stance
from it of about 15 m. Of this range the central feature is the mountain
of Kinabalu, which is composed of porphyritic granite and igneous rocks
and attains to a height of 13,698 ft. Mount Madalon, some 15 or 20 m. to
the north, is 5000 ft. in height, and inland across the valley of the
Pagalan river, which runs through the Tambunan country and falls into
the Padas, rises the peak of Trus Madi, estimated to be 11,000 ft. above
sea-level. The valley of the Pagalan is itself for the most part from
1000 to 2000 ft. above the sea, forming a string of small plateaus
marking the sites of former lakes. From the base of Trus Madi to the
eastern coast the country consists of huddled hills broken here and
there by regions of a more mountainous character. The principal plateaus
are in the Tambunan and Kaningau valleys, in the basin of the Pagalan,
and the Ranau plain to the eastward of the base of Kinabalu. Similar
plateaus of minor importance are to be found dotted about the interior.
The proximity of the mountain range to the seashore causes the rivers of
the west coast, with the single exception of the Padas, to be rapid,
boulder-obstructed, shallow streams of little value as means of
communication for a distance of more than half a dozen miles from their
mouths. The Padas is navigable for light-draught steam-launches and
native boats for a distance of nearly 50 m. from its mouth, and smaller
craft can be punted up as far as Rayoh, some 15 m. farther, but at this
point its bed is obstructed by impassable falls and rapids, which are of
such a character that nothing can even be brought down them. Even below
Rayoh navigation is rendered difficult and occasionally dangerous by
similar obstructions. The other principal rivers of the west coast are
the Kalias, Kimanis, Benoneh, Papar, Kinarut, Putatan, Inaman,
Mengkabong, Tampasuk and Pandasan, none of which, however, is of any
great importance as a means of communication. There is a stout breed of
pony raised along the Tampasuk, which is also noted for the Kalupis
waterfall (1500 ft.), one of the highest in the world, though the volume
of water is not great. Here also are the principal Bajau settlements.
Throughout the Malayan Archipelago the words _Bajau_ and _perompak_
(pirate) are still used as synonymous terms. At the northern extremity
of the island Marudu Bay receives the waters of the Marudu which rises
on the western side of Mount Madalon. On the east coast the principa