Kantale
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2016}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Kantalai
| native_name = {{lang|si|කන්තලේ}}
{{lang|ta|கந்தளாய்}}
| image_skyline = Kantalai Tank, Sri Lanka.jpg
| image_flag =
| image_seal =
| image_map = Kantalai Tank
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Sri Lanka
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Sri Lanka
| pushpin_mapsize =
| settlement_type = Town
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = Sri Lanka
| subdivision_type1 = Province
| subdivision_name1 = Eastern Province
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Trincomalee District
| government_type =
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| timezone = Time in Sri Lanka
| utc_offset = +5:30
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| coordinates = {{coord|8.3683|81.0281|region:LK|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m =
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 31300 {{cite web|url=http://www.postalcodesdb.com/postal_code_31300_Kantalai_Sri%20Lanka.html|title=Postal code database|accessdate=2016-10-05}}
| area_code = 026{{cite web|url=http://srilankatravelnotes.com/INFORMATION/SrilankanDialingCodeNumbers.html|title=Sri Lankan Dialing Area Code Numbers|accessdate=2016-10-05|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212021654/http://srilankatravelnotes.com/INFORMATION/SrilankanDialingCodeNumbers.html|url-status=dead}}
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Kantalai ({{langx|si|කන්තලේ|translit=Kantalē}}; {{langx|ta|கந்தளாய்|translit=Kantaḷāy}}) is a town in the Trincomalee District in eastern Sri Lanka. The town is located {{convert|38|km|mi|abbr=on}} south-west of Trincomalee.
According to the ancient chronicle, Mahavamsa, Kantale Tank, also named "Gangathala Vapi", is credited as being built by Aggabodhi the II (606–618){{cite book|title=Edmund Leach: An Anthropological Life|author=Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2002|page=226|isbn=9780521521024}} and rehabilitated and developed by Parakramabahu the Great (1153–1186).{{cite book|title=Limnology of Parakrama Samudra — Sri Lanka: A case study of an ancient man-made lake in the tropics|author=Schiemer, F. (Ed)|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|date=2012|isbn=9789400972810}} 3,750 hectares. Constructed for the irrigation of crops in this arid region, its source of water is the Mahaweli River, the longest in the island, which flows out to the sea at Trincomalee.{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mahaweli-Ganga|title=Mahaweli Ganga|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=26 October 2016}}
One of the oldest tanks in Sri Lanka, the Kantale Tank gives water to a vast area for paddy{{cite news|url=http://island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=154231|title=A delectable journey through pickles, hoppers and much more|newspaper=The Island|date=22 October 2016|author=Attygalle, Randima|accessdate=26 October 2016}} and sugar cane plantations{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/117290/Local-sugar-industry-attracts-foreign-interest|title=Local Sugar Industry attracts Foreign Interest|newspaper=Daily Mirror|author=Wettasinghe, Chandeepa|date=12 October 2016|accessdate=26 October 2016}} as well as for human consumption in Trincomalee and the adjoining areas.