Mount Santubong
| Mount Santubong | |
|---|---|
 Mt. Santubong from Santubong Bridge | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 810.2 m (2,658 ft) |
| Prominence | 810 m (2,660 ft) |
| Coordinates | 01°44′N 110°20′E / 1.733°N 110.333°E |
| Geography | |
| Location | Sarawak, Borneo |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | Unknown |
| Easiest route | Hike |
Mount Santubong (Malay: Gunung Santubong) is a mountain in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is located about 35 km north of the state capital Kuching.
Biological importance[]
In 1855 a British naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace[1] who was staying at Santubong while collecting specimens in Sarawak, wrote a paper while called "Sarawak Law" [2] which can be considered as a precursor to the biological theory of evolution.
Ascent[]
Mount Santubong lies within a gazetted national park[1] of the same name. Entry to the park is now via the temporary Sarawak Forestry Corporation park headquarter entrance. The issue of custodian of park entry has now been put to rest by the relevant authorities [2]
History[]
Mount Santubong which translated from Chinese to English, is said to mean 'king of the wild boar', is a mountain of about 2,700 feet in height. The mountain itself has little interest for botanists who have made frequent ascents of the steep mountain places of great archaeological interest, principally the remains of an side over the years to examine its plant life, but around its foot are old Hindu occupation hundreds of years old which is still being carefully investigated by the Sarawak Museum, and the fact that it was also the home of the early Sarawak Malays until they were driven up to Kuching in about the 1850s owing to continual attacks from the powerful Saribas Dayaks.
The mountain is assumed to have been thrown straight up from the sea following some volcanic eruption probably millions of years ago. For a long time it interested those in search of gold but without success. There used to be an old theory that all the gold in the First Division of Sarawak lies in a straight line between Bau and Santubong which proved correct.
It is thought that the volcanic eruption which threw Mount Santubong up out of the sea, also threw up the earth and scattered the gold deposits in the area which explains why no large deposits have yet been found.
However, there is a certain amount of gold in the mountain since fishermen in the past used to depend for their livelihood during the landas season, when the sea was too rough for fishing, by panning gold in the small mountain streams from which they could expect to gain an average of twenty dollars a month.[3]
References[]
- ^ "SARAWAK FORESTRY :: Sarawak National Park - National Parks and Reserves ::". Archived from the original on 2009-07-20.
- ^ "Dept demolishes business premises, facilities built illegally on govt land". 4 December 2014.
- ^ Chater, W. J. (1969). Sarawak Long Ago. ISBN 983-62-3981-2.
Further reading[]
- National Parks of Sarawak, by Hans P. Hazebroek, Abang Kashim bin Abang Morshidi. ISBN 983-812-032-4.
- The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, ISBN 981-3018-47-X.
- On the Law Which Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species.
- AR Wallace travelog to Borneo and the Malay World.
External links[]
- Satellite image from Google Earth
- Sarawak Tourism page on the mountain
- A song about the two princesses, with translations
- Mountains of Sarawak