Titiwangsa Mountains
Encyclopedia
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
; Banjaran Titiwangsa) are the main mountain range that forms the backbone of the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
.
Geology
The Titiwangsa Mountains is part of suture zones that runs north-south, starting in ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
(Nan
Nan
- Acronyms :* NaN , used in computer arithmetic and defined in the IEEE floating-point standard* NMDA Antagonist Neurotoxicity, also known as Olney's lesions* NAN, IATA code for Nadi International Airport* National Assembly of Nigeria...
-Uttaradit
Uttaradit
Uttaradit is a town in Thailand, capital of the Uttaradit province. The town covers the whole tambon Tha It of Mueang Uttaradit district...
/Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu
Điện Biên Phủ is a city in northwestern Vietnam. It is the capital of Dien Bien province, and is known for the events there during the First Indochina War, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, during which the region was a breadbasket for the Việt Minh.-Population:...
suture zone) and extending south towards peninsular Malaysia (Bentong
Bentong
Bentong is both a town and a district in Pahang, Malaysia. The district covers an area of 1,831 km². It is located 80 km northeast of Kuala Lumpur, just across the main range, Titiwangsa Mountains. The original main street going into Bentong town has been modified to a dual carriageway...
-Raub suture zone). The western half of Titiwangsa Mountains in peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
is an amalgamation of continental terrane
Terrane
A terrane in geology is short-hand term for a tectonostratigraphic terrane, which is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and accreted or "sutured" to crust lying on another plate...
s that is known as Cimmeria
Cimmerian Plate
The Cimmerian Plate is an ancient tectonic plate that comprises parts of present-day Anatolia, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, Indochina and Malaya regions. The Cimmerian Plate was formerly part of the ancient supercontinent of Pangaea. Pangaea was shaped like a vast "C", facing east, and inside of the...
or Indochina, whereas the eastern half is an amalgamation of continental terranes Sinoburmalaya or Sibumasu. These two halves of terranes were separated by Paleo-Tethys Ocean
Paleo-Tethys Ocean
The Paleo-Tethys Ocean was an ancient Paleozoic ocean. It was located between the paleocontinent Gondwana and the so called Hunic terranes. These are divided into the European Hunic and Asiatic Hunic...
.
The Cimmeria was separated from Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
around 400mya during Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
and rifted towards Laurasia, the northeastern arm of Pangea. It attached to Laurasia completely around 280mya during Late Permian
Sibumasu terranes on the other hand, only started to separate from Gondwana during Early Permian and rifted towards Indochina. The collision of Sibumasu terranes and Indochina terranes during 200mya Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...
resulted in the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and formation of the modern Titiwangsa Mountain belts.
Geography
This mountain range is a part of the Tenasserim HillsTenasserim Hills
Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range is the geographical name of a mountain chain in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mountains form an effective barrier between Thailand and Burma in their northern and central region, extending to the Kra Isthmus into the Malay...
system. It forms the southernmost section of the central cordillera which runs from Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
through the Kra Isthmus
Kra Isthmus
The Kra Isthmus is the narrow land bridge which connects the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Asia, and popularly named "The Devil's Neck".-Geography:...
into the Malay peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
.
The Titiwangsa range starts in the north as a continuation of the Phuket mountain range
Phuket mountain range
The Phuket mountain range is a mountain range in the Kra Isthmus, Thailand.-Geography:This chain of hills is one of the southern sections of the central cordillera, the mountain chain which runs from Tibet through all of the Malay peninsula....
in Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
, running approximately southeast and ends in the south near Jelebu
Jelebu
Jelebu is second largest districts in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia after Jempol, consisting more than 40,000 in population. Jelebu borders with the Seremban district, Jempol district, Kuala Pilah district, Pahang and Selangor...
, Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....
, Malaysia. The highest elevation is the 2,183 m (7,162 ft) Gunung Korbu.
The range acts as a natural divider, dividing Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...
into East and West Coast regions. It is called the "Banjaran Titiwangsa" or "Banjaran Besar" (Main Range) by locals. The length of mountain range is about 480 km from north to south.
Infrastructure
Several popular tourist destinationTourist destination
A tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps."...
s such as Royal Belum, Cameron Highlands
Cameron Highlands
The Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations. It covers an area of .To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak....
, Genting Highlands
Genting Highlands
Genting Highlands otherwise known as Resorts World Genting is the flagship integrated resort developed by Genting Group. It is nestled on a mountain peak within the Titiwangsa Mountains on the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor of Malaysia...
and Fraser's Hill
Fraser's Hill
Fraser's Hill is a hill resort located on the Titiwangsa Ridge in the state of Pahang in Malaysia.- History :...
are located on the range.
A number of roads cut through the Titiwangsa Forest Complex
Titiwangsa Forest Complex
The Titiwangsa Forest Complex runs along the Titiwangsa Mountains and forms part of the Central Forest Spine of Peninsular Malaysia.- Patches and Roads :...
.