Mount Kinabalu (
Malay:
Gunung Kinabalu) is a prominent
mountain on the island of
Borneo in
Southeast Asia. It is located in the
East Malaysian state of
Sabah and is protected as
Kinabalu National Park, a
World Heritage Site. Kinabalu is the highest peak in Borneo's
Crocker Range and is the highest mountain in the
Malay Archipelago.
[1] Mount Kinabalu is also the 20th most prominent mountain in the world by
topographic prominence.
[2]
In 1997, a re-survey using satellite technology established its
summit (known as Low’s Peak) height at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) above
sea level, which is some 6 metres (20 ft) less than the previously
thought and hitherto published figure of 4,101 metres (13,455 ft).
[3]
Mount Kinabalu includes the
Kinabalu montane alpine meadows ecoregion in the
montane grasslands and shrublands biome.
The mountain and its surroundings are among the most important
biological sites in the world, with over 4500 species of plant, 326
species of
birds, and 100 mammalian species identified. Among this rich collection of wildlife are famous species such as the gigantic
Rafflesia plants and the
orangutan. Mount Kinabalu has been accorded
UNESCO World Heritage status.
[4][5]
Low's Peak can be climbed quite easily by a person in good physical condition and there is no need for
mountaineering equipment at any point on the main route. Other peaks along the
massif, however, require
rock climbing skills.
Biology
Significantly, Mount Kinabalu along with other upland areas of the Crocker Range is well-known worldwide for its tremendous
botanical and
biological species biodiversity with plants of
Himalayan,
Australasian, and
Indomalayan
origin. A recent botanical survey of the mountain estimated a
staggering 5,000 to 6,000 plant species (excluding mosses and liverworts
but including ferns),
[3][6][7][8][9][10]
which is more than all of Europe and North America (excluding tropical
regions of Mexico) combined. It is therefore one of the world's most
important biological sites.
Flora
The flora covers the mountain in zones of different types of habitat as one climbs up, beginning with a lowland belt of
fig trees and
insectivorous pitcher plants. Then between 2,600 to 3,200 m (8,530 to 10,499 ft) is a layer of short trees such the conifer
Dacrydium gibbsiae and dwarf shrubs, mosses, lichens, liverworts, and ferns. Finally many of the world's richest variety of
orchids are found on the high rockier slopes.
These plants have high levels of
endemism
(i.e. species which are found only within Kinabalu Park and are not
found anywhere else in the world). The orchids are the best-known
example with over 800 species including some of the highly-valued
Paphiopedilum slipper orchids, but there are also over 600 species of
ferns
(more than the whole of Africa’s 500 species) of which 50 are found
nowhere else, and the richest collection in the world for the
Nepenthes
pitcher plants (five of the thirteen are found nowhere else on earth)
which reach spectacular proportions (the largest-pitchered in the world
being the endemic
Nepenthes rajah).
[3][11][12] The
parasitic Rafflesia plant, which has the largest single flower in the world, is also found in Kinabalu (particularly
Rafflesia keithii whose flower grows to 94 centimetres (37 in) in diameter),
[3] though it should be noted that blooms of the flower are rare and difficult to find. Meanwhile another
Rafflesia species,
Rafflesia tengku-adlinii, can be found on the neighbouring
Mount Trus Madi and the nearby
Maliau Basin.
Its incredible
biodiversity
in plant life is due to a combination of several unique factors: its
setting in one of the richest plant regions of the world (the tropical
biogeographical region known as western
Malesia which comprises the island of
Sumatra, the
Malay Peninsula, and the island of
Borneo),
the fact that the mountain covers a wide climatic range from near sea
level to freezing ground conditions near the summit, the jagged terrain
and diversity of rocks and soils, the high levels of rainfall (averaging
about 2,700 millimetres (110 in) a year at park HQ), and the climatic
instability caused by periods of
glaciation and catastrophic droughts which result in
evolution and
speciation. This diversity is greatest in the lowland regions (consisting of lowland dipterocarp
forests, so called because the tree
family Dipterocarpaceae are dominant). However, most of Kinabalu’s
endemic species are found in the mountain forests, particularly on
ultramafic
soils (i.e. soils which are low in phosphates and high in iron and
metals poisonous to many plants; this high toxic content gave rise to
the development of distinctive plant species found nowhere else).
[3]
Fauna
The variety of plant life is also habitat for a great variety of
birds and animals. There are some 326 species of birds in Kinabalu Park,
including the spectacular
Rhinoceros Hornbill,
Mountain Serpent-eagle,
Dulit Frogmouth,
Eyebrowed Jungle Flycatcher, and
Bare-headed Laughingthrush. Twenty-four birds are mainly found on the mountain and one, the
Bornean Spiderhunter,
is a pure endemic. The mountain is home to some 100 mammalian species
mostly living high in the trees, including one of the four great apes,
the
orangutan (though sightings of these are uncommon; estimates of its numbers in the park range from 25 to 120).
[3] Other mammals include three kinds of deer, the
Malayan Weasel (Mustela nudipes),
Oriental Small-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinerea), and
Leopard Cat (Felis bengalensis). Endemic mammals include the
Black Shrew (Suncus ater) and
Bornean Ferret-badger (Melogale everetti).
Endemic annelids number less than a dozen known species but include the
Kinabalu giant red leech that preys on various earthworms, including the
Kinabalu giant earthworm.
[13]
Geology
Mount Kinabalu is essentially a massive
pluton formed from
granodiorite which is intrusive into
sedimentary and
ultrabasic rocks,
and forms the central part, or core, of the Kinabalu massif. The
granodiorite is intrusive into strongly folded strata, probably of
Eocene to
Miocene age, and associated ultrabasic and basic
igneous rocks. It was pushed up from the earth’s crust as molten rock millions of years ago. In
geological
terms, it is a very young mountain as the granodiorite cooled and
hardened only about 10 million years ago. The present landform is
considered to be a mid-
Pliocene
peneplain, arched and deeply dissected, through which the Kinabalu
granodiorite body has risen in isostatic adjustment. It is still pushing
up at the rate of 5 mm per annum. During the
Pleistocene Epoch of about 100,000 years ago, the massive mountain was covered by huge sheets of ice and
glaciers
which flowed down its slopes, scouring its surface in the process and
creating the 1,800-metre (5,900 ft) deep Low's Gully (named after
Hugh Low)
on its north side. Its granite composition and the glacial formative
processes are readily apparent when viewing its craggy rocky peaks.
[3]
History
British colonial administrator
Hugh Low
made the first recorded ascent of Mount Kinabalu's summit plateau in
March 1851. Low did not scale the mountain's highest peak, however,
considering it "inaccessible to any but winged animals".
[15] In April and July 1858, Low was accompanied on two further ascents by
Spenser St. John, the British Consul in Brunei.
[3] The highest point of Mount Kinabalu was finally reached in 1888 by zoologist
John Whitehead.
[3] British botanist
Lilian Gibbs became the first woman and the first botanist to summit Mount Kinabalu in February 1910.
[3]
Botanist
E. J. H. Corner led two important expeditions of the
Royal Society of Great Britain to the mountain in 1961 and 1964.
[3] Kinabalu National Park was established in 1964. The park was designated a natural
World Heritage Site in 2000.
[16]
Climbing route
Mount Kinabalu climbing trail at lower elevations (left) and on the summit plateau (right)
Climbers must be accompanied by accredited guides at all times due to
national park regulations. There are two main starting points for the
climb: the Timpohon Gate (located 5.5 km from Kinabalu Park
Headquarters, at an altitude of 1,866 metres (6,122 ft)),
[17] and the
Mesilau Nature Resort.
The latter starting point is slightly higher in elevation, but crosses a
ridge, adding about two kilometres to the ascent and making the total
elevation gain slightly higher. The two trails meet about two kilometres
before Laban Rata.
Accommodation is available inside the park or outside near the
headquarters. Sabah Parks has privatized Mount Kinabalu activities to an
organization called Sutera Sanctuary Lodges (also known as Sutera
Harbour). The mountain may be climbed on a single day trip, or hikers
may (usually) stay one night at Laban Rata Resthouse at 3,270 metres
(10,730 ft) in order to complete the climb in 2 days, finishing the
ascent and descending on the second day. The majority of climbers begin
the ascent on day one of a two day hike from Timpohon gate at 1,866
metres (6,122 ft), reaching this location either by minibus or by
walking, and then walk to Laban Rata. Most people accomplish this part
of the climb in 3 to 6 hours. Since there are no roads, the supplies for
the Laban Rata Resthouse are carried by porters, who bring up to 30
kilograms of supplies on their backs. Hot food and beverages are
available at Laban Rata, but there is no hot water in the bathrooms and
whilst the dining area is heated, the rooms are not. The last 2
kilometres (6,600 ft), from the Laban Rata Resthouse at 3,270 metres
(10,730 ft) to Low's Peak (summit) at 4,095.2 metres (13,436 ft), takes
between 2 and 4 hours. The last part of the climb is on naked granite
rock.
Given the high altitude, some people may suffer from
altitude sickness
and should return immediately to the bottom of the mountain, as
breathing and any further movement becomes increasingly difficult.
[18]
Low's gully
Low's Gully (named after
Hugh Low)
is a 1,800-metre (5,900 ft) deep gorge on the north side of Mount
Kinabalu, one of the least explored and most inhospitable places on
earth. In 1994 two British Army officers were severely criticised after
having led a party of 10 adventurers that required extensive rescue
efforts from both the RAF and the Malaysian army. Five members of the
party were trapped for 16 days and did not eat for five days before
being rescued. The breakaway party of five successfully completed the
world's first descent of the gully in three days.
[19]
Tales
There are two stories that led to the main beliefs in the origin of the mountain's name.
The first derivation of the word Kinabalu is extracted from the short form for the
Kadazan Dusun word 'Aki Nabalu', meaning "the revered place of the dead".
The second source states that the name "Kinabalu" actually means "Cina Balu" (which would fully mean "A
Chinese Widow"). Due to the
lingual influence among the Kadazan Dusun of
Sabah, the
pronunciation for the word "cina" (chee-na) was changed to "Kina" (kee-na).
It was told that a Chinese prince, was cast away to
Borneo when his ship sank in the middle of the
South China Sea.
He was subsequently rescued by the natives from a nearby village. As he
recovered, he was slowly accepted as one of the people of the village.
Eventually, he fell in love with a local woman, and married her. Years
went by, and he started to feel homesick. So he asked permission from
his newly-found family to go back to China to visit his parents (the
Emperor
and Empress of China). To his wife, he promised that as soon as he was
done with his family duties in China, he would come back to Borneo to
take her and their children back to China.
When he made his return to China, he was given a grand welcome by his
family. However, to his dismay, his parents disagreed with him about
taking his Bornean wife back to China. Worse, they told him that he was
already betrothed to a princess of a neighbouring kingdom. Having no
choice (due to
high respect towards his parents), he obeyed with a heavy heart.
Meanwhile, back in Borneo, his wife grew more and more anxious.
Eventually, she decided that she will wait for her husband's ship.
However, since the village was situated far away from the coast, she
couldn't afford to come to the shore and wait for him daily. Instead she
decided to climb to the top of the highest mountain near her village,
so that she could have a better view of the ships sailing in the South
China Sea. Thus, she was then seen climbing up the mountain at every
sunrise, returning only at night to attend to her growing children.
Eventually her efforts took their toll. She fell ill, and died at the
top of the cold mountain while waiting for her husband. The
spirit of the mountain,
having observed her for years, was extremely touched by her loyalty
towards her husband. Out of admiration for this woman, the spirit of the
mountain turned her into a stone. Her face was made to face the South
China Sea, so that she could wait forever for her dear husband's return.
The people in her hometown who heard about this were also gravely
touched by this. Thus, they decided to name the mountain "Kinabalu" in
remembrance of her. To them, the mountain is a symbol of the everlasting
love and loyalty that should be taken as a good example by women.
Local legend among the people of
Ranau, a district in Sabah, has it that
St. John's Peak was the stone which her body was turned into
This information was copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kinabalu and edited.
