aru in the north, Anuradhapura District

Anuradhapura District

Anuradhapura is a district in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 7,179 km².-Demographics:The population according to 2001 census is 745,693 of which 90.7 % are sinhalese, 8.3 % Sri Lankan Moors, 0.7 % native Sri Lankan tamils and 0.1 % tamils of Indian origin...

 and Kurunegala District

Kurunegala District

Kurunegala is a district in North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 4,771 km²....

 in the east, Ma Oya in the south, and the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 in the west. Puttalam is well known for its picturesque lagoons

Puttalam Lagoon

The Puttalam Lagoon is a large lagoon in the Puttalam District, western Sri Lanka.The lagoon is fed by two rivers, namely the Kala Oya and Mi Oya, discharging at and respectively. It is linked to Mundal Lagoon to the south by a channel. The lagoon's water is brackish to saline.The lagoon is...

, popular for shallow sea fishing and prawn

Prawn

Prawns are decapod crustaceans of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. There are 540 extant species, in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian...

farming activities. The town of Kalpitiya, and the Kalpitiya Peninsula, is located in this district.