Kuchavelli is twenty-two miles north of Trincomalee on the JV. east coast of Ceylon. Two miles south of Kuchavelli is the mouth of the Salape aru. On the right bank of this river, near the mouth, raised beach, consisting of shelly sandstone, is exposed. The sandstone is often full of marine shells, and there are also thick growths of oysters attached to upstanding masses of rock. The bed is from 6inches to 2 feet in thickness, and is exposed about 1 foot above high-water mark, and stretches down the sloping bank between tide-marks. This is the ordinary raised beach of Ceylon, a deposit usuallyoccurring at or below high-water mark, and now being continually eroded at numerous points on the coast of Ceylon where it is exposed (e.g. Bentota). This deposit will not now be further spoken of.

The Salape aru is really the name of the estuary of several rivers; proceeding up the river inland, the Matti aru is reached, a shallow river with alluvial banks eight or ten feet above the water on either side. Extensive sandbanks are found on one side or the other of the river, alternating on the meanders with places where erosion is in progress. These banks are covered with marine shells, the large flat Placunas being most common. There are also found clayey nodules including marine shells, crabs, and it is said sometimes tortoises and fishes. The crabs are collected for use as medicine, being powdered and mixed with milk or water as a specific for diabetes.