South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It covered the areas of the present-day districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka and the Kasaragod District of Kerala. The district was one of the most heterogeneous of Madras Presidency with , Tulu, Kannada Konkani and Malayalam being the principal languages spoken. It was succeeded by Dakshina Kannada in 1947.