SALAM PENGENALAN

ASSALAMUALAIKUM,

Berjumpa kita pada paparan pertama ini
harapan saya agar para pembaca mendapat
info yang berguna untuk dakwah dan kelestarian
alam kita.

Jutaan terimakasih kepada Presiden PENULIS, Ust. Firdaus Said kerana memberi ruang kepada saya untu
berkarya di dalam PENULIS.


Insya Allah kita akan memperjuangkan dakwah melalui medium
pelusuk alam / enveronment, melalui artikel seperti berikut:

• @ global warming
• @soil erosion
• tanah tani Sabah
• pemuliharaan tanah
• Agriculture
• Kesihatan
• penyelidikan & pembangunan
• kesan rumah hijau
• globalisai
• kepelbagaian ekosistem
• isu-isu semasa
• DLL

SEBAGAI permulaan mari kita berkenalan tentang pelusuk Sabah:

(Acres et.al, 1975)

"SETTLEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

This state of Sabah, Malaysia occupies the northern portion of the island of Borneo. Its immediate neighbours are Sarawak , also a state in the Federation of Malaysia, Brunei, a state under British protection and Kalimantan, which is a part of Indonesia. The total area of Sabah is 76 100 km ²( 29 388 mi²).The population at the time of the 1970 Census was 655 622 with settlements mainly on the east west coasts, the interior plains and along the main rivers. Most of the interior and eastern parts of Sabah are uninhabited and consist of mountain ranges and broad valley tracts covered in dense forest. Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, is situated on the west coast. It has a population of 61 645. Sandakan on the east coast has a population of 72 430 and is the largest town, having a fine port on the northern shore of Sandakan Harbour. Tawau, Lahad Datu and Kudat are also important ports on the east coast ( Text Map 1-2 ).

The population comprises many races, the Kadazans being the largest group and forming about one third of the total. They live mainly on the west coast and on the interior plains. The Bajaus are concentrated on the west coast and in scattered settlements on the east coast. The Muruts live mostly in the south-west, particularly in the remote parts between Keningau and the borders of Sarawak and Kalimantan. The Chinese, who make up about one quarter of population, are mainly town dwellers, but there are significant numbers of smallholders in rural areas.

Road networks radiate from the main towns, the majority of which are now linked by road. Kota Kinabalu, for example, is linked to Kudat in the north and Sipitang in the south by the West Coast Highway. It is also linked to Sandakan by the recently completed East-West Highway and to Tambunan and Keningau by recently road across the Croker Range. On the east coast a major network links Tawau, Kunak, Semporna and Lahad Datu and it is proposed to link this to the other networks by constructing road from Lahad Datu to the East-West Highway. In addition to constructing roads, the main towns are all served by regular internal air services and there are also international flights to Singapore, West Malaysia and Hong Kong.

The rivers are still vital for communications particularly on the east coast. The Kinabatangan, which is the longest river, follows a course of over 550km ( 340 mi ) from its source in the Trusmadi Range to the sea south-east of Sandakan. It is navigable by large launches as far sa Pintasan and as far as Pinangah by shallow draught boats powered by outboard engines.



CLIMATE

The climate is hot and humid throughout the year and although Sabah lies outside the typhoon belt the areas are occasionally affected by severe tropical storms. The average annual rainfall ranges from about 1 780 mm (70 in) to about 3 800mm (150 in). The highest rainfall is in the south-west ( Beaufort and Labuan) and the lowest in the interior (Tenom, Keningau and Tambunan) and at Tawau on the south-east coast. The contrasts in regional rainfall reflect the occurrence of 2 main seasons; the north-east monsoon begins in November and lasts until March and it is during this season that the north-east coast experiences its heaviest rainfall ; the south-west monsoon prevails from May until September. The temperature varies little with the season and averages about 27ºC ( 80ºF ) near sea level. Surface temperatures inland fall at a rate of about 1.5ºC ( 3ºF ) for every 300 m ( 100ft ) increase in altitude so that above about 1 200 m ( 4 000 ft ) there is a change from Tropical Rainy Climate to Warm Temperate Rainy Climate ( Trewartha, 1954 ) ; the latter affects much of the Crocker and Trusmadi Ranges above 1 200 m (4000 ft) . Climatic data are very limited, but records of a reasonable length are available for Labuan, Kota Kinabalu, Kudat, Beaufort,Tenom, Sandakan, Tawau and Tambunan. Climate is discussed at length in Volumes 2, 3 and 4.

PHYSIOGRAPHY

Sabah can be divided into 4 main physiographic region, namely the Western Lowlands, the Western Cordillera, the Centrals Uplands and the Eastern Lowlands ( Collenette, 1963 ). The Western Lowland include the foothills, plains and islands to the west of the Crocker Range. The Western Cordillera comprises a belt of mountainous country about 80 km ( 50 mi ) in width parallel to the west coast. It includes the Crocker, Trusmadi, Witti and Maligan Ranges and associated intermontane plains and valleys. The Crocker range is one of the main geographical features of the country and its culminates in Gunong Kinabalu, which at 4 101 m ( 13 455 ft ) is the highest mountain in sout-east Asia. The Central Uplands comprise extensive tracts of mountainous country to the east of the Western Cordillera, including the Labuk, Kuamut, Segama and Tawau Highlands. The Eastern Lowlands stretch from the Bengkoka Peninsula in the north to the Semporna Peninsula in the south and include extensive tracts of moderate to low hills, the broad valleys, of the Sugut, Labuk, Kinabatangan and Segama rivers and extensive deltas ( text Map 1-2, based on a map of P Collenette ( 1963 ) in the Journal of Tropical Geography, volume 17, Singapore, with whose permission the present map is published ). Landform are discussed and illustrated by maps in volumes 2, 3 and 4 and they form the basic of the majority of soil associations described in part 5 of this volume and in volumes 2, 3 and 4.








GEOLOGY

The geology of Sabah is described in the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of the Borneo Region of Malaysia ; the main geological formation are shown in Text Map 1-3.

The oldest rocks in Sabah, referred to collectively as Crystalline Basement, include granodiorite, diorite, gabbro, migmatite, amphibolite, hornblende, gneiss, hornfels and schist ; they only occur in the Tawau and Lahad Datu Districts, notably in the Segama catchment.

Intrusive igneous rocks occur in 3 main areas, namely Kinabalu, the Labuk Highlands and in the Tawau and Lahad Datu District. Ultrabasic igneous rocks, composed largely of serpentinised periodotite, are most extensive forming, in particular, the mountain range in the Labuk Highlands extending from Gunong Rara in the south to Suroh Suroh in the north. Bassic igneous rocks such as gabbro, dolerite and diorite occur sporadically in the 3 areas referred to, but acid igneous rocks including granodiorite, adamellite and tonalite are restricted to the Kinabalu area, forming in particular Mount Kinabalu.

Volcanic rocks occur in the Labuk Highlands and in the Semporna Peninsula. In the former they comprise spilite and basalt lavas and in the latter comprise olivine basalt, dacite lavas, andesite, volcanic breccia, tuff and pyroclastic rocks.

Sedimentary formations are widespread in Sabah ; they range in age from the Eocene to the Pliocene and comprise sandstone, mudstone, shale, clay, and limestone. The Crocker formation is by far the most extensive, forming most of the west coast and the Crocker range and extending to the north-east coast. It comprises interbedded sandstone, shale and mudstone. Limestone form minor parts of many formations, but are dominant in the Gomantong Limestone, Togopi and Timohing Formations.

Sedimentary- volcanic formations are dominant on the east coast, extending from the Labuk estuary across the Kinabatangan and Segama to the Dent and Semporna Peninsulas. They comprise sandstone, mudstone, slump breccia, chert, spilite and various volcanic rocks.

Terraces of sand and gravel occur in the interior plains, along the main rivers and on the coasts, particularly in the north-east and south-east. Recent alluvial deposits of clay and sand are extensive along the east coast in the lower reaches and estuaries of the Sugut, Labuk, Kinabatangan and Segama, around Cowie Harbour and the south of the Semporna Peninsula and along the west coast, notably on the Klias Peninsula. Peat is associated with the recent alluvial deposits in the Klias Peninsula and the lower reaches of Kinabatangan and Segama.





FORESTRY

Approximately 80% of Sabah is under forest, mostly consisting of productive, or potentially productive Dipterocarps, which are the basis of the flourishing timber industry in the State; of this total, mangrove forests along the coast, and montane forest mainly in the Kinabalu and Trusmadi regions each cover about 5%.


AGRICULTURE

Full details concerning agriculture in Sabah are contained in the Annual Reports and in the annual Agriculture Statistic published by the State Department of Agriculture.
The main crops are rice, rubber, coconut, oil palm and cocoa. Rice is the most important crop. There are about 32 000 ha ( 80 000 ac ) of wet rice grown mainly on the west coast and on the interior plains and about 10 000 ha ( 25 000 ac ) of hill rice. Hill rice is the main crop grown by shifting cultivators notably in the Crocker Range and also along the main rivers in the east. Rubber covers an area of about 105 000 ha ( 260 000 ac ). Most of it is grown by small holders on the west coast and there are also large estates notably in the interior, on the west coast and also in the Tawau area. The main areas of coconut production are Kudat, Tawau and Lahad Datu, with a total area of about 56 000 ha ( 140 000 ac ). The oil palm acreage has expanded rapidly from about 800 ha ( 2000 ac ) in 1961 to about 43 000 ha ( 106 000 ac ) in 1971 ; most of the acreage has been planted by estates and also by government settlement schemes notably in the Tawau and Sandakan Residencies. Cocoa, too, has expanded in acreage to a total of about 4 500 ha (11 000 ac). It is grown mainly in the Tawau Residency and in the Labuk Valley. Other crops grown include hemp, coffee, tobacco, sago palm, fruits, vegetable, maize, tapioca, sweet potato and sugar cane.

THE ECONOMY

The economy of the State is based of timber, which accounts for about three-quarters of all exports. Of the agricultural products, rubber is the most important export, but exports of palm oil are increasing rapidly. Copra and cocoa beans are also significant exports. The recent discovery of commercially exploitable copper deposits near Ranau has added impetus to further prospecting and both petroleum and gas have been discovered offshore.