Borneo

Borneo, island in the extreme southwestern part of the
Pacific Ocean. It is the third

largest island in the world, surpassed in size by only Greenland and New Guinea.
Borneo is situated southeast of the Malay Peninsula in the Greater Sunda Islands group

of the Malay Archipelago. The island is bounded by the South China Sea to the
northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea to the east, and the Java Sea to
the south—the latter separating Borneo from the island of Java. The Makassar
Strait separates Borneo from the island of Celebes (Sulawesi) to the east and southeast,
and a series of shallow seas and straits lie between Borneo and the island of Sumatra to
the west.
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

Indonesia constitutes the largest political component of the island
(in Indonesian known as Kalimantan), its territory divided into five provinces: Central
Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West
Kalimantan. Along the northwest coast and northern tip lie Sarawak and Sabah,
two constituent states of Malaysia that are often collectively called East Malaysia, and
between them is the Islamic sultanate of Brunei. Area (including adjacent islands),
about 292,000 square miles (755,000 square km). Pop. (2015) five provinces of
Kalimantan (including adjacent islands), 15,320,017; (2010) Sabah and Sarawak,
5,677,882; (2014 est.) Brunei, 411,900.
Land
Kinabalu, Mount
Borneo lies astride the Equator. It has a length of 830 miles (1,336 km) from northeast
to southwest and a maximum breadth of 600 miles (960 km). The island is largely
mountainous, although there are extensive lowlands, especially in Central Kalimantan
and Sarawak, that are often swampy along the coasts. A long series of mountain ranges
extend southwest across the island from Mount Kinabalu in the far northeast, which, at
an elevation of 13,455 feet (4,101 metres), is the island’s greatest height and is also the
tallest peak in Malaysia. Ranges in the central spine include the Crocker, the
Nieuwenhuis, and the Muller mountains. The Kapuas Hulu Mountains branch westward
from the central core along the border between Sarawak and West Kalimantan, and a
separate and discontinuous series of ranges parallel the east and southeast coasts in
East and South Kalimantan.
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Sarawak: river
A large part of Borneo is drained by navigable rivers, which represent the principal and
often the only lifelines of trade and commerce. The main rivers of Kalimantan are
the Kapuas in the west and the Mahakam in the east. Farther north, as the island
narrows, few rivers are navigable for more than 100 miles (160 km), often much less, a
condition largely responsible for the northern interior of Borneo remaining, until
recently, one of the least-known parts of the world. The main river of East Malaysia is
the Rajang in Sarawak.
monster flower
Borneo’s climate is equatorial—hot and humid with a fairly distinct division into two
seasons, consisting of a wet monsoonal period (landas) between October and March and
a relatively drier, calmer period of summer (tedoh) for the rest of the year. The average
annual rainfall is about 150 inches (3,800 mm).
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orangutan in a tropical forest in Borneo

Borneo is largely covered in dense rainforest, and both the floral and the faunal
populations of the island are extremely varied. There are extensive stands of teak, oak,
conifers, and hardwoods of the Dipterocarpaceae family (including members the
commercially valuable genus Shorea). The forests are also noted for their epiphytes and
for the monster flower (Rafflesia arnoldii), the largest flower in the world.
Mammals endemic to the island include the Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi)
and the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus). Other notable animals include
orangutans, gibbons, and elephants, but the Sumatran rhinoceros is now extinct there.
There are also a great many species of birds, insects, and fish.
People and economy
longhouse
The island is sparsely inhabited by Asian standards. The population, of which more than
two-thirds is in Indonesian territory, is varied. It includes non-Muslim Dayaks, Islamic
Malays, Chinese, and a small minority of Europeans. The highest population densities
are in South Kalimantan and in eastern, western, and northern coastal areas.
Borneo is poor in commercial mineral resources. Gold, diamonds, antimony, mercury,

gypsum, and iron have all at some time since the beginning of the 19th century
been exploited on an individual producer basis, using small-scale methods. There are oil
fields at Tanjung Balikpapan, in Brunei, and at more than a dozen other sites on
the continental shelf off the north shore of the island. East coast development is centred
on the Attaka area. Bauxite has been developed near Cape Datu in the southwest since
the late 1950s, and coal has been mined in the southwest.
Kalimantan: market
Generally, Borneo soils are poor, with a few exceptions of fertile volcanic areas. Rice, the
staple food, is supplemented with corn (maize), cassava (manioc), cucumber, and
pumpkin. Rubber is grown on small native plantations. Pepper is grown on a large scale
by the resident Chinese. Newer markets are for the seeds of the shorea tree and for
chicle. Coastal area exports are sago, copra, cutch (a dye extracted from mangrove bark),
and marine products. Tobacco is grown in the uplands and traded to the lowlands.
Experimental plantings of coffee, cocoa, and hemp have been made.

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Borneo, island in the extreme southwestern part of the

Pacific Ocean. It is the third

Borneo is situated southeast of the Malay Peninsula in the Greater Sunda Islands group

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque

Islands and Archipelagos

Sort out the facts about islands across the globe.

orangutan in a tropical forest in Borneo

Borneo is poor in commercial mineral resources. Gold, diamonds, antimony, mercury,

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